VATIS UPDATE Article

Solutions-IES, Inc. (SIES), the United States, has recently obtained US Patent. The invention provides a safe, low-cost, effective method for the remediation of contaminated subsurface environmental media that require increasing or maintaining pH to improve the performance of in situ treatment processes. Many contaminated sites across the southeast experience naturally low pH conditions in the soil and groundwater. During remediation this can present a challenge in reaching site closure for some remedial methods such as bioremediation which require specific pH ranges.

Many practitioners and site managers try to adjust aquifer pH with common industrial chemicals such as caustic or buffers. While these can work, they are short-lived and sometimes dangerous to handle. Solutions-IES, Inc. patent covers the composition and method of using an alkaline suspension injected into the subsurface treatment zone to adjust, optimize and maintain the pH and effectively enhances the remediation process. “Today’s patent protects an effective way to enhance in situ treatment of contaminated materials,” said Ann Borden, at SIES.

After several years of research, development, and field demonstration SIES developed the patented methods to modify alkaline suspensions enhancing their transport in the subsurface, providing effective distribution and long-lived adjustment of pH. CoBupH-Mg™, exclusively licensed by EOS Remediation, LLC, the United States, was developed using the patented process and has been successfully applied to dozens of sites across the US over the past 3 years. Contact: Ed Alperin, Tel: +1-919-873-1060; E-mail: ealperin@solutions-ies.com.