COIL Stories
A.R. Environmental Solutions Inc.:
Transforming food waste into bioethenol and fertilizer through research and innovation
A.R. Environmental Solutions (ARES) is dedicated to conducting research related to food waste reduction and agri-food production. Through the COIL Evolve Circular Pre-Accelerator (COIL Evolve) they explored an innovative approach to transforming food waste into new ethanol-based products. ARES continued to close the loop in their operations by using their by-products to create a nutrient-rich organic fertilizer.
The Impact
Innovative Products: ARES is introducing technology that can utilize food waste to produce bioethanol. Their prototype will create a by-product which will be transformed into organic fertilizer. The bioethanol will be involved in the production of antiseptic products including sanitizers and cleaning agents.
Upcycling waste: Through their new technology, ARES can upcycle almost 100% of food waste back into reusable materials.
Cost-efficiencies: ARES projects a potential diversion of 35 million tonnes of food waste from landfills, and an estimated revenue of $150 million by 2025. By acting as an interceptor of waste, they will not only be reducing the expenditure for food waste management ($49 billion/year), but they will also be generating profits through the development of their products.
How they made it work
The support ARES received from COIL Evolve enabled them to put the findings of their research and development team to the test. They have created solutions to extract large amounts of fermentable sugars from food waste. Using the latest research fermentation and distillation technology, they can extract ethanol in a shorter period of time, while recycling the microbes and enzymes for multiple batches.
Their new technology and prototype allow them to use fewer material expenses overall and a lower energy demand when producing bioethanol and organic fertilizer from food waste.
With COIL Evolve, ARES developed a deeper understanding of how their practical research can support new products, benefit the environment, and generate cost-efficiencies.
“Our advice to others is to work hard and be patient to achieve targeted goals.” – Azizur Rahman, President & CEO of A.R. Environmental Solutions
