Catalina BioSolutions’ Bioremediation Products

Recently we’ve been turning down work!

Here’s the main reason why: A few months ago we bid to provide bioremediation products, our Biocritters and our “World’s Best Bioremediation Nutrient” for a PCE project in the east. We’re happy to provide free quotations and we do it all the time. The client seemed to be happy with the bid but wanted other bids as well. No problem. Then the client kept asking us for more and more details on how to do the job. We were happy to comply. He kept asking for more and more and finally wanted us to provide the details so he could use that as his Remedial Action Plan. I said no. We’re not geologists, hydrologists, engineers or any such thing. We are manufacturers and think we offer the best blends of microbes in the business.

I don’t know how he solved his problem eventually or whether he actually hired the appropriate technical staff to write his RAP. I just know that we do what we’re good at and we don’t do what we’re not trained — or licensed — to do. (As a side line, I later found out we were the low bidder. No regrets on this. Maybe we wouldn’t have won in any case!)

Lately, we’re frequently asked if our blends of bacteria will clean all sorts of things. The fact is that there so many chemicals and chemical combinations that often we don’t have a clue.

We suggest that they try a sample of our product and run their own test; or send me a sample of the contaminant; I will treat it, and then send the treated sample back so it can be analyzed by a laboratory. Then the client can compare a treated sample with the original and see if any degradation has occurred. We suggest waiting at least 30 days.

But, if they don’t want to do that, we’ll turn that business down as well.

The point of all of this is we’re not afraid to say no. We feel strongly that if it’s not in your best interest, or ours, we’ll take a pass. It’s your money and our reputation!

Now I feel better!

Jerry Coon

 

 

We’ve been using chemical oxidation for years on certain contaminants. Chemicals such as hydrogen peroxide, calcium peroxide … combinations of all sorts of things can work if the selection of chemicals is appropriate to the situation.

Hydrogen peroxide and Fenton’s Reagent can degrade certain contaminants but have a long-term negative effect on soil, rendering it impossible to polish up with microbes. We get asked frequently to finish a site previously treated with hydrogen peroxide, but, unfortunately, once the soil is ruined, it’s a hopeless cause.

We offer a unique oxidizer that completely dissipates in 40 hours, and we follow that up with a treatment utilizing our microbes. It is very effective. Call for a price quote.

Many companies utilize calcium peroxide as an oxygen source. It is a slow-release product that is advertised as “passive.” It is expensive, and it can work; it also cannot work. The big objection to it is that it creates a very high pH, around 12, which kills most bacteria, both indigenous and augmented. It is also very slow. And expensive.

We can discuss options for you.

 

Jerry Coon

520.299.9808

We get frequent inquiries on using ORC and Solvay oxygen sources in conjunction with our bioremediation products. Such questions arise for both for insitu and exsitu applications using our Biocritters and our proprietory organic nutrient, Biobooster.

The thing about these products is that they both raise the initial pH to around 12 which is a bit high for the Biocritters, or for any microbes for that matter. And, frankly, they increase the cost of a job without an ROI that, in my opinion, merits the extra cost.

We haven’t used either ORC or Solvay for these reasons, though we do understand and appreciate the availability of a long-term oxygen source, particularly for sites that prohibit adding oxygen mechanically or by the preferred method of recirculation. (The EPA web site has an excellent recirculation system, by the way.)

In general, we don’t think we should be adding chemicals to clean up chemicals in mother earth! How’s that for a slogan?!

 

 

We used our bioremediation products on an unusual application: swine manure lagoons. Frankly, I didn’t know if it would work, but we gave it a try. Dick Marshall, a friend of mine, manufactures a terrific product called Quellz. It acts as a steroid for the microbes, so using both Biocritters and Quellz, he applied both to a 3,000,000-gallon swine manure pond.

The goals were to –

• clarify the water,
• reduce the horrendous odor (don’t go near a swine lagoon if you can help it!) and
• reduce the bottom sludge levels from 11 inches to 6 inches, in six months.

Ta-dah! In 30 days we reduced the sludge level to 4 inches. (Their measurements.)

How did we do it? Well, our Biocritters were merely broadcast as far out (read that as “tossed”) all around the circumference of the animal waste pond, and that was it. The Quellz microbial accelerant was poured in near the incoming material from the hogs.

Dick can be reached by email. Save yourself some money, and buy his product directly from him.

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Note: Quellz is an enzymatic product for odor control and sludge reduction in animal waste lagoons and aquatic species ponds. The enzymes work in a wide pH range (4-10), have good thermal stability and can be effective in either an anaerobic or aerobic modality, although they work best in an aerobic environment. (From National Hog Farmer magazine)

In this business you hear a lot about “plate counts” or CFUs (colony forming units). These are simply the numbers of microbes in 1 gram. A plate count of 5 billion is a lot less than a plate count of 670 billion microbes per gram, for example.

So when you are buying a product of 5 billion per gram, it is obviously going to be less expensive and less effective then one which has 670 billion. But, is it really less expensive if you have to use a lot more? Obviously, and logically, not.

We sell both products, but by far our best seller is the 670 billion microbes per gram product.

If price per pound is important, buy the lower plate count. If your COST to clean a cubic yard is important, buy the higher plate count product. CALL US to help you decide. 520.299.9808

Here’s a tip for successful bioremediation:

Another thing to consider is the carriers for the microbes. Some commonly used carriers (what the microbes are dried on) are ground corn, wheat bran, zeolite and clay or bentonite). Some carriers have an inherently high plate count even without adding to good degrader microbes. Corn, clay and zeolite are examples of this. So, when speaking to a bioremediation products manufacturer or distributor, the key question to ask is “What percentage of the total plate count are the good degrading bacteria?”

Prices

We sell a low plate count product for as little as $12 per pound. We sell a high plate count product for $100 per pound. We sell some in between. We can help you decide which is best for you and your particular remediation requirements. And we have calculated the different application rates for you to help you decide. But the key factor is to determine the cost to clean a cubic yard or the cost to clean a gallon of contaminated water. So if you opt for a cheaper, lower plate count product, you will need much more of so your cost per unit will be the same or maybe more.

We would appreciate the opportunity to quote a job for you, and we promise to not drive you crazy with nagging sales calls!

Thank you,

Jerry Coon
Catalina Biosolutions, LLC

 

 

 

Just finished a production run of our new blend of Biocritters, microbes, and we’re getting rave reviews about cleaning up DDT in Canada, swine manure lagoons in North Carolina, and the usual oil spill clean ups all over the place. Bioremediation is not the mystery it used to be, and our bioremediation products have just been voted superior. (Voters were me, my wife, my three children and my dog Recon. The cat is independent, so we’ll get his vote right before dinner.)

The hot news of the day, however, is a new and improved nutrient, the Biobooster. This stuff is nothing short of awesome. Looking through the microscope is getting scary. Beaucoup bugs, active like crazy, huge colonies. Best of all, instead of waiting 48 hours for bug activation, now it’s only 24 hours. So just mix the stuff up the day before you apply.

And if this isn’t enough, there are NO chemicals added. Everything is natural. If this doesn’t make the regulators smile, nothing will. (Maybe nothing ever will … if you catch my drift.)

 

All for now. Over and out!

 

Jerry

www.biocritters.com

biocritters (at) gmail (dot) com

520.299.9808