Case Studies / R&D

Since the early 1980’s John R. Huyge has been involved in the development of alternative treatments and management practices for a variety of organic wastes and by-products. Among the projects undertaken by Mr. Huyge is the treatment of waste water sludge from the City of Wyoming, Michigan through Environmental Cost Management. During that project ECM was using yard waste collected through the City’s yard waste collection effort as a carbon source and demonstrated our ability to have the finished compost declared inert by the Director of the DNR (now DEQ), having met all the EPA Part 503 requirements for composting wastewater sludge.

In the early 1990’s JRH, consulting with ECM and Evergreen Recycling, conducted Pilot Projects for the City of Lavonia and Mount Clemens, Michigan. In Mt. Clemens the project included fuel contaminated soil in the composting feedstocks to demonstrate a technique for on or off site remediation.

Working with Bil-Mar Foods (a division of Sarah Lee) in the mid to late 1990’s JRH developed on farm waste and mortality management programs that reduced farm to farm exposure and provided a new profit center for the farm operations.

Starting in 1999 we began to emphasize the development of biostimulants as an effective way to manipulate the microbial population and achieve the desired results. We found that packaging the products was problematic. Our biostimulants were so dense with microbes that the oxygen in the containers was quickly used up and the products took on an offensive odor. Sporelating the biostimulants was the only way to get any shelf life and that seemed to be a step backwards. To facilitate retail and commercial sales and use we developed portable incubators for on site production of the products.

In 2005 following research into the effectiveness of biochar to sequester CO2, we began to use biochar as an agent in difficult bioremediation applications, specifically the reduction of leachable Arsenic. Using MBST Extract and MBST Biochar we were able to employ a technique called “Accelerated bioleaching” to reduce the leachable Arsenic by 45% in 30 days. We have since begun developing a full time production model for the Pyrolysis operation needed to produce biochar.

Pilot project:

• Saugatuck area golf course – use of Accelerated bioleaching to clean up Arsenic in and under the ‘greens’

Proposed Pilot Projects:

• Kalamazoo Lake Harbor Dredging Spoils - When funding is found for the harbor dredging project we will conduct a Pilot Project to determine the most efficient way to handle the dredging spoils, which are contaminated with Arsenic and PCB’s.
  
• Du-Well Industrial Site, South Haven, MI – Another PCB contaminated site current testing is underway to determine the extent of the problem after which we will develop and submit an insitu Remediation Plan.
  

Using products

Saugatuck, Douglas and Saugatuck Township, municipal programs and individual residents are allowed to bring their yard waste to the Lakeshore Microboost compost facility where the materials are processed into soils, biochar and biostimulants. The communities and their institutions and residents are then encouraged to use the products in the management plans for the landscaping and landscape maintenance of public properties like the parks, schools and waterfront properties. 95% of the products produced at the Lakeshore Microboost site are used within 10 miles of the site.

Lakeshore Microboost Inc.
P.O. Box 512
Saugatuck, MI 49453-0512
(616) 836-4245

info@lakeshoremicroboost.com

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