Hydraulic and earth engineering – Soil remediation – In situ contaminant removal or stabilization
Reexamination Certificate
2002-03-14
2004-05-11
Brittain, James R. (Department: 3677)
Hydraulic and earth engineering
Soil remediation
In situ contaminant removal or stabilization
C405S128500, C405S128750, C175S070000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06733207
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates generally to soil and groundwater remediation systems and, more particularly, to an injection system especially useful for insitu treatment of contaminated soil and groundwater.
BACKGROUND ART
As a general rule, remediation technologies may be divided into two major categories comprising of exsitu treatments and insitu treatments. Fundamentally, treatment of waste and contaminated soils and groundwater in an exsitu environment requires the removal of the constituent and the soil and groundwater to a treatment area for the deployment of a technology. This is inherently costly because of the handling and operational costs associated with treatment.
Moreover, there are many technical challenges associated with the existu treatment of contaminated media in areas where contamination is encountered below foundations, roadways, along pipelines and other limited access locations. Combining these challenges with the need to remediate the contaminated area while maintaining production or business operations and the problems associated with existu treatment become significant. Thus, physical removal of contaminated media may be uneconomical and require costly and detrimental closing of business operations in the affected regions. Moreover, removal of the contaminated soils from the site may become financially prohibitive even though damage to the business operations may only be minimal.
Insitu treatment, by contrast, provides for the application of a treatment technology addressing the contaminate in place. Consequently, there is an inherent cost savings to all insitu treatment technologies. Insitu treatment is generally always preferred to a removal and disposal or replacement approach.
Previous attempts to solve some of the aforementioned problems include the following patent:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,868,523, issued Feb. 9, 1999, to Nickell et al., discloses a remediation injection system for insitu remediation of contaminated soil and ground water capable of progressive penetration both vertically and horizontally in contaminated soil and ground water having a soil penetrating lance for injecting air and oxygen and liquid with suspended biologicals into the contaminated soil as the soil penetrating lance is inserted for penetration in the soil, an air compressor for compressing air and delivering the air under pressure to the soil penetrating lance on one end, a liquid pump for pressurizing the liquid and suspended biologicals and delivering the liquid and suspended biologicals under pressure to the soil penetrating lance on one end, a gas connector control for connecting the gas compressor to the lance and for controlling the compressed gas flow, and a liquid connector means for connecting the liquid pump to the lance and controlling the pressurized liquids; and the method of developing a treatment grid both as to the depth of treatment and as to spacing of penetration holes in said contaminated soil, activating a compressed gas source for injection, and activating a pressured water source for injection, driving the soil penetrating lance into the contaminated soil, stopping said lance penetration at levels of penetration for time sufficient to treat the soil, and driving the soil penetrating lance into said contaminated soil to the next stop for treatment until the whole insitu remediation site has been treated.
The present inventors believe the above-described system has many significant problems, shortcomings, and limitations, the solutions to which are discussed hereinafter.
Consequently, there remains a need to provide an improved insitu injection system to treat contaminated media. Those of skill in the art will appreciate the present invention which addresses the above problems, and other significant problems uncovered by the inventors the solutions to which are discussed hereinafter.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide an improved system and method for treating contaminated media.
An objective of one preferred embodiment of the present invention is to provide an improved injection system with sufficient mechanical integrity to reliably operate at depths up to at least about fifty feet.
An objective of another embodiment of the present invention is to provide means for an operator on the surface to determine and/or remotely control or monitor the progress of treatment below the surface of the media.
An objective of a particular embodiment of the present invention is to provide a system that permits a reaction of chemicals at a downhole location just prior to injection into the media to provide maximum cleaning efficiency.
These and other objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the drawings, the descriptions given herein, and the appended claims. However, it will be understood that the above-listed objectives of the invention are intended only as an aid in understanding aspects of the invention, and are not intended to limit the invention in any way, and therefore do not form a comprehensive or restrictive list of objectives, and/or features, and/or advantages of the invention.
Accordingly, the present invention provides an injection system for insitu remediation of a contaminated media. The injection system may comprise one or more elements such as, for instance, an injection nozzle for penetrating the contaminated media and dispensing one or more fluids into the contaminated media. Fluids as used herein may include liquids, gases, liquid/gas mixtures, vapors, and/or any flowable medium. The injection nozzle may comprise a nozzle outer sleeve, a plurality of tubulars mounted within the nozzle outer sleeve wherein the plurality of tubulars define a plurality of separate fluid pathways within the nozzle outer sleeve and such that the plurality tubulars may be adjacent each other and may be substantially parallel with respect to each other within the nozzle outer sleeve. Each of the plurality of tubulars may be operable for receiving at least one of the one or more fluids. At least one injector outlet is operable for dispensing the one or more fluids into the contaminated media. The plurality of fluid pathways may be sealed with respect to each and may be interconnected before the injector outlet to provide communication with each other for mixing of the one or more fluids or may not be interconnected within the nozzle to provide mixing of the fluids only after injection into the media.
Thus, the invention may comprise a mixing chamber mounted adjacent to at least one outlet such that the plurality of fluid pathways are in fluid communication with the mixing chamber. The mixing chamber may be operable for mixing one or more fluids prior to dispensing the fluids from the nozzle. The system may further comprise a first pump for pumping a first fluid such that the first pump may be connected to a first of the plurality of tubulars, and a second pump for pumping a second fluid. The second pump may be connected to a second of the plurality of tubulars. The first of the plurality of tubulars and the second of the plurality of tubulars may be operable for keeping the first fluid and the second fluid separate from each other until the first fluid and the second fluid are mixed in the mixing chamber.
In an alternative embodiment, the plurality of fluid pathways are sealed with respect to each other throughout the injection nozzle such that the one or more fluids are mixed after injection into the media adjacent the injector outlet.
Other elements may comprise a connector mechanically interconnecting with and mechanically supporting the plurality of tubulars and the nozzle outer sleeve and/or an injection tip defining therein the injector outlet whereby the connector mechanically interconnects with the injection tip.
In a presently preferred embodiment, the nozzle outer sleeve may define therein a volume which may have no fluid connection to the one or more fluid pumps such that the nozzle outer sleeve remains unpressurized or, more precisely, rema
Liebert, Jr. Thomas R.
Penza Christopher J.
Brittain James R.
Mitchell Katherine
Nash Kenneth L.
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