Conversion of hydrocarbon-contaminated particulate soil and/or rock to fertile soil useful in erosion control
OwnerJonathan B. Scott, Billy R. Scott +1inventors
InventorsJonathan B. Scott, Billy R. Scott, Lloyd E. Deuel JR.
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A mixture of hydrocarbons with particulate rock and/or soil that is incapable of sustaining growth of erosion retarding plants can be converted to soil that is capable of sustaining such plant growth by blending the mixture with particulate biomass, and/or with particulate carbonates, hydroxides, and/or oxides of calcium and/or magnesium to produce a compostable aggregate and then exposing suitable piles of the compostable aggregate to the natural atmosphere for a sufficient time to cause the conversion of the aggregate to fertile soil.
Claims11
A process for converting an infertile mixture of hydrocarbons with particulate soil, rock, or both rock and soil, said infertile mixture being free of plant growth-inhibiting concentrations of water soluble salts, to soil capable of sustaining growth of plant species that reduce the tendency of soil in which they grow to undergo erosion by movement of a fluid over the surface of the soil, said process comprising operations of:
- (I) blending said infertile mixture with at least one of:
- particulate biomass and
- particulate material selected from the group consisting of the oxides, hydroxides, and carbonates of calcium and magnesium and mixtures of any two or more thereof
- to generate a compostable aggregate in which the ratio by mass of organically bonded carbon to organically bonded nitrogen in the compostable mixture is not more than 500:1.00 and the ratio by mass of total organic chemical substances to total inorganic chemical substances exclusive of water in the compostable aggregate is at least 0.10:1.00;
- (II) forming from said compostable aggregate and, optionally, additional water, at least one pile of the compostable aggregate that is supported by a base and has an exterior surface in contact with the natural atmosphere;
- and
- (III) aging the pile or piles forming in operation (II) as recited above in contact with the natural atmosphere until the ratio by weight of organically bonded carbon to organically bonded nitrogen within the pile is not greater than 20:1.0,
- whereby the aged pile or piles become said soil capable of sustaining growth of plant species that reduce the tendency of soil in which they grow to undergo erosion by movement of a fluid over the surface of the soil.
A process for reducing the Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons content of an initial mixture containing both Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons and at least one of artificially generated rock cuttings and naturally weathered soil, said process comprising operations of:
- (I) mixing said initial mixture with at least one material selected from the group consisting of the oxides, hydroxides, and carbonates of calcium and magnesium and mixtures of any two or more thereof to form a secondary mixture;
- and
- (II) maintaining said secondary mixture at a temperature at least as great as normal human comfort temperature for a period of time not greater than 120 days to form a remediated mixture, whereby the Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons content of said remediated mixture is less than the Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons content of said secondary mixture from which it was prepared.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.