ABSMaterials, Inc.

ABSMaterials, Inc. (formally Absorbent Materials, LLC) was founded in February 2010 by Mr. Stephen Spoonamore and Dr. Paul L. Edmiston. ABSMaterials, Inc. is based on Dr. Edmiston's scientific discovery, Osorb.

History of discovery

Osorb was discovered by Dr. Paul L. Edmiston, a College of Wooster professor, and his student research assistant, Colleen Burkett, while working to develop a glass capable of detecting explosives. Colleen added acetone drop-wise to the glass nanomaterial and watched as the glass expanded to absorb the liquid. This extremely unusual characteristic has inspired intensive study regarding the substance ever since.

ABSMaterials, Inc. was founded around Osorb technology. Osorb has applications in water remediation, separation of essential oils from organic matter, creating sensors for explosives or certain fluid leaks in large machinery and much more.

Osorb is an engineered, silica-based nanotechnology capable of swelling to absorb volatile organic compounds, essential oils, carcinogenic chlorinated solvents (e.g. trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene) from water.

Company history

The company was incorporated under the name ABSMaterials, Inc. in February 2010.

Edmiston spent 2 years refining his discovery when he met his co-founder on a plane ride from Cleveland to D.C. The now-CEO of ABS recognized the world-changing capabilities in Dr. Edmiston’s work. On a fifty-minute plane ride, the two wrote a business plan.

The first commercial batch of Osorb was created July 21, 2009. Since that time, the three-person company, including the two founders and 2008 College of Wooster graduate Laura Underwood, has grown to over 30 employees at two locations and produced award-winning technology to complement Edmiston’s Osorb.

Water remediation

The main applications for ABSMaterials' technology are environmental remediation systems that filter toxins and pollutants from ground, surface, and municipal water.

VOC-Eater 10

The ex situ system, the VOC-Eater, is a catalytic machine that chemically reduces harmful chlorinated solvents into salts. This ex situ treatment has a variety of benefits in comparison to previous solutions (e.g. sparge towers). These benefits include no harmful byproducts or emissions of gas-phase chlorinated solvents into the air and no physical waste generated through running the system..

In situ Osorb injection

The in situ treatment involves injecting Iron-Osorb into underground plumes of contaminated groundwater. The Osorb will capture VOCs and and other contaminants, effectively reducing high levels of toxicity in the water.

Bioswale runoff water treatment

In ABSMaterials' bioswale systems, Osorb is milled to varying degrees in order to replace the sandy fill media used in traditional systems. Osorb does not absorb biological matter such as cells or proteins so it does not hinder plant growth.

Stormwater treatment

The company uses a uses a three-chamber system to filter out large-scale debris, run water through an Osorb-based filter, and pass the now-clean water to the outgoing pipe system.

Other applications

Potential Uses of Osorb are endless. From cleaning all classes of and potabilities of water to cosmetic use, absorbing oils and organics from water is a desirable technology. As a result, ABSMaterials has created multiple wholly owned subsidiaries that deal with specific uses of the nanotechnology.

PWAbsorbents, LLC.

PWAbsorbents focuses on by-prodcts of the oil industry. The company specifically deals with the proper treatment and disposal of produced water, particularly upstream water. PWAbsorbents is based in Houston, TX, and was the recipient of the 2009 MIT Clean Energy Prize .

Perfect Separations, LLC.

ABS uses their reactive glass to extract essential oils for nutraceuticals, dyes, and fragrances. The company uses large mixers to create slurries and engineers glass to extract the targeted compound from those slurries. The collected material is then recovered from the glass using heat treatment or chemical rinses.

Glass Sensors, LLC.

ABS uses its absorptive capabilities to make sensors capable of detecting explosives and leaking fluids in machinery.

Awards and grants

ABSMaterials has received a large number of Awards and Grants to develop technology focused on clean energy and water remediation.

2009 (July 23) NEOinc Innovation Fund Award

2009 NorTech Materials Science Innovation of the Year

2009 National Science Foundation Advanced Engineering Research Grant. Awarded to ABSMaterials and the College of Wooster

2009 (May 7) MIT Clean Energy Prize: Won by wholly owned subsidiary, Produced Water Absorbent (PWA)

2010 National Science Foundation SBIR ,

2010 Department of Energy SBIR

2010 National Science Foundation RAPID Grant

2011 Ohio Chamber of Commerce Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award

2011 Artemis Project Top 50 "Most Innovative Water Technologies"

2011 National Science Foundation SBIR, awarded to Dr. Hanbae Yang, an environmental engineer specializing in bioretention/bioswale systems