A NuTree Update and Introduction to the NuTree Mini
It’s been another two months since our last update and boy do we have a lot to share!
We are proud to announce that we are currently semi-finalists in the VERGE Accelerate! This is a local Silicon Valley clean tech competition and we are in the runnings to be finalist in the circular economy category
NuLeaf is currently battling for the top slot, so if you would like to help NuLeaf bring home the gold follow the link below and vote for our pitch! You can vote once daily for the duration of the contest, which ends on August 20th.
https://www.greenbiz.com/events/verge-conference/oakland/2018/accelerate-voting
Onto our exciting tech updates - we are thrilled to announce that we have attached the vertical farming attachment to our basin and completed the core construction on our NuTree!
After completing the core skeleton we were able to finally begin introducing our plants into the system’s vertical farming attachment. We started by transplanting some corn and garlic (rescued from one of our teammate’s gardens) in addition to some greens we grew ourselves from sprouts. We are happy to report the plants are thriving in the NuTree!
Most recently, we have constructed the MBBR (Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor) that will serve as the NuTree’s first step in the water treatment process. The MBBR helps to aerate the water and break down the contaminants to prepare the wastewater for further treatment.
There is still work to be done on the NuTree but the introduction of our greens means we are ready to begin our preliminary tests on the system’s effectiveness in recycling wastewater and growing crops. And since our beachhead market for the system is craft breweries we decided to begin homebrewing our own beer and testing the Nutree on the wastewater created by the brewing process. Our CTO Ari is our resident homebrewer and the rest of us have been learning a lot, we are excited to keep at it!
To learn more about the homebrewing proccess, follow the link below on our experience homebrewing!
https://www.nuleaftech.com/blog/adventuresinhomebrewing We have continued work on the MFC stacks and have been gaining an understanding in how they respond to heat, different types of food, etc before our next reiteration. This will be covered in our next update, but we’re excited to share a new product we’ve been working on - the NuTree mini!
The NuTree Mini is a smaller NuTree device that acts as a desktop aquaponics fish tank. It uses similar technology found in the full sized system with added fish to create a self cleaning home aquarium.
By incorporating the principles of aquaponics it is also a miniature vertical farm. The farming attachment can not only grow yummy greens, but it is also made up of interchangeable pieces so the “tree” can be assembled in a variety of creative ways.
You can find a further explanation of the NuTree Mini technologies in the video below.
That is all we have to report for now. Stay tuned for MFC data, wastewater tests for the NuTree, and different tree configurations for our Mini! We have a lot of exciting announcements just over the horizon so to stay up to date with all the goings on here at NuLeaf, be sure to follow us on social media and considering checking out our blog at https://www.nuleaftech.com/blog/ to for regular updates on our progress.
From all of us at NuLeaf, thank you for your interest, we can’t wait to share more of our journey with you!
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