Drying · Milling · Separation · Fractionation
This is the technical reference behind Can We Work With Your Material? — the full list of input streams, the tier each one sits in, and the reasoning behind every rating.
Shockwave’s process combines drying and milling to unlock separations — fiber, fat, mineral, protein, carbohydrate, ash — that neither action can achieve alone. That capability opens the door to a wide range of waste streams, but not every material behaves the same way once it enters the system.
This guide reflects our current, validated understanding of input performance, organized into three categories: materials we run with confidence, materials that need trial work before scale-up, and materials that don’t yet work with the system. It’s meant to give you an honest, upfront answer — not a sales pitch — so you know exactly where your material stands before you commit time or volume.
Materials we run with confidence
These materials dry and mill predictably, homogenize well, and move through the system consistently. They represent validated, production-ready inputs that can be processed with confidence.
- Distillers Grains / Brewers Spent Grain
- Digestate
- Citrus Pulp & Peel
- Mushrooms
- Sprouted/fermented grains and plant products
- Eggshell & Hard-Cooked Egg
- High-Recycle Algae
- Glass
- Steel Slag
- Biochar (dried & milled)
- Compost with Foreign Matter
- Quartz (for gold extraction) → Frac Sand
- Food Waste
- Hemp Products
- Corn Fractionation Streams
- Hatchery Waste
Materials we are actively refining
These materials can be processed, but they require closer collaboration and hands-on trial work to confirm your specific application and goals can be achieved at scale. Success depends on dry-matter blending, moisture balance, and application-specific optimization.
- Stillage
- Yeast
- Seaweed / Kelp / Sargassum
- Algae
- Class B Biosolids / Sludge
- Blood
- Feather Meal
- Hemp Bast & Hurd
- Sawmill Shavings
- Orchard Waste
- Almonds, Peanuts, Pistachios, and other nut residuals
Inputs we currently steer away from
These inputs are not suitable for the system in their standard form. High-moisture, high-dissolved-solids streams and syrup-type materials present fundamental processing challenges that blending alone cannot resolve.
- Syrups (any variety) — crystallize and coat equipment; behave like hardened candy once dried
- Wet-mill sump sludge (no fiber) — high dissolved solids with no dry matter to homogenize against
- Inputs above ~80% moisture whose solids are mostly dissolved (e.g., syrups, fiber-free sludges) — can’t be homogenized with dry matter and won’t run
Separation capabilities enabled
The combination of drying and milling lets us fractionate these materials into fiber, fat, mineral, protein, carbohydrate, and ash streams — separations that typically can’t happen through either process alone.
Key insight — Compost with foreign matter
Drying and milling reduce particle size to the point that materials like bones and quills become unrecognizable, making otherwise-rejected compost streams processable.
Processing note — Algae & Class B sludge
These inputs need additional time to establish the correct dry-matter blend to maximize throughput. This isn’t a disqualifying factor — it simply requires a structured trial process before scale-up.
Not sure which tier your material falls into?
What “conditional” means in practice
- Specific application goals must be defined before trialing
- Dry-matter blending ratios must be tested and validated
- Scale-up is only recommended after successful bench or pilot runs
- Close collaboration with our team is required throughout
The core rule
Inputs above ~80% moisture whose solids are mostly dissolved (e.g., syrups, fiber-free sludges) can’t be homogenized with dry matter and won’t run.
Not Sure Which Category Your Material Falls Into?
This guide reflects current system capabilities and known input performance — it will keep evolving as we run new trials. If your material is yellow, or if you don’t see it listed at all, the right next step is a conversation, not a guess. Yellow-category materials should be discussed with our team before committing to volume.
Contact Us to Schedule a Product Trial or Feasibility Review →