OurPet''s Company (fka OPCO)

[MissionIR]

Waste Not, Want Not with OPCO's New Switchgrass Biochar Litter

A technology that dates back two millennia is behind OurPet’s Company’s (OTCQX: OPCO) new Switchgrass Biochar Litter. As Emily Wayne of Oxford University explains in Conquistadors, cannibals and climate change: A brief history of biochar (http://dtn.fm/A4Czi), “In 1870, James Orton, a little-known American geologist and explorer, noticed that alongside the typically grey, acidic soils of the (Amazon) basin there existed large patches of ‘black and very fertile’ soil… Researchers flocked to investigate the mysterious dark earth, or ‘terra preta’ as it is known locally.” On closer examination, the soil appeared to have been modified by early human settlers. It seems the early Amazonians had originated an organic method of fertilizing the soil. These terra preta plots date back to antiquity, the oldest site at 8,000 BCE. It all appeared to have started when these ancient peoples discovered that, by charring organic waste in ovens with a low-oxygen supply, a process known as pyrolysis, charcoal for use as a fuel could be produced. Somehow this carbon found its way into the soil, giving it a characteristically black color due to the high concentration of carbon. Terra preta contains up to 9 percent carbon, compared with 0.5 percent in surrounding soils.

At some point it was realized that such soil yielded more abundant crops for longer periods. Even with the use of chemical fertilizers, crop yields will fall off rapidly after a third consecutive growing season, yet the terra preta soil has retained its fertility for centuries. So, naturally, efforts were made to reproduce the ancient techniques of terra preta production. This has given birth to biological charcoal (biochar), which can be defined simply as charcoal used for agricultural purposes.

Charcoal is able to remove odors very effectively because a quantity of charcoal absorbs many times its volume of noxious gases. Charcoal is a porous form of carbon and so has a very large ‘surface area’ which enhances its powers of absorption. It does a great job of absorbing the ‘rotten egg’ odor that cat waste gives off. This rotten egg gas is actually hydrogen sulfide (H2S), a poisonous, highly flammable, colorless gas that, in high enough concentrations, can cause loss of consciousness. An old story (http://dtn.fm/94Bsh) in Sky News told how a vet in Sweden was hospitalized for three days after being exposed to 20 flatulent cats.

OurPet’s Company continues to demonstrate its technological prowess with Switchgrass Biochar Litter. The company’s CEO, Dr. Steven Tsengas, is an engineer and inventor who has been elected to the National Inventors Hall of Fame. OurPet’s Company’s engineering expertise and open approach to new ideas has been employed, over the years, to develop the company’s portfolio of over 1,000 products. The company also has another 30 or so products in the pipeline and an intellectual property stockpile of over 160 patents. Recently, OurPet’s Company announced a new strategic partnership with the Japanese software developer, Aplix IP Holdings Corporation, a company known for its WirelessIDEA software-based technology for machine to machine (M2M) applications and its JBlend, a Java Micro Edition (Java ME) platform for embedded software, which has been installed in close to three-quarters of a billion devices worldwide.

In a recent earnings release, Dr. Tsengas said, “We remain focused on growth initiatives in all three of our key product categories; feeding and storage, toys and accessories, and waste management and odor control.’. Those of us with hyperosmia are happy to hear that.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.ourpets.com