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Spinoff story
Organic Compound Turns Toxic Waste into Harmless Byproducts
A real-world story of NASA technology finding a life beyond the mission.
About this technology
Overview
A team of university researchers discovered that a particular metabolite neutralizes hydrazine, a hazardous chemical often used as rocket propellant. Extensive NASA testing, mostly by Kennedy Space Center, proved the safety of using alpha-ketoglutaric acid to neutralize hydrazine, and after Kennedy developed procedures for doing so, the university licensed the resulting product to let Marietta, Georgia-based Hydrazine Neutralizing Solutions Inc. market it as ZeenKleen. Customers for the product line include nuclear power plants and, potentially, the plastic and pharmaceutical industries.