Subsurface Mycoremediation Injection for Low-Permeability Soil
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Solution Overview
Problem
In-situ mycoremediation techniques face challenges in inoculating subsurface locations with low permeability or deeper contamination, making them inefficient and costly compared to ex-situ methods.
Innovation Solution
A system and process involving a rod casing with perforations and a slidable sleeve for injecting fungal mixtures and air, along with a pump and plumbing lines, is used to distribute fungal species and enhance subsurface conditions for mycelium growth, including fracturing the soil with high-pressure fluids and injecting fungal nutrients and air to support mycelial networks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If ex-situ mycoremediation techniques are used to treat contaminants, then treatment effectiveness is improved, but cost and complexity increase due to excavation and transportation requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the fungal inoculum from the surface and delivers it directly to the subsurface contamination zone through injection systems, eliminating the need for excavation and transportation of contaminated soil while maintaining treatment effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses injection wells and delivery systems as intermediaries to transport fungal spores and nutrients from the surface to the subsurface contamination zone, enabling in-situ treatment without direct soil handling
2Productivity
If in-situ mycoremediation techniques are used to treat contaminants, then cost and efficiency are improved, but inoculation effectiveness deteriorates in low permeability or deeper subsurface locations
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses hydraulic injection systems to deliver fungal inoculum under pressure directly to deep subsurface zones, overcoming low permeability barriers and ensuring reliable inoculation in locations where passive methods fail
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the delivery method from passive diffusion to active pressurized injection, fundamentally altering the parameter of inoculum delivery pressure to achieve effective subsurface colonization in low permeability environments
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances the effectiveness of fungal degradation of pollutants by increasing soil porosity and permeability, allowing for robust mycelial networks to break down contaminants like heavy metals and organic pollutants, thus improving remediation efficiency and reducing costs.
Implementation Method 1
forcible injecting a fluid via the one or more orifices to initiate fracture in the subsurface zone
Implementation Method 2
a pump; and one or more plumbing lines that link the pump to the set of rod casings to facilitate forcible injection of one more fungal mixtures
Implementation Method 3
ventilating the subsurface zone with air via the one or more orifices to support a hyphal network of mycelium in the subsurface zone
Implementation Method 4
As mycelium spreads, it secrets enzymes including peroxidases, liginases, cellulases, pectinases, xylanases, and oxidases. These enzymes break down and remove a wide array of contaminants
Implementation Method 5
fungi mycelium can also act as a filter to extract and hyperaccumulate contaminants
Data Source
AI summary
An in-situ mycoremediation system and process is provided, including a device with a rod casing having a top end, a bottom end, and a sidewall with one or more perforations, the sidewall defining an internal channel that extends from an intake opening on the top end to the one or more perforations, a sleeve that extends around at least part of the rod casing and that is slidable between at least a first position that covers the one or more perforations and a second position that at least partly uncovers the one or more perforations, and a plumbing line linked to the intake opening and configured to facilitate forcible injection of one more fungal mixtures and/or air via the one or more perforations when the sleeve is in the second position.