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OwnerRichard L. Sampson, Allison Hawkins Sampsoninventors
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Improvements on the electrolytic reactor and process of U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,816 and copending U.S. application Ser. No. 08/400,950, filed Mar. 9, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,742, are disclosed for the controlled oxidation and reduction of inorganic and organic species in dilute aqueous solutions. More specifically, other physical forms and additives for the modified ion exchange material can be used in the packed bed electrolytic reactor, including powdered ion exchange materials and solid membranes containing the modified ion exchange materials. Direct contact with only one electrode, the anode for oxidation, and the cathode for reduction, is required for the modified ion exchange resin, instead of with both electrodes. Superior performance is also demonstrated for bipolar operation of the electrolytic reactor in comparison to monopolar operation. Preferably, the polarity of the electrodes is reversed every 1 to 60 minutes. Finally, other point of use applications are disclosed for the electrolytic reactor and process, including sanitization and sterilization, such as useful in the medical, dental and veterinary industries, food and animal disinfection, bacteria control and waste treatment.
An electrolytic process for oxidizing a species in a dilute aqueous solution, comprising the steps of:
An electrolytic process for reducing a species in a dilute aqueous solution, comprising the steps of:
An ion exchange membrane having a portion of the total ion-exchange sites of said membrane converted to semiconductor junctions by permanently bonding counter ions to said ion exchange sites sufficient to cause formation of a free radical under the influence of direct electrical potential in an aqueous solution.
An electrolytic process for oxidizing a species in a dilute aqueous solution, comprising the steps of:
A method for on-site sterilization or waste treatment of an object to be sterilized having undesirable contaminants thereon by use of a treated dilute aqueous solution which comprises adding an inorganic or organic species to at least a portion of a dilute aqueous solution, contacting said at least a portion of said dilute aqueous solution containing said inorganic or organic species with a monobed of particulate modified ion exchange material interposed between an anode and a cathode of an electrolytic reactor in which a direct current is applied across the anode and cathode, for a time to cause free radical formation in said modified ion exchange material and oxidation or reduction of at least a portion of said inorganic or organic species to a reducing or oxidizing reagent by said modified ion exchange material, applying said treated aqueous solution to said object to be sterilized to reduce or oxidize the undesirable contaminants thereon by said reducing or oxidizing reagent.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.