Extraction of pollutants from underground water
AssigneeCerestar Holding B.V.
InventorsMark Brusseau, Thomas Boving, William Blanford, Eric Klingel, John McCray, Xiaojiang Wang
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Pollutants are extracted from sub-surface water using an aqueous solution of cyclodextrin and a vertical circulating well. Complexes of the pollutant and cyclodextrin are recovered from the bottom of the well. When the pollutant is volatile, the complexes are separated into pollutant and cyclodextrin by air stripping.
Claims13
A process for extraction of pollutants from sub-surface water comprising:
- (a) introducing an aqueous cyclodextrin solution into a sub-surface area containing water with pollutants;
- (b) allowing said aqueous cyclodextrin solution to flow downward through said sub-surface area to form complexes with said pollutants;
- and
- (c) recovering water with said complexes from below where said aqueous solution was introduced into said sub-surface area.
In a process for extracting pollutants from sub-surface water using a vertical circulating well, the improvement comprising:
- adding cyclodectrin to water introduced into the well through a diffuser ring so as to recover complexes of cyclodextrin and pollutants from said well at a point below said diffuser ring.
A process for extraction of trichloroethene from an aquifer comprising:
- (a) forming a vertical circulating well in a sub-surface area polluted with trichloroethene;
- (b) introducing an aqueous hydroxypropylated beta-cyclodextrin solution into said sub-surface area with a diffuser ring of said well;
- (c) allowing said solution to flow downward through said sub-surface area to form complexes between said cyclodectrin and said trichloroethene;
- (d) recovering water at the bottom of said well with said complexes therein;
- (e) separating said complex by air stripping into cyclodextrin and trichloroethene;
- and
- (f) recycling cyclodextrin after separation from the complex back to step (b).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.