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OwnerStephen A. Boydinventor
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A method of removing hydrocarbon contaminants from air and a method of removing nonionic organic contaminants, particularly petroleum-derived aromatic contaminants that have a limited capacity to ionize in aqueous solution at substantially neutral pH, from water, by contacting the contaminants in the air or water with an organophilic clay that has been prepared by ion-exchange of an ion-exchangeable clay with a tetra short chain alkyl (C.sub.1 -C.sub.4) quaternary ammonium ion for use in removing air-laden contaminants; or a di- or tri- short chain alkyl (C.sub.1 -C.sub.4), with one or two mono- substituted or unsubstituted cycloalkyl moieties, or one or two mono-substituted or unsubstituted aryl or one or two alkaryl moiety quaternary ammonium ion for removing air and water-laden contaminants. The method is particularly adapted for removal of aromatic petroleum-based contaminants from water, such as benzene, toluene, xylene (o, m and p) ethylbenzene and naphthalene, and other water-contained petroleum constituents or derivatives that have a pKa in aqueous solution of at least about 10.
A method of preventing organic hydrocarbon contaminants from reaching ground water supplies by disposing a quaternary ammonium ion-exchanged clay within or on the soil to prevent the penetration of petroleum-based contaminants through the clay, the ion-exchanged clay including a quaternary ammonium ion-exchanged cation of the formula ##STR12## wherein R is a radical selected from the group consisting of C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 ;
The method of claim wherein the cation is trimethylphenyl ammonium.
A method of preventing an organic compound from reaching ground water supplies, wherein the organic compound is selected from the group consisting of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, butylbenzene, naphthalene, and mixtures thereof, comprising disposing a quaternary ammonium ion-exchanged clay within or on the soil to prevent the penetration of the organic compound from reaching ground water supplies, said ion-exchanged clay selected from the group consisting of a trimethylphenylammonium ion-exchanged smectite clay, a tetramethylammonium ion-exchanged smectite clay, and mixtures thereof.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.