A national honor recently was bestowed upon Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies Inc., a supplier of nutrient recovery solutions that recover phosphorus and ammonia from wastewater streams and transform them into an environmentally friendly commercial fertilizer.
In Canada, Ostara, along with University of British Columbia Civil Engineering Professor Don Mavinic and other industry partners, was recognized with a 2010 Synergy Award for Innovation from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) for developing the technology used by Ostara that turns wastewater into fertilizer. Other collaborating partners also recognized were Stantec Consulting Ltd., Metro Vancouver, EPCOR Water Service Inc. and Clean Water Services Ltd.
The Synergy Awards highlight partnerships that bring together the best researchers from Canadian universities and the leading innovators from the private sector, resulting in the transfer of tangible research results to those who can translate them into economic and social benefits for Canadians.
Mavinic co-invented the nutrient recovery technology commercialized Ostara. The company’s Pearl Nutrient Recovery Technology recovers otherwise polluting nutrients such as phosphorus and ammonia from wastewater and transforms them into an environmentally friendly fertilizer called Crystal Green. Researchers will receive a $200,000 research grant, while each industry partner has an opportunity to hire an NSERC Industrial R&D Fellow for two years, with NSERC supporting the industrial portion of the fellow’s salary.
Source: Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies Inc.
