There have been many technological breakthroughs in Nevada in the past year and though they are just coming into the public’s attention, it has taken years for such projects to come to fruition and much hard work from individuals who had a vision and enough drive to bring it to reality.
Itronics, Inc.
Following a 12-year, $6 million research effort, Dr. James Whitney created a proprietary method to extract 99.997 percent of the silver from the waste products of photo processing. More than 100 million gallons of photographic wastes are generated in the U.S. each year by photo finishers, photo labs and studios, X-ray laboratories, and printers. Whitney’s process recycles the photo-chemical wastes, creating two useful products, silver and fertilizer. Silver and other heavy metals and dissolved solids in the used photo solution pollute and corrupt the environment, but the end-product of Whitney’s process–the de-metallized liquid–is completely safe and is used to manufacture a line of environmentally beneficial liquid fertilizers sold under the tradename Gold’n Gro™.
Whitney is president and CEO of Itronics Inc., one of Nevada’s leading process technology development companies and a world leader in photo-chemical recycling. Headquartered in Reno, it specializes in recycling technology development, photo-chemical recycling, silver refining, fertilizer manufacturing, and technical services for the mining and recycling industries. Whitney earned a Bachelor’s Degree in geology from the University of Nebraska in 1970 and a Master’s Degree in mineralogy in 1971 as well as a Doctorate in mineral economics in 1976 from Penn State University. Due to his newest achievement in photo-chemical processing, he was honored on June 16 in Las Vegas by the Nevada Technology Council as its Inventor of the Year for 2000. Nevada Governor Kenny C. Guinn presented the award to Whitney at the Southern Nevada Governor’s Industry Appreciation Luncheon.
Itronics has spent more than a decade and $5.5 million perfecting its proprietary processes and obtaining the Gold’n Gro™ trademark for its fertilizers. Faced with high demand for its fertilizer and the ongoing production of photo-waste, Itronics is in the process of changing from a small research and development firm into a large commercial processing and manufacturing company. “We are in an excellent position financially to move forward with the production of Gold’n Gro at our new Stead facility, and the marketing of these fertilizers throughout the West,” said Whitney.
Itronics sells and distributes a line of liquid fertilizers developed for specific applications,
such as golf and lawn turf maintenance programs, vegetables and wine grapes. It sells its fertilizer to more than 120 golf courses in California and Nevada, and to large horticultural businesses. Information about purchasing Gold’n Gro for home use or the company’s souvenir Silver Nevada Miner bars is available at the Company’s Web site, www.itronics.com.
American Tire Corporation
Another outstanding process breakthrough is American Tire Corporation’s Amerityre™. Amerityre uses a patented technology that encapsulates more than a million closed-cell air bubbles to equal the ride of a traditional pneumatic (filled with compressed air) tire. According to Richard Steinke, CEO of American Tire, this innovative technology results in a flat-free, maintenance-free and hassle-free tire that makes it the safest and most dependable bicycle tire in the world. The millions of closed cell air bubbles enclosed in Urethane give riders the shock absorbing benefit of the traditional tire and tube at a predetermined air pressure of 40 psi for a 20-inch tire. The tire stays at this pressure regardless of how long the tire has been on the bicycle. “There are other products out there trying to compete, but the technology isn’t closed cell. Each bubble is not entirely closed, which does not give full support in shock absorption and thus bottoms-out,” Steinke said. The tires produced are also lightweight–within ounces of a conventional tire and tube–and last more than three times longer than conventional tires.
Steinke says American Tire Corporation’s strategic objective is to make the roadways safer as well as to be an environmentally friendly corporation. Urethane is much friendlier to the environment than rubber as it does not require sulfur or benzene to be used and released during production. Just as Whitney’s photo-processing breakthrough is beneficial to the environment, these tires are 100% recyclable, making them environmentally friendly. Studies also show that there is no effect on the tires from weather conditions, such as sunlight/ozone, extreme temperatures or humidity.
“Five years ago I decided to move to Southern Nevada, specifically Boulder City, because it’s one of the best five communities in the U.S.,” said Steinke. “It’s a great place to raise kids.” Although corporate headquarters are in Boulder City, the manufacturing plant is at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway where all the testing is done.
Before incorporating American Tire in Nevada in 1995, Steinke worked with the Goodyear product development lab in Akron, Ohio. He hired three engineers from Goodyear to help develop the innovation. “Only one of those engineers has stayed with me. The engineers worked on it for three years, but they just couldn’t grasp the concept of the process,” he said. “Last year I took control over developing the process.”
American Tire Corporation presently has a license for exclusive use of the apparatus for making tires and the method for making a polyurethane foam tire. The company also has two patents on tire technology and an additional patent pending on mechanical locks for tires. There are many other types of applications that Steinke has in mind for this application of Urethane. Steinke claims to have the technology for the future for the car industry that will make tires safe for continuous driving without air. For more information, visit the website at www.Amerityre.com.
NRG Technology
Another breakthrough on the roadway that should make an environmental impact is NRG Technology’s development of a new, patent-pending technology that uses exhaust gas waste heat from an internal combustion engine to create hydrogen fuel. NRG’s hydrogen-enriched lean-burn technology produces near-zero harmful exhaust emissions. The crux of this development is the ability for engines to create hydrogen from conventional fuels with a simple, inexpensive reactor within the engine which will increase fuel efficiency and enable the engine to meet the strict California emissions regulations.
In 1996 Kirk Collier founded NRG Technologies in Reno to create and develop, license and manufacture hardware for alternative fuels and renewable energy. NRG’s mission is to be a technological leader in the alternative fuels and energy research and development market. Collier has worked at national labs and universities for more than 25 years. “I put my own money into this venture. That’s how confident I was about this breakthrough,” Collier said. “I founded NRG because I wanted to have an impact on society, to have a legacy as a human being.” Collier said he moved to Nevada not only because of the higher quality of life, but as he stated, “to be near the action, to be near the air pollution that California and Arizona create.”
NRG Technologies has recently been awarded a contract with Bechtel Nevada (the support contractor to the Nevada Test Site) to supply an engine package to power up to five transit buses that will operate in the City of Las Vegas. This engine package will be designed to operate on mixtures of hydrogen and natural gas. Using this fuel and NRG’s proprietary technology, these buses will be capable of reducing oxides of nitrogen emissions by more than 90 percent, while totally eliminating carbon-based emissions. The Bechtel Nevada test project is the beginning of a larger effort by the U.S. Department of Energy to demonstrate the use of hydrogen and hydrogen-enhanced fuels. Other tests include bus lines in Davis, California and the Palm Springs area as well as a modified Ford Crown Victoria to certify emissions in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.nrgtech.com.
Darja Laboratories
Darja Laboratories, located in Minden, is a pharmaceutical company that has focused on over the counter drugs and devices aimed at lifestyle management. Darja Labs have a state-of-the-art 90,000-square-foot manufacturing facility solely for the development of lifestyle improving products that treat vascular and lymph insufficiencies, neural failure and compromised skin barriers that are usually associated with diabetes and lymphedema. (Lymphedema occurs when the lymph system has been partially removed and can no longer work properly to remove fluid from the limbs.) Fifty thousand diabetics have a lower limb amputated each year due to complications of the disease. The technology behind one of Darja’s new patents promises to reduce the risk of amputation and complications related to diabetes-related vascular failure.
Another patent-pending technology developed this year is for the treatment of infant skin, which is 40 to 60 percent thinner than mature skin. The over-the-counter therapeutic, topical line will avoid compounds commonly used in other baby care products that can cause problems in premature infants or babies with chemical sensitivities.
Darlene McCord, Ph.D. is an accomplished biochemist with backgrounds in formulation chemistry and product development. Dr. McCord serves as Darja Lab’s President and Chief Science Officer and is responsible for the research and product development of these products aimed at revolutionizing direct-to-consumer medicine for people with chronic lifestyle health issues. Dr. McCord currently holds all of the company’s patents.
Darja Labs uses state-of-the-art automation at its drug and device manufacturing facilities in Minden. It is adding a new biotechnology laboratory that will offer the company expanded product testing facilities as well as a center for patient testing as part of its clinical trial program.
Conclusion
The technological advancements mentioned above have been brought to us by diligent, talented and caring people within in our state who are willing to commit to a lifetime of research and development to produce end results that will hopefully enhance all of our lives. In the tradition of the Western Frontier, Nevadans still are pioneers. And in all of these examples, pioneers have not only conquered their environment, but aim to improve our relationship with it.
