Method and apparatus for detecing materials in a liquid

Claim 2

In a method for detecting trace quantities of a material in a liquid carrier of a body liquid the steps of, separating the material from the liquid carrier beneath the surface of the body of liquid passing the separated material above the surface of the body of liquid as a vapor into a carrier gaseous atmosphere, separating the vaporized material from the carrier gaseous atmosphere, and detecting the separated vaporized material.

Claim 3

The method of claim 1 wherein the steps are performed continuously.

Claim 4

The method of claim 1 wherein the material to be detected is an organic material, the liquid carrier is water, and the first and second steps of separating the organic material comprise causing the organic material to go into solution with a barrier membrane separator material such that the organic material diffuses through the membrane separator material at a much faster rate than the carrier material from which it is to be separated, thereby substantially enriching the concentration of the organic material in the material which passes through the membrane separators.

Claim 5

In a method for locating the source of a certain contaminate in a body of water the steps of, sampling the water at a plurality of points, separating the contaminant from the sampled water beneath the surface of the body of water by passing the contaminant through a generally water impervious membrane within the body of water which is at least semipermeable to the contaminant, diffusing the separated contaminant in a vaporized state into a carrier gas atmosphere, separating the contaminant vapor from the carrier gas atmosphere by passing the contaminant through a generally carrier gas impervious membrane which is at least semipermeable to the contaminant, diffusing the separated contaminant in a vaporized state into a carrier gas atmosphere, separating the contaminant vapor from the carrier gas atmosphere by passing the contaminant through a generally carrier gas impervious membrane which is at least semipermeable to the contaminant to enrich the contaminant concentration in the atmosphere on the downstream side of the membrane, analyzing the contaminant enriched atmosphere to detect the presence of the contaminant, and correlating the presence of the detected contaminant with the respective sampling points to derive an indication of the location of the source of the certain contaminant.

Claim 6

In a method for locating the source of a certain contaminate in a body of water the steps of, sampling the water at a plurality of points, separating the contaminant from the sampled water beneath the surface of the body of water by passing the contaminant through a generally water impervious membrane within the body of water which is at least semipermeable to the contaminant, diffusing the separated contaminant in a vaporized state into a carrier gas atmosphere, separating the contaminant vapor from the carrier gas atmosphere by passing the contaminant through a generally carrier gas impervious membrane which is at least semipermeable to the contaminant, diffusing the separated contaminant in a vaporized state into a carrier gas atmosphere, separating the contaminant vapor from the carrier gas atmosphere by passing the contaminant through a generally carrier gas impervious membrane which is at least semipermeable to the contaminant to enrich the contaminant concentration in the atmosphere on the downstream side of the membrane, analyzing the contaminant enriched atmosphere to detect the presence of the contaminant, and correlating the presence of the detected contaminant with the respective sampling points to derive an indication of the location of the source of the certain contaminant.

Claim 7

The method of claim 4 including the step of traversing a path relative to the body of water while sampling the water at the plurality of points on the path, recording the path traversed, and correlating the detected presence of the contaminant with the recorded path and sampling points to derive the indication of the location of the source of the contaminant.

Claim 8

In a method for prospecting for certain mineral deposits the steps of, traversing a predetermined path over a body of water suspected of overlying certain mineral deposits, sampling the water during the traverse at a plurality of points, exposing the sampled water to a membrane separator located beneath the surface of the body of water for separating from the water a certain contaminant within the body of water thereof known to be associated with the certain mineral deposits to be located, diffusing the separated contaminant as a vapor into a gaseous atmosphere, exposing the contaminant carrying gaseous atmosphere to a second membrane separator for enriching the concentration of the contaminant in the gaseous atmosphere passing through the second membrane separator, detecting the presence of the contaminant in the contaminant enriched atmosphere as passed through the second membrane separator, correlating the detected presence of the contaminant with the sampling points on the path traversed to derive an indication of the location of the mineral deposit.

Claim 9

In a method for prospecting for certain mineral deposits the steps of, traversing a predetermined path over a body of water suspected of overlying certain mineral deposits, sampling the water during the traverse at a plurality of points, exposing the sampled water to a membrane separator located beneath the surface of the body of water for separating from the water a certain contaminant within the body of water thereof known to be associated with the certain mineral deposits to be located, diffusing the separated contaminant as a vapor into a gaseous atmosphere, exposing the contaminant carrying gaseous atmosphere to a second membrane separator for enriching the concentration of the contaminant in the gaseous atmosphere passing through the second membrane separator, detecting the presence of the contaminant in the contaminant enriched atmosphere as passed through the second membrane separator, correlating the detected presence of the contaminant with the sampling points on the path traversed to derive an indication of the location of the mineral deposit.

Claim 10

In a method for tracking down a source of contamination in a body of water where there is relative movement between the source and the body of water such that the source leaves a trail of a certain organic contaminant in the water the steps of, sampling the water at a plurAlity of points, separating the organic contaminant from the sampled water by passing the organic contaminant through a generally water impervious membrane, located beneath the surface of the body of water, diffusing the separated organic contaminant in a vaporized state into a carrier gas atmosphere, separating the organic contaminant vapor from the carrier gas atmosphere by passing the organic contaminant vapor through a second membrane which is relatively impervious to the carrier gas to enrich the organic contaminant concentration in a gaseous atmosphere on the downstream side of the second membrane, analyzing the contaminant enriched atmosphere to detect the presence of the organic contaminant, and correlating the detected presence of the organic contaminant with the position of the respective sampling points to derive a track for the source of contamination.

Claim 11

In a method for tracking down a source of contamination in a body of water where there is relative movement between the source and the body of water such that the source leaves a trail of a certain organic contaminant in the water the steps of, sampling the water at a plurAlity of points, separating the organic contaminant from the sampled water by passing the organic contaminant through a generally water impervious membrane, located beneath the surface of the body of water, diffusing the separated organic contaminant in a vaporized state into a carrier gas atmosphere, separating the organic contaminant vapor from the carrier gas atmosphere by passing the organic contaminant vapor through a second membrane which is relatively impervious to the carrier gas to enrich the organic contaminant concentration in a gaseous atmosphere on the downstream side of the second membrane, analyzing the contaminant enriched atmosphere to detect the presence of the organic contaminant, and correlating the detected presence of the organic contaminant with the position of the respective sampling points to derive a track for the source of contamination.

Claim 12

The method of claim 7 wherein the source of contamination is a fish or mammal moving through the body of water.

Claim 13

The method of claim 7 wherein the source of contamination is a vessel moving through the body of water.

Claim 14

The method of claim 7 wherein the source of contamination is associated with a mineral or oil deposit and the body of water is moving.

Claim 15

In an apparatus for detecting the presence of trace quantities of material in a liquid carrier means forming a first membrane separator having a first separating membrane, means for exposing one side of said first separating membrane to the carrier liquid containing trace quantities of material to be detected, said first separating membrane being made of a material which is semipervious to the material to be detected and relatively impervious to the liquid carrier, means for producing a gaseous atmosphere on the downstream side of said first separating membrane such that the material to be separated which passes through the separating membrane enters the gaseous atmosphere in a vaporized state, means forming a second membrane separator having a second separating membrane with one side thereof exposed to the gaseous atmosphere containing the vaporized material to be detected, said second separating membrane being made of a material which is semipermeable to the material to be detected and relatively impervious to the other constituents of the gaseous atmosphere containing the vaporized material to be detected such that the concentration of the material to be detected is enriched in the gas stream passing through said second separating membrane, means on the downstream side of said second separating membrane for analyzing the gas stream for detection of the material to be detected and including a means forming a submersible housing for containing at least said first membrane separator, and means for submersing said submersible housing and said first membrane separator in the carrier liquid.

Claim 16

In an apparatus for detecting the presence of trace quantities of material in a liquid carrier means forming a first membrane separator having a first separating membrane, means for exposing one side of said first separating membrane to the carrier liquid containing trace quantities of material to be detected, said first separating membrane being made of a material which is semipervious to the material to be detected and relatively impervious to the liquid carrier, means for producing a gaseous atmosphere on the downstream side of said first separating membrane such that the material to be separated which passes through the separating membrane enters the gaseous atmosphere in a vaporized state, means forming a second membrane separator having a second separating membrane with one side thereof exposed to the gaseous atmosphere containing the vaporized material to be detected, said second separating membrane being made of a material which is semipermeable to the material to be detected and relatively impervious to the other constituents of the gaseous atmosphere containing the vaporized material to be detected such that the concentration of the material to be detected is enriched in the gas stream passing through said second separating membrane, means on the downstream side of said second separating membrane for analyzing the gas stream for detection of the material to be detected and including a means forming a submersible housing for containing at least said first membrane separator, and means for submersing said submersible housing and said first membrane separator in the carrier liquid.

Claim 17

The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said means for producing a gaseous atmosphere on the downstream side of said first separating membrane includes means for producing a carrier gas stream into which the vaporized material to be detected is introduced by passage thereof through said first separating membrane.

Claim 18

The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said means for analyzing the enriched gas stream is a mass spectrometer, and including means for evacuating said mass spectrometer.

Claim 19

The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the liquid carrier is water and the material to be detected is organic, said first separating membrane including a coating of hydrophobic material thereon facing the water carrier and serving as an additional barrier for water tending to pass through said first separating membrane.

Claim 20

The apparatus of claim 11 including a third membrane separator disposed between said second membrane separator and said gas analyzer means for further enriching the concentration of the material to be detected in the gas stream passing to said gas analyzer means.

Claim 21

In a method for detecting trace quantities of a non-permanent gas material in a liquid cArrier the steps of, separating said trace material from the liquid carrier by bringing the liquid carrier containing the material into contact with a first membrane, passing said separated trace material as a vapor into a permanent gas atmosphere, separating said vaporized trace material from said permanent gas atmosphere, and detecting said separated vaporized trace material.

Claim 22

In a method for detecting trace quantities of a non-permanent gas material in a liquid cArrier the steps of, separating said trace material from the liquid carrier by bringing the liquid carrier containing the material into contact with a first membrane, passing said separated trace material as a vapor into a permanent gas atmosphere, separating said vaporized trace material from said permanent gas atmosphere, and detecting said separated vaporized trace material.

Claim 23

The method of claim 16 wherein the steps are performed continuously.

Claim 24

The method of claim 16 wherein the trace material to be detected is an organic material and the first and second steps of separating the trace material comprise causing said organic material to go into solution with a barrier membrane separator material such that the organic material diffuses through the membrane separator material at a much faster rate than said permanent gas from which it is to be separated, thereby substantially enriching the concentration of the organic material in the material which passes through the membrane separators.

Claim 27

The method of claim 19 wherein the material being detected is an organic material.

Claim 30

The method of claim 21 wherein the step of passing the gases which diffuse through said membrane means to a mass analyzer includes passing said gases through a first and second membrane to said mass analyzer.

Claim 31

The method of claim 21 wherein said mass analyzer is a mass spectrometer.

Claim 34

The method of claim 24 wherein the step of passing the gases which diffuse through said membrane means includes passing said gases through a first and second membrane to said mass analyzer.

Claim 35

The method of claim 24 wherein said nonpermanent gas material is an organic material.

Claim 38

The method of claim 26 wherein the step of passing the gases which diffuse through said membrane means includes passing said gases through a first and second membrane to said mass analyzer.

Claim 39

The method of claim 27 wherein said nonpermanent gas material is an organic material.

Claim 42

The method of claim 30 wherein the step of passing the gases which diffuse through said membrane means includes passing said gases through a first and second membrane to said analyzer.

Claim 43

The method of claim 30 wherein said nonpermanent gas material is an organic material.

Claim 46

The method of claim 30 wherein the step of passing the gases which diffuse through said membrane means includes passing said gases through a first and second membrane to said analyzer.

Claim 47

The method of claim 33 wherein said nonpermanent gas material is an organic material.