BioCee coating technology is independent from the specific biological system and pathway, applicable to most organisms and therefore it truly represents a platform technology with broad applicability. It can improve and extend the application of biotechnology in current operations and has the exciting potential  to bring the benefit of biotechnology to new unconventional applications.

BioCee has identified three strategic areas of interest around which the company is being developing in this order of priority:

• Biodesulfurization of petroleum and petroleum fractions
  
• Removal of phosphorus and other nutrients from agricultural wastewaster
  
• Bioactive coatings
  

Environmental regulations around the world, driven by the need to reduce air pollution, are putting ever tighter limits on the sulfur content of liquid transportation fuels at the same time as sweet, low-sulfur crude oil supplies are increasingly replaced by sour, high-sulfur crude.  This trend is driving the search for new, cost effective desulfurization technologies. The current standard technology, hydrodesulfurization (HDS), is operationally expensive because of high temperatures and pressures, uses hydrogen whose price is tied to natural gas and is not selective - especially for deep desulfurization - leading to loss to hydrocarbons because of cracking. Biodesulfurization - which doesn't contribute to any further increase of the carbon footprint of the stream being treated -  has been regarded as a promising alternative or complement to HDS.  Not only are the microbial catalysts used in BDS particularly successful in removing sulfur from the compounds most difficult to treat with conventional hydrodesulfurization, the technology also has the potential to significantly reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.  Over the last 20 years,  over $100 million has been invested in the development of highly optimized microorganisms  However, ultimately, the process did not develop commercially because of issues related to mass transfer, loss of biocatalyst and operational complexity. BioCee's technology promises to overcome these barriers while taking advantage of the previous investments in the development of the BDS microorganisms.

Phosphorus loading in agricultural waste water is among the leading causes of eutrophization  in bodies of water. Run-off from the Mississippi water shed is a key cause of harmful algal bloom in the Gulf of Mexico. These algal blooms lead to hypoxia in the affected bodies of water and severe impact on the health of their  ecosystems.   The number of large scale algal blooms caused by anthropogenic activity has been estimated to be worldwide over 400. This problem has also important economic consequences as  commercial fishing and the tourism industry are negatively impacted.  Furthermore,  phosphorus, a non renewable resource and an essential nutrient for agricultural productivity,  is wasted. Phosphorus removal from waste water is well understood and commonly done in highly effective manner in any municipal waste water treatment. Unfortunately these waste water treatments are scarcely amenable to be applied cost effectively to disperse and individually relatively small stream flows of agricultural waste water. Phosphorus can effectively removed by biological means and in the process polyphosphates are produced. Unlike the salts that capture phosphorus in many waste water treatment plants, these polyphosphates are suitable to be recycled as fertilizers. BioCee is devoping a new low cost phosphorus removal system based on a novel application of a biocoating. The biocoating embeds phosphorus fixing micro-organisms and is designed to be suitable for deployment at the farm level, therefore allowing the capture of nutrients where they can be recycled and before they reach any major body of water.

The potential applications of bioactive coatings in a variety of industries are very numerous. One that BioCee will purse is that of protective coating for structures and material that need to be submerged in natural bodies of water. In these same natural bodies of water, there are numerous example of naturally occurring films created by organisms that protect themselves against predation or ecosystem encroachment by releasing toxins. These toxins have no impact on a macroscopic scale but are highly effective in protecting the host that releases them. BioCee technology allows to extend this natural concept by embedding these micro-organisms in coatings which in turn can be applied like a paint to the surface which are to be protected.  This concept will provide an environmentally benign alternative to current antifouling coatings and paints. These use heavy metals and other chemicals which - as a consequences -are often detected in consequential quantities in the environment.