US4670634A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
In situ decontamination of spills and landfills by radio frequency heating
Assignee: IIT Research Institute
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Filing: 1985-04-05
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Granted: 1987-06-02
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Expires: 2005-04-05
Abstract
Abstract A water-containing region at or near the surface of the earth, such as a landfill, that is contaminated with hazardous materials is decontaminated by heating the region with bound radio frequency energy from a bound-wave transmission line excitor array disposed outside the region to a temperature to boil water and thereby increase the permeability of the region. The heating is continued by dielectric heating after water has boiled from at least a portion of the region to heat the portion to elevated temperatures substantially above the boiling point of water. The materials may then be rendered innocuous in situ in a number of ways, as by pyrolysis, thermally assisted decomposition, or reaction with an introduced reagent, such as oxygen. The materials may also be driven from the region, as by distillation or by evaporation and steam drive and then collected and disposed of, as by incineration.
Inventors
- 👤 Jack E. Bridges
- 👤 Harsh Dev
- 👤 Richard H. Snow
- 👤 Allen Taflove
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 05:05
CPC Classifications
E; E21; E21B; E21B43/00; E21B43/16; E21B43/24; E21B43/2401; B; B09; B09C; B09C1/00; B09C1/005; B09C1/06; B09C1/065; B09C2101/00
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 24
Claim 1
Independent Claim
96 words
A system for the in situ decontamination of a region at or near the surface of the earth contaminated with hazardous materials comprising a transmission line excitor disposed adjacent said region, a source of radio frequency energy, means for coupling said radio frequency energy to said transmission line excitor, the dimensions of said excitor relative to the wave length of said radio frequency assuring that said energy is substantially bound to said excitor to act as a bound-wave fringing-field excitor without substantial radiation, and means for collecting fluid materials from said region and disposing of them.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
96 words
A system for the in situ decontamination of a region at or near the surface of the earth contaminated with hazardous materials comprising a transmission line excitor disposed adjacent said region, a source of radio frequency energy, means for coupling said radio frequency energy to said transmission line excitor, the dimensions of said excitor relative to the wave length of said radio frequency assuring that said energy is substantially bound to said excitor to act as a bound-wave fringing-field excitor without substantial radiation, and means for collecting fluid materials from said region and disposing of them.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
42 words
A system according to claim 1 wherein said means for collecting and disposing comprises a containment structure disposed over said region for containing and collecting vapors emanating from said region, and means for condensing at least a portion of the vapors collected.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
17 words
A system according to claim 2 wherein said structure includes a vapor barrier and an electromagnetic shield.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
25 words
A system according to claim 3 wherein said means for collecting and disposing further comprises means for rendering relatively innocuous collected vapors and condensed vapors.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
15 words
A system according to claim 4 wherein said means for rendering innocuous comprises an incinerator.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
15 words
A system according to claim 5 wherein said means for condensing includes a heat exchanger.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
137 words
A system for the in situ decontamination of a region at or near the surface of the earth contaminated with hazardous materials comprising a transmission line excitor, a source of radio frequency energy, means for coupling said radio frequency energy to said transmission line excitor, the dimensions of said excitor relative to the wave length of said radio frequency assuring that said energy is substantially bound to said excitor to act as a bound-wave excitor without substantial radiation, and a said excitor being disposed relative to said region to couple bound energy therefrom to materials in said region, a containment structure disposed over said region for containing and collecting vapors emanating from said region, said containment structure including a vapor barrier and an electromagnetic shield, and means for condensing at least a portion of the vapors collected.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
137 words
A system for the in situ decontamination of a region at or near the surface of the earth contaminated with hazardous materials comprising a transmission line excitor, a source of radio frequency energy, means for coupling said radio frequency energy to said transmission line excitor, the dimensions of said excitor relative to the wave length of said radio frequency assuring that said energy is substantially bound to said excitor to act as a bound-wave excitor without substantial radiation, and a said excitor being disposed relative to said region to couple bound energy therefrom to materials in said region, a containment structure disposed over said region for containing and collecting vapors emanating from said region, said containment structure including a vapor barrier and an electromagnetic shield, and means for condensing at least a portion of the vapors collected.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
25 words
A system according to claim 7 wherein said means for collecting and disposing further comprises means for rendering relatively innocuous collected vapors and condensed vapors.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
15 words
A system according to claim 8 wherein said means for rendering innocuous comprises an incinerator.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
15 words
A system according to claim 9 wherein said means for condensing includes a heat exchanger.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
39 words
A system according to any one of claims 1 to 10 wherein said transmission line excitor comprises a plurality of substantially parallel electrodes supported in spaced relation above the surface of the earth over said region and insulated therefrom.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
116 words
A method for the in situ decontamination of a water-containing region at or near the surface of the earth contaminated with harzardous materials comprising heating said region with bound radio frequency energy from a bound-wave fringing-field transmission line excitor disposeed outside said region to a temperature to boil water and thereby increase the permeability of the region, said energy being bound to said excitor without substantial radiation, said heating being continued by dielectric heating after said water has boiled from at least a portion of said region to heat said portion to elevated temperatures substantially above the boiling point of water, rendering said hazardous materials relatively innocuous, and capturing and disposing of effluents from said region.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
116 words
A method for the in situ decontamination of a water-containing region at or near the surface of the earth contaminated with harzardous materials comprising heating said region with bound radio frequency energy from a bound-wave fringing-field transmission line excitor disposeed outside said region to a temperature to boil water and thereby increase the permeability of the region, said energy being bound to said excitor without substantial radiation, said heating being continued by dielectric heating after said water has boiled from at least a portion of said region to heat said portion to elevated temperatures substantially above the boiling point of water, rendering said hazardous materials relatively innocuous, and capturing and disposing of effluents from said region.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
114 words
A method for the in situ decontamination of a water-containing region at or near the surface of the earth contaminated with harzardous materials comprising heating said region with bound radio frequency energy from a bound-wave transmission-line excitor array to a temperature to boil water and thereby increase the permeability of the region, said energy being bound to said excitor without substantial radiation, said heating being continued by displacement currents and dielectric heating after said water has boiled from at least a portion of said region to heat said portion to elevated temperatures substantially above the boiling point of water, rendering said harzardous materials relatively innocuous, and capturing and disposing of effluents from said region.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
114 words
A method for the in situ decontamination of a water-containing region at or near the surface of the earth contaminated with harzardous materials comprising heating said region with bound radio frequency energy from a bound-wave transmission-line excitor array to a temperature to boil water and thereby increase the permeability of the region, said energy being bound to said excitor without substantial radiation, said heating being continued by displacement currents and dielectric heating after said water has boiled from at least a portion of said region to heat said portion to elevated temperatures substantially above the boiling point of water, rendering said harzardous materials relatively innocuous, and capturing and disposing of effluents from said region.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
48 words
A method according to either one of claims 12 and 13 wherein said rendering said hazardous material innocuous includes adding at least one reagent to said region after said increase of permeability, which reagent reacts with at least some of said hazardous materials to form relatively innocuous materials.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
11 words
A method according to claim 14 wherein said reagent comprises oxygen.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
39 words
A method according to either one of claims 12 and 13 wherein said rendering said hazardous materials innocuous includes thermally assisted decomposition, wherein said portion of said region is maintained at elevated temperatures for an extended period of time.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
38 words
A method according to either one of claims 12 and 13 wherein said rendering said hazardous materials innocuous includes maintaining said portion of said region at elevated temperatures for an extended period of time sufficient for substantial pyrolysis.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
176 words
A method for the in situ decontamination of a water-containing region at or near the surface of the earth contaiminated with harzardous materials comprising heating said region with bound radio frequency energy from a bound-wave fringing-field transmission line excitor disposed above said region to a temperature above the boiling point of water to boil water and thereby increase the permeability of the region, said energy being bound to said excitor without substantial radiation, continuing said heating with bound radio frequency energy by dielectric heating after said water has boiled from an upper portion of said region to heat said upper portion to elevated temperatures substantially above the boiling point of water and evaporate at least some of said hazardous materials, at the same time boiling water in a lower portion of said region below said upper portion to provide steam drive driving vapors upward from said upper portion, containing and collecting vapors emanating from said upper portion, condensing at least a portion of the vapors collected, and rendering relatively innocuous any collected vapors and condensed vapors.
Claim 23
Independent Claim
176 words
A method for the in situ decontamination of a water-containing region at or near the surface of the earth contaiminated with harzardous materials comprising heating said region with bound radio frequency energy from a bound-wave fringing-field transmission line excitor disposed above said region to a temperature above the boiling point of water to boil water and thereby increase the permeability of the region, said energy being bound to said excitor without substantial radiation, continuing said heating with bound radio frequency energy by dielectric heating after said water has boiled from an upper portion of said region to heat said upper portion to elevated temperatures substantially above the boiling point of water and evaporate at least some of said hazardous materials, at the same time boiling water in a lower portion of said region below said upper portion to provide steam drive driving vapors upward from said upper portion, containing and collecting vapors emanating from said upper portion, condensing at least a portion of the vapors collected, and rendering relatively innocuous any collected vapors and condensed vapors.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
12 words
A method according to claim 18 wherein said rendering innocuous includes incineration.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1990-06-01 | 1990-12-01 | 1991-06-02 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1994-06-01 | 1994-12-01 | 1995-06-02 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1998-06-01 | 1998-12-01 | 1999-06-02 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |