Bill & Melinda Gate's Foundation Grant

Post date: Nov 10, 2011 1:29:27 PM

Frontier Environmental Technology Receives Grand Challenges Explorations Funding

Rolla, MO – Frontier Environmental Technology (Frontier) announced today that it will receive funding through Grand Challenges Explorations, an initiative created by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that enables researchers worldwide to test unorthodox ideas that address persistent health and development challenges. Frontier will pursue an innovative global health research project, titled “Biogas Generator Powered by Self-Sustaining Mixing Mechanism”.

 Grand Challenges Explorations funds scientists and researchers worldwide to explore ideas that can break the mold in how we solve persistent global health and development challenges.  Frontier’s project is 1 of 110 Grand Challenges Explorations grants announced today. “We believe in the power of innovation—that a single bold idea can pioneer solutions to our greatest health and development challenges,” said Chris Wilson, Director of Global Health Discovery for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “Grand Challenges Explorations seeks to identify and fund these new ideas wherever they come from, allowing scientists, innovators and entrepreneurs to pursue the kinds of creative ideas and novel approaches that could help to accelerate the end of polio, cure HIV infection or improve sanitation.”

 Projects that are receiving funding show promise in tackling priority global health issues where solutions do not yet exist.  This includes finding effective methods to eliminate or control infectious diseases such as polio and HIV as well as discovering new sanitation technologies.  To learn more about Grand Challenges Explorations, visit www.grandchallenges.org.

 There are many factors that determine the efficiency of a biogas generator. The amount of mixing within the reactor is one of those factors. A well-mixed reactor supplies the organisms in the reactor with food as quickly as possible, resulting in faster generation of methane. However, greater mixing means more energy input, thereby reducing net energy gain from the generator. This project will test a new biogas generator that will use the buoyant force of large gas bubbles formed from small bubbles to drive convective mixing in the reactor.

 Frontier is an emerging technology company that begun with the development of the Baffled Bioreactor (BBR). Since its founding Frontier has developed a variety of innovative technologies for low-maintenance wastewater treatment and biological nutrient removal. Advanced solids treatment and energy recovery was an easy transition from their specialty niche. Visit www.FrontierET.com to learn more.

About Grand Challenges Explorations

Grand Challenges Explorations is a $100 million initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  Launched in 2008, Grand Challenge Explorations grants have already been awarded to nearly 500 researchers from over 40 countries.  The grant program is open to anyone from any discipline and from any organization.  The initiative uses an agile, accelerated grant-making process with short, two-page online applications and no preliminary data required.  Initial grants of $100,000 are awarded two times a year. Successful projects have an opportunity to receive a follow-on grant of up to $1 million.