Harnessing low cost, sustainable, activated carbon from waste

In what is believed to be a world-first, an Adelaide-based start-up has developed a new, low cost, sustainable method of producing activated carbon.
Based out of the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide’s ThincLab, ByGen was co-founded by Dr Lewis Dunnigan, Ben Morton and Dr Philip Kwong, after they established a pilot plant at the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ in 2018.Â
Traditionally, activated carbon is used extensively for water purification, soil remediation, precious metal recovery and cosmetics, with a global market value of approximately USD 5 billion. This figure is estimated to reach USD 8 billion by 2025.Â
Although activated carbon can be made from agricultural waste streams, the processes are extremely energy-intensive and associated costs are considerably high.
According to Dr Dunnigan, ByGen’s breakthrough development represents a unique opportunity to not only introduce sustainable practice into the industry, but also to produce a higher value product.Â
“Our approach is much more energy efficient and allows for tailoring of the product, enhancing its performance in different applications.â€
“ByGen has been operating for over two years now and is looking to bring environmental sustainability into the industry.â€Â
ByGen’s next step is to build a full-scale plant, capable of producing commercial quantities. This would lead to significant job creation in regional ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥, as well as providing an economically viable method for using waste streams.
Featured researcher
CEO/Co-Founder, ByGen
School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials
Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and TechnologyÂ
Featured researcher
CTO/Co-Founder, ByGen
School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials
Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology
Featured researcher
Technical Advisor/Co-founder, ByGen
Senior Lecturer
School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials
Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology