Gas burial disposal capsules

Abstract

The water aeration capsules provide a quick and highly portable system for aerating polluted water. The capsules contain bubbles of air, oxygen, and / or other gas(es) surrounded by a water soluble membrane. The capsules are ballasted to sink. Magnetically attractive ballast elements may be provided, and a magnetic sheet may be placed on the bottom of a smaller body of water to enhance the settling of the capsules. The gas burial disposal capsules may be formed of non-degradable material for substantially permanent gas storage, or of degradable material to allow the gases to slowly permeate the surrounding earth for slow and relatively harmless release. The gas may be pressurized within the capsules to approximately the pressure of the surrounding earth.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This is a continuation of my prior application Ser. No. 13 / 297,080, filed Nov. 15, 2011 now pending, which is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13 / 219,561, filed on Aug. 26, 2011.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]The present invention relates generally to water treatment and gas disposal systems, and particularly to various embodiments of water aeration capsules and gas burial disposal capsules and dispensing means therefor.[0004]2. Description of the Related Art[0005]The contamination of various bodies of water by various means is an increasingly serious problem worldwide. Perhaps the most widespread contaminants are organic materials that enter the water system due to pollution from human habitation either directly or indirectly, e.g., pollution from farms and the like. Such pollution can affect inland fresh water supplies (lakes and rivers), and can also be carried to the sea by in...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention relates to two types of capsules that can be used for water aeration and gas burial disposal. These capsules have a negative net buoyancy and contain ballast material, such as non-toxic metals, sand, clay, or fish bait. This ballast material helps to make the capsules sink and provides nutrition for aquatic animal life once the capsules have dissolved. The technical effect of this invention is that it provides a way to safely and effectively release gas in a controlled and safe manner, while also providing benefits to the environment and aquatic animal life.

Problems solved by technology

The contamination of various bodies of water by various means is an increasingly serious problem worldwide.

The biochemical processes that occur in water due to such organic pollution are well known to decrease the oxygen content of the water, thereby reducing or perhaps even destroying fish and other aquatic life in the contaminated body of water.

Even if some fish remain in the polluted water, they are almost certainly unfit for human consumption if caught.

However, such bacteria are aerobic, i.e., they require oxygen for their metabolism.

Such mechanical systems are relatively costly to operate and require relatively high energy and manpower costs.

Even if such systems were less costly to operate, a huge drawback is that they cannot be readily transported to a pollution site for operation at that site.

Rather, the water must be transported to the location of the aeration system, a process that is clearly unworkable on a very large scale and / or over very long distances.

In addition to the above problems relating primarily to the aquatic and marine environments, numerous gases are formed as a result of various industrial processes.

Many of these gases are released into the atmosphere where they create various environmental problems, e.g., respiratory difficulties for many people, damage to the natural and man-made environment, etc.

Neutralizing or destroying many of these unwanted and hazardous gases is often quite difficult, and in some cases {e.g., burning or oxidizing the gases) may result in even more hazardous and / or undesirable gases as an end result or as a byproduct.

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