University of Houston System

Inframat Corporation

Groundwater Services, Inc.

Dennis A Clifford

T Danny Xiao

Meidong Wang

John A Connor

Huimin Chen

Philip T King

Lee Aldridge

Xiaohua Lin

Stewart Lehman

Deborah J Roberts

Thomas Gillogly

A process is disclosed for the biological treatment under anaerobic/anoxic conditions for the degradation of pollutants present in brine solution used in waste water management, in industrial waste brine solutions and in waste oil field brine solutions, especially waste brine solutions contaminated with perchlorate and nitrate. A culture capable of reducing perchlorate and nitrate in spent ion-exchange regenerant brine containing at least 30 g/L NaCl under anaerobic/anoxic conditions was used to demonstrate the process. A stabilized brine solution is also disclosed in which a culture capable of degrading a given pollutant can be proliferate.

Method for stabilization of biological cultures to allow biological treatment of brines

Methods of making unique water treatment compositions are provided. In one embodiment, a method of making a doped metal oxide or hydroxide for treating water comprises: disposing a metal precursor solution and a dopant precursor solution in a reaction vessel comprising water to form a slurry; and precipitating the doped metal oxide or hydroxide from the slurry.

Methods of making water treatment compositions

A water treatment composition includes an oxidizing component and an adsorbing component, wherein one or both of the oxidizing component and adsorbing component comprise nanostructured materials. The water treatment compositions are useful in at least partially removing contaminants such as metallic or cationic arsenic, lead, chromium, and/or mercury from water.

Water treatment compositions and methods of making and using

A method is provided for reducing the concentration of radioactive materials or other trace contaminants in fluids withdrawn from subterranean reservoirs and also fluids in reservoirs. The method involves deposition of sorbent solids including, but not limited to, fine ion exchange resins, within the reservoir matrix surrounding a production well to act as an in-situ filter for dissolved radionuclides or other contaminants present in reservoir pore waters. For this purpose, the sorbent solid is either a) precipitated within the reservoir matrix by the reaction of ions or molecules of two or more carrier solutions or b) directly introduced into the reservoir as a solid component of a solid-liquid slurry using high-pressure injection techniques. Thereafter, fluids in the reservoir that contact the sorbent solid and fluids produced by the well contain significantly lower concentrations of contaminants which are by the sorbent solids by means of ion exchange, adsorption, chelation, chemisorption, or coprecipitation.

Methods for the removal of contaminants from subterranean fluids

A method is provided for reducing the radioactive material content of fluids withdrawn from subterranean reservoirs. The method involves deposition of sorbent solids within the reservoir matrix surrounding a production well to act as an in-situ filter for dissolved radionuclides present in reservoir pore waters. For this purpose, the sorbent solid is either a) precipitated within the reservoir matrix by the reaction of two or more carrier solutions or b) directly introduced into the reservoir as a solid component of a solid-liquid slurry using high-pressure injection techniques. Thereafter, fluids produced by the well contain significantly lower concentrations of radionuclides (e.g., principally radium and uranium ions), as radionuclides are removed from the inflowing reservoir fluids by means of ion exchange, adsorption, chelation, chemisorption, or coprecipitation with the in-situ filter medium.

Growing community of inventors

Houston, TX, United States of America

Dennis A Clifford