PITTSBURGH — A Pittsburgh-based sludge disposal startup said it has closed on a strategic investment that included EQT CEO Toby Z. Rice.
Orbital Biocarbon Inc., which builds disposal systems for wastewater utilities using thermal technology aimed at dealing with sludge, didn’t disclose the size of the strategic investment or other investors. Nor were there any filings by Orbital Biocarbon available on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission website.
But the company said Rice had personally invested in the company and it was not connected with either EQT nor Rice Investment Group, the Rice family’s Carnegie investment company. He’s also not involved in management, but only as a strategic long-term shareholder.
Orbital Biocarbon takes sludge from wastewater using heating technology from Germany’s PYREG to convert it to another use, either a commercial grade fertilizer or a building material, and without the PFAS that can be found in sludge. The technology is in use in at least 60 places worldwide, converting sludge into a biocarbon.
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