Design, monitoring and control of soil carburetors for degradation of volatile compounds
First Claim
1. An apparatus for controlling a volatile compound in an underground area comprising:
- (a) a cover positioned generally over said underground area, the cover being relatively gas permeable;
(b) an air injection conduit in or to the cover adapted to inject air into the cover and make the air available to mix with said volatile compound that enters the cover to encourage oxidation or degradation of the volatile compound in the cover.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method for controlling and/or monitoring volatile compounds such as those buried underground. A cover or cover layer is placed over the source of the volatile compounds in the ground. The cover is intentionally made to be relatively gas permeable, to allow movement of volatile compounds upward into the cover. Oxygen is encouraged to be mixed with the volatile compounds in the layer to promote oxidation and degradation of the volatiles. The treated volatile compounds can then be allowed to be emitted from the cover into atmosphere. According to an aspect of the apparatus and method, optionally, a conduit can be placed in the cover to carry and eject oxygen to and into the cover layer. It can also be used to gather in a mixture of volatiles and air (with oxygen) and transport the mixture to a desired location. Still further, another aspect of the invention includes measuring and monitoring the presence and/or amount of a volatile compound in the ground. The measurement can be used for a variety of purposes, including optimizing the control of volatile compounds.
95 Citations
47 Claims
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1. An apparatus for controlling a volatile compound in an underground area comprising:
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(a) a cover positioned generally over said underground area, the cover being relatively gas permeable;
(b) an air injection conduit in or to the cover adapted to inject air into the cover and make the air available to mix with said volatile compound that enters the cover to encourage oxidation or degradation of the volatile compound in the cover. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method of treating underground volatile compounds comprising:
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(a) covering the underground compound with a material that is generally gas permeable;
(b) encouraging, within the cover, oxidation or degradation of volatile compound that enters the cover by injecting air into the cover to mix with said volatile compound that enter the cover. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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- 33. The method of claim 33 wherein the step of adding oxygen to the cover comprises directing pressurized atmospherical air to the cover.
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41. An apparatus for treating volatile compounds in an underground area comprising:
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(a) a cover over the underground area, the cover being gas permeable;
(b) a plurality of gas permeable pipes distributed across a generally horizontal cross-section of the cover, the pipes being in fluid communication with one another at a connection, the connection adapted for fluid communication with a source of oxygen;
so that oxygen can be mixed with volatile compounds entering the cover from the underground area. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45)
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46. An apparatus for monitoring the presence of volatile compounds in an underground area comprising:
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(a) a sampling array for collection of a sample of gas positioned in a gas permeable layer above and covering the underground area;
(b) a conduit between the sampling array and a connection to an analysis device adapted to analyze the gas sample taken from the sampling array for concentration of a volatile compound;
so that volatile compounds in the underground area can be monitored by collecting gas samples that enter the gas permeable layer.
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47. A method of measuring the presence of a volatile compound in an underground area comprising:
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(a) obtaining a sample of gas from above the underground area, the sample being representative of the original concentration of gases from the underground area;
(b) correlating the location of a particular concentration of gases to a location within the underground area;
(b) deriving an estimate of mean flux of concentration of a volatile component from the sample.
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Specification