The technology was originally developed to address combined sewer overflows for municipal sewerage districts. It can be applied across a range of applications from municipal to industrial to emergency situations.
Rapid Radicals is breaking the mold of traditional wastewater treatment
Mission: We keep waterways clean and polluted water away from people by designing and implementing novel wastewater treatment technologies for healthier and more resilient communities.
Vision: In pursuit of a world where wastewater problems are enthusiastically met with the solutions of tomorrow.
How Did Rapid Radicals Begin?
2014
Research begins at Marquette University with support from the NSF Water and Equipment Policy IUCRC
2016
Rapid Radicals is founded by Dr. Paige Peters and proof of concept is achieved
2018
NSF STTR Phase I grant supports a pilot in partnership with the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD)
2020
NSF SBIR Phase II grant ($1M) supports scaling of the technology and a second pilot with MMSD
2022
Successful pilot outcomes in Milwaukee lead to additional pilots in the U.S. and abroad
2024
Opportunities expand into industrial markets and additional IP is pursued to advance the technology
How Far Along Is The Development Of This Wastewater Treatment Technology?
Rapid Radicals is currently piloting the technology in a municipal setting to provide high-rate treatment during storm events. This is the fourth scale of piloting, at a fourth order of magnitude, ultimately validating the kinetic factors for full-scale development and demonstrating commercially viable levels of treatment. The technology, however, is capable of performing in applications ranging from normal municipal operations, industrial settings, and in disaster relief scenarios. Rapid Radicals realizes the detrimental impact untreated discharges can have on water infrastructure throughout the world and works to customize solutions that address such universal problems.
What Was The Inspiration Behind Rapid Radicals?
In July 2010, 500-year storms hit Milwaukee, Wisconsin hard and had a detrimental impact on many community members throughout the region including the Marquette University Water Quality Center’s Director, Dr. Daniel Zitomer. After experiencing a basement backup firsthand, he decided to take action towards the prevention of high-level wastewater infrastructure failure during large storm events. With nearly 25 years of consulting and research experience in wastewater treatment, Dr. Zitomer was confident he had the experience and resources available to tackle this problem faced by communities in over 700 cities around the United States.
How Did Rapid Radicals Begin?
The project began as an accepted proposal with the National Science Foundation Water and Equipment Policy Industry-University Cooperative Research Center (NSF WEP IUCRC) in October 2014. Funding was renewed for a second year in 2016 given the success of the research. Through this organization, Rapid Radicals Founder and CTO, Paige Peters, had the opportunity to collaborate with numerous industry partners such as the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD), Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, City of Fond du Lac Wastewater Utility, and NEWwater Green Bay. These industry partners continue their support of the project to offer valuable input during pilot-scale development.
Check out our Imagine H2O Startup Spotlight video for an overview of the technology and a quick tour of our pilot site at Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District’s South Shore Water Reclamation Facility in Oak Creek, WI.
To learn more about Rapid Radicals and our team, watch our pitch on the UW-Milwaukee Lubar Entrepreneurship Center’s Project Pitch It season six premiere! Project Pitch It provides entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their innovative ideas to a panel of leading business moguls who question, advise, and present weekly awards.
Rapid Radicals officially began in June 2016. However, the development of our high-rate wastewater treatment technology began 18 months before we opened our doors and the conceptualization had been in the works for years.