When you think of cutting-edge water technology, a pig farm might not be the first place that comes to mind.
But for REaKTOR portfolio company Pancopia, swine farms are exactly where the company’s space-tested innovation is proving its worth.
In partnership with researchers from Virginia Tech’s Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Pancopia has shown that wastewater recycled from a manure lagoon can safely replace well water for pigs without harming growth or health. The findings were recently published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Research under the title “Growth performance, hematology, and blood chemistry in weanling pigs consuming water recycled from a manure lagoon and then treated with a water and nitrogen management system.”
Pancopia’s Water and Nitrogen Management System didn’t start on the farm; it first began with NASA and the International Space Station. Originally designed to provide astronauts much-needed drinking water aboard spacecraft, Pancopia’s system uses a two-stage biological process to remove nitrogen and other impurities from wastewater.
For this project, Pancopia and Virginia Tech researchers adapted the same process to treat water from a swine waste lagoon, one of agriculture’s toughest wastewater challenges.
The results? Pigs that drank the treated water not only stayed healthy, but in the first week after weaning, they actually grew faster and used feed more efficiently than those drinking regular well water. While blood tests showed signs of elevated nitrate exposure, levels stayed well within safe ranges and had no effect on overall wellbeing.
The study found no negative effects on growth, feed intake, or health, even with pigs drinking 100% recycled and treated water.
The implications go far beyond one barn in Suffolk, Virginia. Swine farms in the U.S. use over 40 billion gallons of water each year, much of it for cleaning, cooling, and drinking. As access to clean water becomes more constrained, technologies like Pancopia’s wastewater treatment system could recycle water directly on-farm; improving sustainability, increasing profits, and dramatically reducing freshwater demand.
That “closed-loop” vision is becoming a defining trait of Hampton Roads innovation.
Pancopia’s work, supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, shows how local research partnerships can yield breakthroughs that serve both global sustainability goals and practical, regional industries like Virginia agriculture.
The company plans to extend their studies to longer-term trials and different stages of swine production to further validate the safety and efficiency of treated wastewater use. If successful, Pancopia’s system could redefine how farms think about water.
About Pancopia
Based in the REaKTOR Innovation Technology Center, located in Hampton, Virginia, Pancopia develops high-efficiency water recycling systems inspired by spaceflight technology. The company’s innovations are helping make life sustainable, whether in orbit or on Earth.
Visit https://www.pancopia.com to learn more.
