Enhanced materials for treatment of contamination

Abstract

An enhanced material formed from a carrier material having a high porosity. The carrier material is treated with a mixture of hydrocarbons to increase the adherence of the carrier material particles to one another to minimize atmospheric contamination of the carrier materials in use. The material has particular applicable to environments where such contamination would create problems, such as food processing and preparation environments, computer operations, electronic component manufacturing and other environments. The material meets the requirements of FDA regulations for Indirect Food Contact.

Description

Background of Invention[0001] A problem that is of great environmental concern is the treatment of liquid spills. This is of particular concern when the spill involves harmful, toxic and / or hazardous materials. Such spills must be quickly contained to prevent or minimize the leaching of these materials into the ground and into groundwater supplies. The containment and movement of such liquid spills can be quite costly in the event that the liquid spills must be moved to a Liquid Disposal Site which are typically inaccessible to most sites. The effectiveness of the treatment includes the efficiency, the rate of the treatment and the ability to dispose of the saturated materials used for treatment.[0002] A critical factor in treating such liquid spills is the speed in which the treatment occurs. The longer period of time that elapses while the spill (or aqueous solution) is being cleaned increases the opportunity for the liquid to leach into the surrounding surfaces or to contaminate ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0014] The present invention accomplishes those needs by providing an enhanced material capable of quickly, effectively and efficiently treating a variety of liquid spills. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the enhanced material uses an inorganic material having specific properties of size and saturability. The material is then treated to increase the adherence of the particles with one another to reduce airborne contamination during dispersal and clean up operationsin one preferred embodiment, the material includes expanded perlite. This materials has a high porosity due to irregularities formed in the particulates, such as micro-cavities, voids and cracks. In the preferred embodiment, the expanded perlite, amorphous alumina silicate, is used only as particles within a particular range of specifications. In this preferred embodiment, the perlite particles are controlled within specific parameters, having a size range of approximately 297 .mu. to 1019 .mu. and having saturability properties of between approximately 4.5 liters / Kg to 10.3 liters / Kg. It is to be expressly understood that these ranges are approximate in nature, with expansion on either side of the range to achieve the desired saturation properties of the particles as discussed herein. These properties provide optimum dispersal and saturation properties for treating liquid spills when treated with a petroleum distillate solution, as discussed herein.

[0015] In the preferred embodiment, the perlite particles having the size and saturation properties discussed above are treated with a petroleum distillate solution having specific properties as discussed in the detailed description of the preferred embodiments. The petroleum distillate solution is a mixture of non-combustible liquid petroleum hydrocarbons. In the preferred embodiment, the petroleum distillate solution predominantly includes saturated hydrocarbons with some branched, straight chained or saturated cyclic structures. The selected perlite particles are treated with the special mixture of petroleum distillate solution to increase the adherence of the particles together. The selected perlite particles which have been thus treated provide an effective material which can be used without fear of airborne contamination of the surrounding environment and can be effectively and efficiently dispersed on a liquid or surface area to be treated. The treated product will convert the liquid into a moist or semi-dry solid which can be disposed in a Solid Waste Disposal Site rather than the more costly and inaccessible Liquid Waste Disposal Sites.

Problems solved by technology

A problem that is of great environmental concern is the treatment of liquid spills.

This is of particular concern when the spill involves harmful, toxic and / or hazardous materials.

The containment and movement of such liquid spills can be quite costly in the event that the liquid spills must be moved to a Liquid Disposal Site which are typically inaccessible to most sites.

The longer period of time that elapses while the spill (or aqueous solution) is being cleaned increases the opportunity for the liquid to leach into the surrounding surfaces or to contaminate the environment.

Another problem with such spills is the disposal of the treatment material once the material is fully saturated or the spill has been treated.

This interaction may cause the contaminate to be re-released back into the environment.

However these clay-based materials do not work well for many types of spills, they adsorb rather than absorb and tend to deteriorate upon adsorption.

These materials may be treated to improve absorption but again, are organic based, biodegradable and do not work well for many materials.

Thus, when the materials are released, particularly from an elevated position, onto the liquid or solid surface, the materials become airborne and fail to be accurately placed.

This is particularly a problem in environments where small atmospheric particles may contaminate the surrounding environment.

Presently, there are few if any contamination treatment materials that meet the requirements of the United States Food and Drug Administration regulations for use in food preparation and processing environments, including environments where meat, poultry and seafood are collected, processed, packaged and sold.

Additionally, few if any liquid spill treatment materials are allowed for use in pharmaceutical manufacturing environments for fear of indirect contamination.

Not only is the containment of such particles, particularly after the particles have been saturated with a hazardous product, of concern, but their susceptibility to wind forces render them less effective in placement.

This reduces their effectiveness as well as raising the costs of treating the spill.

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