Recirculation cell by half-cycles for groundwater remediation in aquifer-aquitard transition zones
Advantages
- Allows remediation of sites that other systems cannot achieve.
- Can be applied to any type of pollutant, organic or inorganic.
- Can be implemented as cells in series or in parallel to treat plumes and pollution sources on large sites.
Goal
The group is looking for a license agreement, but other collaborations may be considered.
Intellectual Property
Patent Application Number: P202230876
Priority date: October 11, 2022
Reference
UBTT0432
Contact
Rosa Vázquez /Jose Conde
Email: rvazquez@fbg.ub.edu/ jconde@fbg.ub.edu
Tel: +34 934 039639 / 934 020 148
Recirculation cell by half-cycles for groundwater remediation in aquifer-aquitard transition zones
Executive summary
A research group, with wide experience in the field of groundwater contamination and remediation, has generated a groundwater remediation system in aquifer-aquitard transition zones.
The group is looking for a license, but other collaborations may be considered.
Introduction
On a global scale, groundwater provides 25-40% of the water for drinking water supply. In Europe, 60% of drinking water is of groundwater origin. The loss of groundwater quality has both health and economic consequences, as it increases the cost of drinking water treatment. The problem of water pollution is therefore one of the major challenges facing society today, as it puts human health and ecosystems at risk.
Regarding groundwater remediation, there is still a need for systems and procedures to treat the large amount of contaminant mass that accumulates inside low-permeability materials. These are, for example, the low permeability layers that are interbedded at the base, in the middle, or at the top of many aquifers forming transition zones, although these zones often occur between the aquifers and the underlying aquitards. These aquifer-aquitard transition zones are formed by numerous intercalations of centimeter-thick, low-permeability layers where contaminants accumulate. These intercalations are separated by more permeable layers. The alternating of low permeability layers and more permeable layers results in these transition zones as a whole becoming low permeability formations and, therefore, very difficult to remediate.
Description
The present invention is a groundwater remediation system in which an injection-extraction cell working by half-cycles allows to effectively remediate the aquifer-aquitard transition zones. It is applicable and effective for the treatment of low permeability media, such as aquifer-aquitard transition zones.
Current stage of development
Fully functional technology tested on a field scale in a contaminated site.