BioFiltro Collaborates with UC-Davis to Study Biodynamic Aerobic System

BioFiltro advances its patented vermifiltration solution with  USD 1.6 million Conservation Innovation Grant from USDA awarded to UC-Davis.

FREMONT, CA: "We are thrilled that USDA recognized that vermifiltration can be a climate solution for the agriculture industry," commended MatiasSjogren, CEO of BioFiltro.

Biofiltro, a California-based company, reveals collaboration with the University of California-Davis (UC-Davis) and the University of Vigo in Spain to study how vermicompost, created by earthworms, can help farmers produce food more efficiently and sustainably. The research will proceed with USD 1.6 million Conservation Innovation Grant from USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, awarded to UC-Davis. The collaboration aims to observe how BioFiltro's patented Biodynamic Aerobic (BIDA) system will impact soil health and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) when applied to farm fields.

"The grant will enable us to continue to develop the story of how vermifiltration can help livestock farmers, wineries, food industries, and sanitary plants reduce carbon footprint and promote circular agriculture, turning what has long been viewed as a problem—waste—into a soil amendment that is even more valuable and nutrient-dense than traditional compost."

"Part of the beauty of this system is that it can be adapted for little cost by dairy farmers when they take advantage of state or federal grants for alternative manure management programs," said Sjogren. "It is a low-tech, low-input, sustainable system that operates with a concept that has been done by Mother Nature from the beginning of time."

BioFiltro works by percolating liquid waste through layers of wood shavings, earthworms, and crushed rock, then collecting it in a drain basin and pumping it into the water supply. In addition to degrading organic matter, microbes and earthworms convert nitrogen into a harmless gas during their process.

The BIDA system can remove up to 90 percent of nitrogen, phosphorus, and solids from liquid manure on dairy farms. A dairy farmer can use cleaner water to irrigate fields and reuse the treated solids as vermicompost. The system allows dairy farmers to optimize freshwater consumption, manage nutrients, and minimize farm odors. BIDA also prevents the emission of greenhouse gases during and after treatment since wastewater is not stored in an anaerobic environment, which enables farmers to earn income from the sale of carbon credits.