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En Solucion Inc

Address

251 Little Falls Dr
Wilmington, DE, 19808-1674
USA

UEI: FT89NL71A2X5

Number of Employees: 2

HUBZone Owned: No

Woman Owned: No

Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No

SBIR/STTR Involvement

Year of first award: 2018

Phase I Awards

Phase II Awards

75%

Conversion Rate

$805,532

Phase I Dollars

$3,914,079

Phase II Dollars

$4,719,611

Total Awarded

Awards

Up to 10 of the most recent awards are being displayed. To view all of this company's awards, visit the Award Data search page.

Ozone Nanobubble Treatment of Open Water Irrigation Sources for Improved Food Safety and Plant Health

Amount: $1,022,907 Topic: FDA

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeks to address concerns about foodborne illness outbreaks linked to irrigation from untreated surface water via a proposed revision to the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule. The rule change addresses the threat to public health from the foodborne illness outbreaks that continue to occur with high frequency in certain produce commodities. It is widely believed that the root cause of the outbreaks is the proximity of animal feed lots to surface water used for irrigation, necessitating the sanitization of the water to ensure delivery of pathogen-free water to crops. Growers, however, currently lack viable mitigation tools to comply with the impending regulatory change. The primary solution today is to use furrow irrigation to avoid contact between water and plant leaves and to prohibit application of overhead irrigation 3 weeks prior to harvest. Current, but infrequently employed, sanitization solutions include treating irrigation water with environmentally damaging chemicals like chlorine or implementing cost prohibitive technological solutions. En Solución proposes a cost-effective, easily implemented, chemical and residual-free irrigation water treatment system that utilizes ozone nanobubbles to neutralize pathogens. Ozone, in both its gaseous and aqueous phases, is generally recognized as safe by the FDA and has been shown to effectively reduce microbial contamination in waste water; however, certain engineering and efficiency challenges have prevented its use in high-volume, high-flow applications like irrigation water treatment. Unlike traditional macro-sized bubbles from existing technologies, the nanobubbles produced by En Solución’s technology have the remarkable ability to remain stable in high concentrations for months at a time and allow for high gas infusion rates and retention times. As a result, more ozone is kept in the solution, greatly enhancing the concentration of ozone able to be delivered throughout an irrigation system. The technology developed by En Solución also has implications on plant productivity and soil health, as hyper-oxygenated water (a byproduct of the decay of ozone nanobubbles in the irrigation water) has been demonstrated to stimulate plant and root growth. During the Phase II project, En Solución will develop a commercial-scale ozone nanobubble irrigation unit that will easily integrate into existing field irrigation infrastructure to provide continuous sanitization for surface water applied to field crops. The technology will be fully validated via independent university study and demonstrated at full scale in a pilot implementation at an operating farm.

SBIR

Phase II

2024

HHS

FDA

Innovative Continuous Sanitization of Fresh Produce Harvesting Equipment

Amount: $295,922 Topic: FDA

Recent foodborne illness outbreaks traced to contaminated field harvesting equipment have highlighted the need for incorporating improved sanitization practices at the time of harvest. Field- harvested specialty crops represent 50% of the top ten foods linked to major recalls and outbreaks over the past five years. Proper sanitization of outdoor harvest equipment is made complicated by operational and environmental challenges which impede regular, periodic cleaning of operating equipment. Current sanitization solutions include application of environmentally damaging chemicals like chlorine or cost prohibitive technological solutions like UV light. Chemical-based solutions face further constraints due to limited water availability and the necessity of minimizing the introduction of chemicals to the soil through spilled water. En Solución proposes a cost- effective, easily implemented, chemical and residual-free, continuous sanitization system that utilizes ozone nanobubbles to neutralize pathogens and biofilms on key surfaces of field harvesting equipment. Ozone, in both its gaseous and aqueous phases, is generally recognized as safe by the FDA and has been shown to be highly effectively at reducing microbial contamination; however, operational inefficiency and environmental safety concerns have precluded widespread adoption of aqueous ozone by the agriculture industry. Unlike traditional macro-sized bubbles from existing technologies, the nanobubbles produced by En Solución’s technology have the remarkable ability to remain stable in high concentrations for months at a time and allow for high gas infusion rates and retention times. En Solución will deliver a fully automated system that provides continuous sanitization for field harvesting equipment to address the shortcomings of current approaches: it will provide ozone in concentrations proven effective for pathogen neutralization and biofilm eradication and prevention, with nearly instantaneous sanitization; it will minimize water usage via recycling and precision dosing; and it is harmless when spilled on fields (the ozone in the entrained nanobubbles will decay naturally to oxygen on the order of half an hour). During the Phase I project, En Solución will develop a field-scale ozone nanobubble sanitization unit and fully validate the technology via pilot implementation at an operating farm and comprehensive third party microbial testing.

SBIR

Phase I

2023

HHS

FDA

Ozone Nanobubble Treatment of Open Water Irrigation Sources for Improved Food Safety and Plant Health

Amount: $259,610 Topic: FDA

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeks to address concerns about foodborne illness outbreaks linked to untreated open source irrigation water via a proposed revision to the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule. The rule change addresses the threat to public health from the foodborne illness outbreaks that continue to occur with high frequency in certain produce commodities. It is widely believed that the root cause of the outbreaks is the proximity of animal feed lots to open source irrigation supplies, necessitating the sanitization of irrigation water to ensure delivery of pathogen-free water to crops. Growers, however, currently lack viable mitigation tools to comply with the impending regulatory change. The primary solution today is to use furrow growing to avoid contact between water and plant leaves during irrigation and/or to apply spray irrigation only when harvest is greater than 3 weeks away. Current, but infrequently employed, sanitization solutions include treating irrigation water with environmentally damaging chemicals like chlorine or implementing cost prohibitive technological solutions. En Solución proposes a cost-effective, easily implemented, chemical and residual free irrigation water treatment system that utilizes ozone nanobubbles to neutralize pathogens. Ozone, in both its gaseous and aqueous phases, is generally recognized as safe by the FDA and has been shown to effectively reduce microbial contamination in waste water; however, operational inefficiency and environmental safety concerns have precluded widespread adoption of aqueous ozone by the agriculture industry. Unlike traditional macro-sized bubbles from existing technologies, the nanobubbles produced by En Solución’s technology have the remarkable ability to remain stable in high concentrations for months at a time and allow for high gas infusion rates and retention times. Environmental safety is greatly improved as the ozone does not outgas to the environment, but rather, reverts back to oxygen while in the solution. En Solución will deliver a fully automated system that removes the requirement for specialized workforces necessary to deliver today’s irrigation sanitization solutions. The technology developed by En Solución also has implications on plant productivity and soil health, as hyper-oxygenated water (a byproduct of the decay of ozone nanobubbles in the irrigation water) has been demonstrated to stimulate plant and root growth. During the Phase I project, En Solución will develop a field-scale automated ozone nanobubble irrigation system and fully validate the technology via pilot implementation at an operating farm and comprehensive third party microbial testing.

SBIR

Phase I

2022

HHS

FDA

IMPROVEMENT TO OZONATING WATER FOR POST-HARVEST WASHING THROUGH NANOBUBBLES

Amount: $2,241,172 Topic: FDA

Abstract. As consumer demand for fresh produce continues to grow, so do concerns by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about foodborne illnesses and foodborne disease outbreaks. Postharvest wash is a critical control point in fresh produce processing for reducing or eliminating pathogens and other field-acquired contaminants that can result in such outbreaks. Current methods of post-harvest washing typically rely on peracetic acid or chlorine-based sanitizers, which provide less than 100% efficacy in removing pathogens and are generally acknowledged to have negative environmental and worker safety impacts. Due to such concerns, certain European countries have banned the use of chlorine as a sanitizing technique for fresh produce. One alternative sanitizing agent being adopted with greater frequency is ozone gas. Ozone, in both its gaseous and aqueous phases, is generally recognized as safe by the FDA and has been shown to effectively reduce microbial contamination; however, worker safety and environmental concerns still exist when ozone is not properly managed. Additionally, ozone’s poor solubility, limited resident time in solution, and the high cost of ozone generators have contributed to its limited adoption by the agriculture industry. En Solución has developed a novel method for utilizing nano-sized bubbles of ozone gas at the point of postharvest wash. Unlike traditional macro-sized bubbles from existing technologies, the nanobubbles produced by the En Solución methodology have the remarkable ability to remain stable and in solution in high concentrations for orders of magnitude longer in duration than traditional bubbles and dissolved gas. Worker safety is greatly improved as the ozone does not outgas to the environment, but rather, reverts back to oxygen while in the solution. This keeps more ozone in aqueous form and out of the worker environment with additional benefit of greatly enhancing total system efficiency. The technology developed by En Solución also has implications on water management, as the method reduces the amount of fresh makeup water required in washing and facilitates downstream reuses of the water since ozone does not result in any harmful byproducts. During the Phase I project, En Solución developed and validated its technology for application in postharvest washing in consultation with experts in food safety, nanotechnology, applied science, agricultural workplace, health and safety, and sustainable agriculture practices. In Phase II, En Solución will undertake rigorous field testing of its technology in a series of pilot studies conducted at four separate laboratory and commercial fresh-cut vegetable processing facilities. By design, these studies will increase in complexity and operational fidelity to culminate in the installation of En Solución technology at a large commercial operation with product bound for consumers. These real-world demonstrations will provide external validation of En Solución’s technology as a microbial solution and determine the degree to which the technology presents an improvement over existing sanitizers in terms of safety to workers and the environment, cost, impact on the product, and consumer acceptability.Project Narrative. Existing postharvest wash processes for fresh produce provide less than 100% efficacy in eliminating pathogens that result in foodborne illnesses and are generally acknowledged to have negative environmental and worker safety impacts. En Solución’s novel method of automated ozone nanobubble generation provides a chemical-free postharvest sanitizing method that increases efficacy in pathogen reduction while addressing shortcomings of the current methods.

SBIR

Phase II

2020

HHS

FDA

Ozone-Nanobubble-Enhanced Washing for Produce Longevity and Safety

Amount: $650,000 Topic: 8.5

As demand for fresh produce continues to grow so do impacts to consumers from foodborneillnesses and disease outbreaks and to growers from product loss due to decay pathogens.Postharvest wash is a critical control point in fresh produce processing for reducing or eliminatingpathogens and other field-acquired contaminants that can result in such outbreaks and losses.Current methods of postharvest washing provide less than 100% efficacy and are generallyacknowledged to have negative environmental and worker safety impacts. En Soluci³n hasdeveloped a novel intervention which utilizes nano-sized bubbles of gases at the point ofpostharvest wash. Aqueous nanobubble mixtures are shown to have novel surface cleaningcapabilities due to the high surface area-to-volume ratio of the gas bubbles contained in solution.Unlike traditional macro-sized bubbles the nanobubbles have the remarkable ability to remainstable in high concentrations for months at a time. During the Phase I project En Soluci³n fullyvalidated the effectiveness of its nanobubble technology as a pathogen neutralizer in postharvestprocessing by conducting pathogen inactivation studies on produce surfaces and in wash water andby demonstrating the ability of nanobubble wash water to affect pathogen shedding into the washwater. In Phase II En Soluci³n will move forward with field testing of its technology to integratethe technology in a pilot program for year-round apple processing demonstrating improvementsover existing methodologies in terms of pathogen control worker and environmental safety costimpact on the product and consumer acceptability.

SBIR

Phase II

2020

USDA

Improved Pathogen Neutralization Through Nanobubbles

Amount: $100,000 Topic: 8.5

As consumer demand for fresh produce continues to grow so do concerns about foodborneillnesses and disease outbreaks. Postharvest wash is a critical control point in fresh produceprocessing for reducing or eliminating pathogens and other field-acquired contaminants thatcan result in such outbreaks. Current methods of postharvest washing provide less than 100%efficacy in removing pathogens and are generally acknowledged to have negativeenvironmental and worker safety impacts. En Soluci³n is developing a novel intervention whichutilizes nano-sized bubbles of gases at the point of postharvest wash. Aqueous nanobubblemixtures have been shown to have novel surface cleaning capabilities due to the high surfacearea-to-volume ratio of the gas bubbles contained in solution. Unlike traditional macro-sizedbubbles the nanobubbles have the remarkable ability to remain stable in high concentrationsfor months at a time. During the Phase I project En Soluci³n will fully validate the effectivenessof its nanobubble technology as a pathogen neutralizer in postharvest processing by conductingpathogen inactivation studies on produce surfaces and in wash water and by demonstrating theability of nanobubble wash water to affect pathogen shedding into the wash water. In Phase IIEn Soluci³n will move forward with field testing of its technology to integrate the technology ina pilot program demonstrating improvements over existing methodologies in terms ofpathogen control worker and environmental safety cost impact on the product and consumeracceptability.

SBIR

Phase I

2019

USDA

IMPROVEMENT TO OZONATING WATER FOR POST-HARVEST WASHING THROUGH NANOBUBBLES

Amount: $150,000 Topic: FDA

AbstractAs consumer demand for fresh produce continues to growso do concerns by the Food and Drug AdministrationFDAabout foodborne illnesses and foodborne disease outbreaksPostharvest wash is a critical control point in fresh produce processing for reducing or eliminating pathogens and other field acquired contaminants that can result in such outbreaksCurrent methods of post harvest washing typically rely on chlorine based sanitizerswhich provide less thanefficacy in removing pathogens and are generally acknowledged to have negative environmental and worker safety impactsDue to such concernscertain European countries have banned the use of chlorine as a sanitizing technique for fresh produceOne alternative sanitizing agent being adopted with greater frequency is ozone gasOzonein both its gaseous and aqueous phasesis generally recognized as safe by the FDA and has been shown to effectively reduce microbial contamination and pesticide residuehoweverworker safety and environmental concerns still exist when ozone is not properly managedAdditionallyozone s poor solubility and the high cost of ozone generators have contributed to its limited adoption by the agriculture industryEn Soluci n is developing a novel method which utilizes unique cavitation nozzles and air to generate nano sized bubbles of ozone gas at the point of postharvest washUnlike traditional macro sized bubbles from existing technologiesthe nanobubbles produced by the En Soluci n methodology have the remarkable ability to remain stable in high concentrations for months at a timeWorker safety is greatly improved as the ozone does not outgas to the environmentbut ratherreverts back to oxygen while in the solutionThis keeps more ozone in aqueous form and out of the worker environment than traditional generation methodsgreatly enhancing system efficiencyThe technology developed by En Soluci n also has implications on power and water managementas the automated method reduces the amount of water required in washing and facilitates the reuse of waterDuring the Phase I projectEn Soluci n will fully validate and further develop its technology for application in postharvest washing in consultation with a pilot farm partner and with experts in food safetynanotechnologyapplied scienceagricultural workplacehealth and safety and sustainable agriculture practicesIn Phase IIEn Soluci n will move forward with field testing of its technology to determine the degree to which the technology presents an improvement over existing sanitizers in terms of safety to workers and the environmentcostimpact on the productand consumer acceptability Project NarrativeExisting postharvest wash processes for fresh produce provide less thanefficacy in eliminating pathogens and pesticide residues that result in foodborne illnesses and are generally acknowledged to have negative environmental and worker safety impactsEn Soluci n s novel method of automated ozone nanobubble generation provides a chemical free postharvest sanitizing method that increases efficacy in pathogen and pesticide residue reduction while addressing shortcomings of the current methods

SBIR

Phase I

2018

HHS

FDA