University's Star cleaners sign deal with US firm

ENGINEERS at Edinburgh University have signed an exclusive licence agreement with a US company to develop a new technique for cleaning up hazardous industrial waste.

The Self-sustaining Treatment for Active Remediation (Star) technology burns off oily petrochemical waste underground in a way that ensures that groundwater does not become contaminated. University researchers have signed up with Geosyntec Consultants to develop a product that they believe will be far more efficient and far cheaper than existing systems.

Dr Jos Torero, of the University of Edinburgh's School of Engineering, said: "Star is able to overcome barriers that hinder many current clean-up operations, and promises to be particularly cost effective."

The University of Edinburgh researchers will now be carrying out further testing of the Star technology – with the aim of developing a commercial product that can be used on toxic waste sites around the world.

Dr David Major, environmental scientist at Geosyntec, said: "We see Star technology as a real 'game-changer' for certain types of sites. We are committed to making this technology available worldwide and especially to establishing a Scottish operation to serve the European marketplace."

Amid increasing costs of dumping materials in landfill sites, the European market for cleaning hazardous toxic waste is worth an estimated 500 million to 2 billion a year, while the American market is worth at least five times that amount.

The commercial agreement, the terms of which were undisclosed, was negotiated by Edinburgh Research and Innovation, the University of Edinburgh's commercialisation arm.