Food processors’ byproducts such as rice hulls, nut shells, and other waste are normally trashed.
But Jason Aramburu, Chief Executive Officer of re:char, sees it all as an untapped source of cooking fuel and fertilizer, reports Bloomberg Businessweek.
His company designs and builds equipment to make biochar–a type of charcoal that retains moisture in soil–and so far has sold a machine to a group of oil and gas investors in Houston.
Aramburu, 25, started re:char in 2009 with $250,000 from angels and his savings. The innovation, Aramburu says, is suited for the farming, forestry, and fertilizer industries and can be particularly helpful in areas where cooking fuel is scarce or soil is depleted, as well as on islands where self-sufficiency is important.
“We’re only scratching the tip of the iceberg of what biochar can do,” he says. He plans to sell three additional units by yearend.
Photo by Bloomberg Businessweek.