NEW YORK — Bion Environmental Technologies Inc. announced it was issued a new patent that broadens its Ammonia Recovery System (ARS) claims to include industrial and municipal wastewater systems.

“The timing of this patent couldn’t be better — it underscores the broad applications of our ammonia recovery technology,” said Bill O’Neill, chief executive officer of Bion. “We’ve already seen results at Fair Oaks that demonstrate we can configure the ARS for the economics of industrial waste streams. It’s an opportunity that could both jumpstart and shorten our drive to commercialization and give us a stronger platform to launch our sustainable beef initiatives.”

Bion’s ARS was developed to recover the volatile ammonia in livestock waste streams, with a focus on the discharge from an anaerobic digester (AD), where biogas is produced. Bion said it recently optimized the ARS at its Fair Oaks, NY, facility for the final design process for full-scale animal waste systems.

The company plans to market the ARS as a stand-alone AD nitrogen control solution in two sectors — industrial and municipal wastewater as well as animal waste — through strategic partnerships.

According to the American Biogas Council, the United States has over 2,400 AD sites producing biogas today, with a development potential for 15,000 new sites.

AD is now used at 1,269 water resource recovery facilities across the nation, with another 102 stand-alone systems that digest food waste.

Bion pointed out that wastewater and AD digestate from industrial and municipal sources in the United States is already regulated for ammonia and nitrates. Furthermore, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently proposed stricter standards for meat processing plants.

Bion believes ARS ammonia treatment costs will be competitive in these markets and that its premium fertilizer byproducts will create an advantage.

Currently, there are 473 animal waste digesters operating in the United States, most on dairy operations, Bion said.

The ARS was designed specifically to control ammonia from livestock waste and produce the highest value byproducts with it. Bion has already received an OMRI-listing (Organic Material Review Institute) for its initial fertilizer product and is preparing applications for several more.