The Aclarus Ozone Story
Aclarus Ozone is a global leader in solving complex water treatment challenges with its proprietary ozone technology. Their specialized ozone experience includes more than 1,000 turnkey installations worldwide from industrial to food & beverage to municipal.
Aclarus systems are designed and engineered for a comprehensive range of applications including drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, groundwater, reuse water, process water and CIP sanitation. Every N.A. built Aclarus system is backed by robust research, testing and responsive customer service.
How a Love of Fishing was the Catalyst for Aclarus
As a young man, Mike Doran decided his life’s work was to find a cure for cancer. And so he began his university studies in biochemistry, destined for a career in cancer research. However, he soon discovered that working in a laboratory was not for him.
An avid outdoorsman with a love for fishing, he was fascinated by how vitally important clean water was to fish and marine life, not to mention human health. So, he switched his major and graduated with a degree in Marine and Freshwater Biology at the University of Guelph.
“My education at Guelph was life-changing,” says Mike, co-founder and president of Aclarus Ozone. “To this day, I recall obscure facts, such as every drop of water in the human body -- which is up to 60% water – is replaced every 16 days. I also learned that there was no shortage of global water, but that human-made contaminants were largely responsible for restricting the global supply of safe clean drinking water and contributing to diseases like cancer.”
It was during these formative years that Mike decided that the most impactful thing he could do in his lifetime was to improve the quality of the world’s water. And, he realized very early on that new and improved environmentally responsible water treatment technologies would be the best way to remove the toxic carcinogens and pathogens that were contaminating and reducing the world’s water supply.
After earning his Marine Biology degree, Mike attended Lethbridge College and gained some practical experience in a co-op placement with the Alberta Conservation Association, which was conducting a fisheries inventory program to study the decline of watersheds in the areas of Slave Lake and Peace River.
During his research, he got the opportunity to talk to many of the long-time residents who recalled the days when the rivers and lakes were teeming with fish. However, over time, these areas had experienced the detrimental effects of various industries and infrastructure releasing contaminants into the waterways.
“That’s when I realized that any water treatment solution must consider the economic and employment needs of the community, while also protecting the environment.”
Water ecosystems are very sensitive, and studies have shown that even small changes can have profound impacts. For example, in 2010, researchers at the University of Calgary analyzed water in the Red Deer and Oldman rivers south of Calgary to study the effects of some two dozen contaminants on a common minnow. Some of the compounds they discovered in the water included synthetic estrogens, which are present in birth control pills and hormone therapy drugs.
In almost every minnow population the researchers studied, the male minnows had elevated levels of a protein normally only found in females producing eggs. This abnormality has ultimately resulted in more female fish and fewer male fish being produced than would occur naturally. How do these biology-altering contaminants get into Alberta waterways?
“Farmers and the food industry, for example, commonly use antibiotics to promote growth and prevent disease in livestock,” he says. “These antibiotics, as well as fertilizers and other contaminants, are contained in agricultural run-off that can end up in our waterways. If this run-off is not properly treated, the contaminants can affect fish and marine life and cause serious infections in humans.”
Tough day at the office! Mike Doran on the job researching the decline of watersheds and fish inventory with the Alberta Conservation Association.
A Better Treatment
Traditionally, a combination of chlorine and sulphur dioxide has been used to treat wastewater, but this treatment has serious environmental drawbacks: it strips oxygen out of the water and leaves behind chemical residue – all of which is detrimental to fish and other marine life.
Mike discovered a better treatment solution. In 2002, while working as a fisheries biologist, he was introduced to ozone, the earth’s natural and renewable process for purifying air and water. Ozone has been safely used as an effective water treatment for more than 100 years, especially in Europe.
He was excited to learn about the many benefits of ozone water treatment technology.
“It is environmentally friendly, and it removes colour, taste, odour, pathogens and other contaminants without the use of chemicals,” he says. “Ozone also increases the dissolved oxygen content in effluent water which is released back into rivers and lakes, which greatly benefits fish and marine life.”
Armed with this knowledge, Mike began the work of establishing a company to develop ozone technology and to assist various industries with their water treatment needs. His approach to protecting the environment is twofold: first, using ozone to prevent toxic chemicals from getting into our drinking water; and second, using ozone to prevent toxic chemicals from being released into the environment via wastewater.
Mike teamed with his cousin Adam Doran and the two of them found partners for the venture that led to the launch of Aclarus Ozone in 2011. Since then, the Peterborough, Ontario-based company has installed more than 1,000 ozone systems across Canada and around the world. Clients include public and government parks, First Nation communities, small municipalities, condominiums, food production and packaging companies, agriculture/livestock businesses, bottled water companies and more.
As Aclarus continues to grow, it’s not lost on Mike how his life’s work dovetails with his initial career goal to help cure cancer.
“Aclarus’ environmentally friendly ozone technology is now treating hundreds of millions of gallons of water a year, without harmful chemicals,” he says. “That means we are providing more and more people with safe drinking water that’s free of carcinogens and pathogens and has no ill effects on their health. There is no more powerful reward than that.”
Aclarus - (clārus/clāra)
meaning to be clean and clear
Aclarus Name and Logo
Aclarus is a hybrid word with Latin origins (clārus/clāra) meaning to be clean and clear which perfectly aligns with the vision and goals of our company for better treatment of both the water and our clients.
Our company "waterfall" logo represents our technology: three streams matching the three atoms of ozone and high-flow, all-natural treatment.
