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US 10,377,649 B2Granted
Methods of treatment of ground water
OwnerG. Robert Whitemaninventor
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Abstract
The present invention relates to apparatus, methods, and applications for treating wastewater, and more particularly to biological processes for removing pollutants from wastewater. This invention further relates to apparatus and methods for growing microbes on-site at a wastewater treatment facility, and for economically inoculating sufficient microbes to solve various treatment problems rapidly.
Claims13
A method of removing a pollutant from ground water, the method comprising:
- a) providing an on-site system for growing of microbes at a location of a contaminated ground water, wherein the contaminated ground water contains a pollutant;
- b) depositing inoculum, nutrient, and water into the on-site system, wherein the inoculum comprises microbes selected to degrade the pollutant;
- wherein the microbes in the inoculum are not freeze-dried, thereby defining a concentration of microbes in the inoculum;
- and,
- c) growing the inoculum in the on-site system to provide a treatment batch comprising an increased number of the microbes, the growing comprising heating and mixing the inoculum in the on-site system;
- whereby the treatment batch has a concentration of microbes that is at least 100 times larger than the concentration of microbes in the inoculum;
- and, directly applying at least a portion of the treatment batch to the contaminated ground water;
- thereby degrading the pollutant.
5 more elements
A method of removing a pollutant from ground water, the method comprising:
- a) providing an on-site system for growing of microbes at a location of a contaminated ground water, wherein the contaminated ground water comprises a pollutant and indigenous microbes;
- b) depositing inoculum, nutrient, and water into the on-site system, wherein the inoculum comprises microbes selected to degrade the pollutant;
- wherein the microbes in the inoculum comprise the indigenous microbes;
- thereby defining a concentration of indigenous microbes in the inoculum;
- and,
- c) growing the inoculum in the on-site system to provide a treatment batch comprising an increased number of the indigenous microbes, the growing comprising heating and mixing the inoculum in the on-site system;
- whereby the treatment batch has a concentration of indigenous microbes that is at least 100 times larger than the concentration of indigenous microbes in the inoculum;
- and, directly applying at least a portion of the treatment batch to the contaminated ground water;
- thereby degrading the pollutant.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.