Livestock Water Recycling

Livestock Water Recycling (LWR) is a Canadian cleantech firm that provides manure treatment solutions to the agricultural sector. The company originated from a business that designed and manufactured systems for treating hydrocarbon-contaminated groundwater. In 2003, the founders identified the dairy and hog industries as a significantly underserved market for water treatment technology. This led to the development of a prototype by 2007 and the first commercial systems by 2010. Founded by Ross Thurston and Karen Schuett, the Calgary-based company leverages their extensive experience in environmental remediation and water treatment. Schuett, the CEO, and Thurston, the Chief Development Officer, have a background of over 25 years in the design and installation of remediation systems across North America.

LWR's business model centers on selling its patented manure treatment systems directly to medium- to large-scale livestock operations, including dairy, hog, and anaerobic digester facilities. Revenue is generated through equipment sales, installation, maintenance, and a subscription-based analytics program. The company is also exploring new revenue streams by enabling farmers to participate in digital marketplaces for fertilizer sales, nutrient trading, and carbon credits. With systems installed across the United States and Canada, LWR is expanding internationally into markets like Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

The company offers two primary products: the PLANT system and the First Wave system. The PLANT system is a comprehensive solution that uses patented mechanical and chemical processes to treat manure, separating it into three valuable components: clean, potable water; a liquid nutrient concentrate of ammonium and potassium; and dry solids rich in phosphorus and organic nitrogen. This process can recover up to 75% of the water from manure, which can then be reused for barn flushing, irrigation, or even as drinking water for livestock. The First Wave system offers a simpler, automated solution focused on segregating solids from liquid nutrients, reducing lagoon solids and odors while creating a valuable solid fertilizer. Both systems aim to reduce manure volume, cut transportation costs, minimize environmental impact, and provide farmers with new revenue opportunities from the sale of segregated fertilizers and biogas feedstock. Keywords: manure treatment, water recycling, nutrient recovery, agricultural technology, cleantech, fertilizer production, biogas feedstock, sustainable agriculture, water management, circular economy