Text of the award:

2007 North American Environmental Remediation
Product Innovation of the Year
Award Recipient: Adventus Group

The 2007 Frost & Sullivan Product Innovation of the Year Award in the North American environmental remediation market is presented to The Adventus Group. Their proprietary remediation biotechnologies: DARAMEND® and EHC®, comprise a family of intriguing solutions to provide treatment of impacted groundwater, sediment, and soil environments. Both DARAMEND and EHC are subjects of numerous patents owned by Adventus Intellectual Properties Inc. (Adventus) and provide the international remediation marketplace with low-cost, effective and proven treatments for a wide range of contaminants.

Better Science, Better Results, Better Value

Adventus Group has demonstrated a marketplace commitment to provide best in class biotechnology–based remedial solutions for treatment of contaminated soil, sediment, and groundwater. The company has been working on strategies to address various remedial situations, especially those where chlorinated solvents, pesticides, herbicides, energetics, heavy metals, and petroleum hydrocarbons are involved. Adventus’ main offering entails an in-situ chemical reduction (ISCR) mechanism, using EHC or granular iron (zero valent metal) as the reductant.

The utilization and effective management of in-situ redox (reduction-oxidation) potentials has established a major segment in the remediation technologies market. In-situ chemical oxidation recognized the importance of redox condition and has been successful in providing remedial solutions for numerous sites. The introduction of innovative ISCR technologies by Adventus Group is an extension of the fundamental approach using redox conditions to yield safe, rapid, complete and permanent remediation for some of the more challenging environments.

In-situ Chemical Reduction can be employed in a hypoxic environment (low Eh; oxygen limited) or reducing conditions to provide effective remedial solutions, especially for groundwater plume treatment.

ISCR Mechanism

The patented combination of controlled release solid carbon and zero valent iron (ZVI) particles provides a material for stimulating reductive dechlorination of organic solvents in groundwater and source zones. Variations of these materials have been used for treatment of soils and sediments contaminated with recalcitrant organics under the DARAMEND bioremediation technology. The EHC is a modification of DARAMEND and is used for groundwater applications where it can be injected into the saturated zones in a various ways.

The organic component of EHC (fibrous organic material) acts as ideal support for growth of bacteria in groundwater environments. As they grow on EHC particle surfaces, these bacteria consume dissolved oxygen thereby reducing the redox levels to -500mV or lower. Bacterial growth on organic particles leads to the release of fatty acids which diffuse and act as electron donors to promote dechlorination. Finally, small ZVI particles provide ample reactive surface that stimulates chemical dechlorination along with additional drop in redox potential of the impacted environment. 

The product has been proven in various laboratory and pilot-scale studies, and has demonstrated exceptional results in challenging problems such as solvent dechlorination. For particularly problematic contaminants like PCE and TCE, concentrations as high as 18,000 mg/L have been reduced to undetectable levels. The cost factors for application of DARAMEND and EHC are regularly 50 percent lower than other counterparts.
Taking it forward…

Adventus Group has the field-proven products and a growing international distribution platform to compete against the more established firms in their vertical. The company works with environmental and remediation contractors, consultants, engineers, geologists, and regulators who use their products for various projects. Adventus Group also provides training to their network of preferred field contractors for efficient use of the materials and equipment to ensure best results. These trained field contractors are then recommended to the site owners or consultant-of-record for actual installation and application of Adventus’ products. This avoids inaccuracy during handling and use of materials which otherwise might lead to dissatisfactory results.

Adventus Group’s marquee technologies; EHC and DARAMEND, are being considered for thousand of soil and groundwater treatment sites around the world. The company plans to expand its global network of strategic partnerships via exclusive and non-exclusive licensing arrangements with other best-in-class environmental companies. Along with their base operations in USA & Canada, these currently include operations in Europe (Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Portugal, Poland, UK), Asia (Taiwan, South Korea), Latin American (Brazil), Oceania (Australia), and the Middle East (Israel)..
Of particular note is the announcement of a partnership in JAN07with Carus Corporation (www.caruscorporation.com). The two firms have come together to address and uniquely treat non aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs).

Conclusion

Adventus Group’s commitment to the science and economics of soil, sediment, and groundwater remediation with inventive products like EHC and DARAMEND have made the company widely regarded as a premier organization providing remedial solutions to the international marketplace. Their impressive product portfolio anchored by EHC and DARAMEND technologies makes Adventus Group a worthy recipient of the 2007 Frost & Sullivan Product Innovation of the Year Award.  

I. Summary of Best Practices

Adventus Group is an international remediation biotechnology firm providing an intriguing portfolio of remedial solutions comprising of patented offerings for cost effective remedial strategies. Since its inception in 2003, Adventus Group has operated at over 400 sites on 4 continents. Adventus Groups’ business model supports site owners, environmental consultants and engineers by providing unbiased designs and best-fit low-cost remedial strategies. Adventus Group is committed to improve its product line and expand industry visibility.

II. Market Overview/Key Challenges    

The total US Soil and Groundwater Remediation Technology Market provides a variety of opportunities for environmental remediation firms in different technological segments and regions, of an otherwise mature market. Over the next few decades the federal and state government, private companies and industries etc. are expected to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on environmental cleanups. It is surprising for some to learn that a market which has been termed 'mature' is still so lucrative.

There are hundreds of small, medium and large companies gearing up to fulfill the remediation demands with industry experience, skilled professionals and technology- leveraged services.

The market has shown accelerated growth after the economic slowdown of 2001 and the lag period of 2002. The economic rebound and recovery, as well as property transfer and legislative requirements, are driving a substantial amount of investment. In almost all segments, we are seeing increased complexity of the contaminated sites and new contaminants being identified. The attitude of the end-user towards newer technologies is changing and they are now willing to accept emerging and innovative technologies. This was not the case few years back when technologies were limited to dig & haul, and pump & treat services. As the access to new technologies increases, their proven track record is making end-users more confident in using these technologies.

III. Award Categories & Relevance

The chemical oxidation/reduction treatment is one of the fastest growing applications in the Superfund program or the National Priority List, which consists of the “worst of the worst” contaminated land sites in the United States. This treatment is primarily used to target organic contaminants, and is applicable to both halogenated and non-halogenated VOCs and SVOCs. It is also used to treat metals, metalloids and inorganics such as chromium, arsenic and cyanide. This is a relatively new technology and has seen increased application in recent years, especially the in-situ treatment of dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs), light non-aqueous phase liquids (LNAPLs), contaminated groundwater in fractured rock, and recalcitrant remediation problems. Benefits of in-situ treatment are being recognized and the technologies are being accepted globally.

IV. 2007 North American Environmental Remediation Product Innovation of the Year Award

Award Description

The Frost & Sullivan Award for Product Innovation of the Year is presented each year to the company that has demonstrated excellence in bringing to market a portfolio of new products and technologies within their industry vertical. The recipient company has shown genuine innovation by launching proven products and technologies designed to solve real-world business problems.

Research Methodology

To choose a recipient of this Award, the analyst team tracks all new product launches, R&D spending, products in development, and new product features and modifications. This is accomplished through interviews with the market participants and extensive secondary and technology research. All new product launches and new products in development in each company are compared and evaluated based on degree of innovation and customer satisfaction. Companies are then ranked by number of new product launches and new products in development.

Measurement Criteria

In addition to the methodology described above, there are specific criteria used to determine final competitor rankings in this industry. The recipient of this Award has excelled based on one or more of the following criteria:

• Significance of new product(s) in their industry
• Competitive advantage of new product(s) in their industry
• Product innovation in terms of unique or revolutionary technology
• Product acceptance in the marketplace
• New product value-added services provided to customers
• Number of competitors with similar product(s)

About Best Practices

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development.  Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company's industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services, and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies, and the investment community by providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective and combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics, and demographics. For more information, visit www.frost.com.

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For further information, please contact Adventus Group.