Results from BioLargo’s 18-Month Municipal Wastewater Treatment Pilot in Montreal Presented at National Conference

Westminster, CA – November 8, 2022 – BioLargo, Inc. (OTCQB:BLGO), a developer of sustainable cleantech technologies and full-service environmental engineering company, announced that its subsidiary BioLargo Water presented the results of its municipal wastewater treatment pilot at the Canadian Water and Wastewater Association’s annual conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Results presented at the conference cement the company’s patented Advanced Oxidation System (AOS) water treatment technology as a powerful yet energy- and cost-efficient solution for removing emerging contaminants from wastewater.

In the face of an expanding population, aging sewage treatment infrastructure, and the growing concern of hard-to-treat wastewater contaminants like pharmaceuticals (a.k.a., “micropollutants”, identified by the US EPA as “contaminants of emerging concern”), there is a growing global interest in new water treatment technologies that can effectively and affordably remove a broad spectrum of water contaminants while also addressing legacy contaminants like bacteria and viruses.

BioLargo developed its AOS to be the new gold standard technology for tertiary wastewater treatment (i.e., the final step in sewage treatment). The AOS uses proprietary electro-oxidation technology to generate a blend of powerful iodine molecules and hydroxyl radicals inside its patented reaction cell, resulting in rapid and energy-efficient water disinfection and breakdown of organic contaminants.

A commercial-scale AOS unit has been operating, continuously, on-site at a municipal wastewater treatment plant pilot site at a municipality near Montreal, Quebec, for the past 18 months. The purpose of the pilot was to test whether the AOS could remove certain pharmaceutical micropollutants from the municipality’s wastewater more effectively than the plant’s current equipment, as well as to verify that the AOS could operate in a real-world wastewater treatment plant over long periods of time without issue.

Over the course of the pilot, the AOS system significantly improved removal of pharmaceuticals from the plant’s municipal wastewater. Currently, the treatment plant (which does not include any equipment specifically designed for pharmaceutical removal) is able to remove only a portion of each of the targeted contaminants. When the AOS was added to the treatment train, removal efficiency increased to between 84% and 100% (depending on the particular targeted contaminant).

On November 7, 2022, BioLargo Water’s Lead Research Scientist Dr. Laura Patterson-Fortin presented the results of the municipal wastewater treatment pilot at the Canadian Water and Wastewater Association’s flagship annual event, the National Water and Wastewater Conference, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Dr. Patterson-Fortin presented these results alongside the company’s academic partners from the world-renowned Centre des Technologies de l’Eau (CTE) in Montreal, who oversaw the pilot project’s operation and analyzed its results.

Dr. Richard Smith, President of BioLargo Water, commented, “The AOS is a truly remarkable water treatment technology on the cutting edge of micropollutant treatment. While their regulatory status in the US and Canada is still in the early stages, micropollutants are garnering the attention of regulators in Europe due to their potential to cause environmental damage and affect human health. Many of the leading companies in the water industry have identified micropollutants as a driver for future growth. We intend for the AOS to be ahead of the curve as an effective, energy-efficient option for micropollutant treatment as this market develops globally.”

He continued, “If all the AOS could do was remove pharmaceuticals from wastewater, it would have a bright commercial future as governments around the world adopt new regulations. But the AOS does much more than that – it is also a highly effective, affordable, and energy-efficient water disinfection device that rivals UV – making it deliver exceptional value to wastewater treatment operators seeking to future-proof their operations.”