Remediation of Sediments Containing Organic Contaminants

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are environmentally hazardous compounds that occur in soil and sediments due to past industrial activity. There have been several efforts to remediate PCB-contained sediments and most methods face a multitude of problems that includes logistics, costs, and disposal of residuals. The present invention relates to the removal of PCBs and other organic contaminants from underwater sediments and the detoxification of these sediments by in-situ degradation into environmentally and toxicologically harmless compounds. The technology presents the method and apparatus of treating the PCB containing sediment with ozone, which degrades the harmful contaminants to more chemically and biologically reactive and/or less harmful products.

Benefits
Few technically and economically viable technologies are available to effectively address PCB-contaminated sediments. Conventional technologies such as dredging followed by ex-situ sediment treatment are extremely expensive and have other associated risk factors. In-situ treatment holds several advantages.

Stage of Development
PCT patent application number WO03072506A3 titled �Remediation With Ozone of Sediments Containing Organic Contaminants� has been published by the World Intellectual Property Organization. This technology has been demonstrated to work in proof-of-concept experiments and includes a working prototype. It is available for licensing under either exclusive or non-exclusive terms.

Additional Info
*http://www.civil.utah.edu/~hong/

Inventor(s): P.K. Andrew Hong, Donald Hayes

Type of Offer: Licensing



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