MELBOURNE, FLA.—Florida Institute of Technology chemistry professor Virender K. Sharma is making new strides in solving an old problem—safely and efficiently cleaning polluted water.

Sharma has invented a liquid cleaning product based on ferrate, a supercharged iron molecule. The resulting compound may be used as an oxidant, disinfectant and coagulant, and for industrial “green” purposes. A powerful oxidant, the liquid ferrate compound has attracted interest for applications in “green chemistry” because the byproducts of its use, iron oxides, are environmentally safe.

In addition to being eco-friendly, Sharma’s liquid ferrate product is also much more economical to produce than other, similar purification solutions.

“With this product, all functions of treatment can be achieved using only one chemical whereas separate oxidant and coagulant are currently being applied in other treatment approaches,” Sharma said. “This gives ferrate cost advantages over other commonly used chemicals in the wastewater industry.

“The technology developed at Florida Tech has made a break-through in synthesizing liquid ferrate at a price, which is fraction of the selling cost by vendors in the current marketplace,” Sharma added. “Liquid ferrate produced at Florida Tech is also stable for at least two weeks, unlike competing products. This liquid can be produced in the lab in less than one hour with minimum amount of supplies, equipment and labor.”

Working with the Florida Tech Technology Transfer Office, which fosters business applications of University innovations, Sharma is bringing his ideas and inventions to market in collaboration with Ferratec, LLC, a group already familiar with ferrates and actively commercializing a complementary technology developed by Battelle Memorial Institute.

Ferratec was formed by the private investment and business incubation firm The Incubation Factory. The Incubation Factory is a St. Louis-based holding company with the exclusive license to manufacture and distribute potassium ferrate worldwide under the process developed with Battelle. Ferratec is able to move the ferrate products to market efficiently by achieving economies of scale in establishing distribution channels and relationships with applications developers. They are also creating new revenue streams to maximize capital to support the new technology.

Ferratec has signed an exclusive license with Florida Tech to manufacture liquid ferrate which will open a wide variety of new applications for the company.

”We are very excited to be working with Dr. Sharma and Florida Tech,” said Andy Wolter, Incubation Factory COO and Ferratec Manager. “Dr. Sharma is a visionary in the world of ferrates. We share his goal of bringing this transformational, ‘green’ molecule to the world.“

Respected internationally in his field, Sharma earned a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Miami, a master’s in technology degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Delhi, India.

About Dr. Sharma

Virender Sharma, a professor of environmental chemistry at Florida Tech, is the inventor of the technology.  Sharma has been working in the field of ferrate for the last 20 years and has published widely on this subject.  He has edited a book titled Ferrates: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications in Water and Wastewater, published by Oxford University Press.  In 2006, The Orlando section of the American Chemical Society has given him an outstanding chemist award.  Recently, Florida Tech gave him its “Faculty Excellence in Research” award.  He is considered an expert in field of ferrate and has been invited to lectures and seminars at several institutions in the world, which include UC-Berkeley, Cal Tech, EAWAG, Switzerland, Imperial College, London, Max Planck Institute, Stuttgart, University of Barcelona, POSTECH, Korea, Kyoto University, and National University of Taiwan.  More information on him can be found at http://cos.fit.edu/chemistry/faculty/sharma/.

About Florida Institute of Technology

Founded at the dawn of the Space Race half a century ago, Florida Tech is the only independent, technological university in the Southeast. With more than 8,000 students enrolled on main campus, extended campuses and online, Florida Tech has been named a Barron’s Guide “Best Buy” in College Education, ranked among America’s Best National Universities by U.S. News & World Report, and ranked in 2009 as one of the nation’s top 18 engineering technical institutes by the Fiske Guide to Colleges. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs. Fields of study include science, engineering, aeronautics, business, humanities, mathematics, psychology, communication and education. Additional information is available online at www.fit.edu.

About The Incubation Factory

The Incubation Factory is unique to the technology transfer industry, serving as a “Commercialization Agent” for leading Technology Transfer organizations. The Incubation Factory is actively acting in this capacity for National Laboratories, Universities and Research Institutions, worldwide. Technology Transfer clients leverage The Incubation Factory to remove the “art of the start” by utilizing structured, proven processes that result in faster time to market, lower commercialization risk and high returns to technology partners. For more information, visit www.theincubationfactory.com.

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