Abstract: A method is disclosed for removing organic substances, such as phenols and aromatic amines, from aqueous solutions by adding chemicals, such as peroxidase enzymes and peroxide substrates, to such solutions. A surprising discovery is that the presence of more than one organic substance greatly increases the efficiency of precipitation of substances that do not precipitate efficiently in the absence of other organic substances.

Abstract: A process in which ferric ion in water-soluble form is added to an effluent containing cyanide, arsenic and antimony and having a pH of about 5 to 9 and treating effluent with SO.sub.2 and oxygen in the presence of soluble copper to produce a treated effluent having very low contents of cyanide, arsenic and antimony.

Abstract: A process for treatment of cyanide-containing aqueous effluents in which ferrocyanide present is precipitated with a metal other than copper, preferably zinc either prior to or simultaneously with the treatment of the effluent with sulfur dioxide and air in the presence of soluble copper.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a method of sewage effluent treatment comprising oxidizing sewage effluent by reacting hydrogen peroxide with a catalyst selected from the group consisting of potassium iodide and potassium hydroxide, while in communication with the sewage effluent. If desired, the reaction may be initiated with metalloid iodine.

Abstract: A method of removing complexed zinc-cyanide from wastewater involving a multiple stage process including, in a first step, control of ferrous ions to a critical minimum concentration of 250 to 400 ppm, together with pH control in the first and also a second step, together with recycling of a portion of sludge precipitated in the process. Improved sludge stability is achieved by aeration to oxidize precipitated ferrous hydroxide to ferric hydroxide, immediately before settling the sludge in a thickener.

Abstract: A method of substantially removing a trace metallic contaminant from a liquid containing the same comprises,adding an oxidizing agent to a liquid containing a trace amount of a metallic contaminant of a concentration of up to about 10.sup.-1 ppm, the oxidizing agent being one which oxidizes the contaminant to form an oxidized product which is insoluble in the liquid and precipitates therefrom, and the conditions of the addition being selected to ensure that the precipitation of the oxidized product is homogeneous, andseparating the homogeneously precipitated product from the liquid.

Abstract: A water purification arrangement which uses as the water treating agent ionized oxygen allotrope gas in multiple (multivalent) ion charge forms (as distinguished from common chemical treatment substances), in which the raw material for practicing the invention is ambient atmospheric air, and specifically its atmospheric oxygen content. The arrangement provided has a gas flow path having multivalent oxygen ion allotrope forming sites that each include a magnetic flux field energy zone within the ambient air flow path characterized by interacting multi-polar magnets that exert flux fields across the flow path, and one or more elongate oxygen photolysis lamps enveloping the flux with ultraviolet light wave length ionizing electronvolt radiant energy emissions. The ambient atmospheric air is passed in a continuous flow through the flow path and then is conveyed to and is interspersed in the water to be treated in a continuous flow application.

Abstract: A method of oxidizing an organic material in an oxidizer includes forming a mixture of the organic material with water and a fluid including oxygen under conditions near supercritical pressure. At the inlet of the oxidizer, the mixture is caused to undergo reaction under supercritical conditions for water, characterized by a temperature of at least about 400.degree. C. and a pressure of at least about 220 atmospheres in the oxidizer.

Abstract: The cyanide content of waste waters containing the same is removed by treatment with sulfur dioxide or an alkali or alkaline earth metal sulfite or bisulfite in the presence of excess oxygen and a metal catalyst which is perferably copper.

Abstract: A method of purifying waste water from oil well rigs in order that the water may be made suitable for reuse on the rig or disposed of conventionally is disclosed. The method incorporates a series of aerators and corresponding collection tanks to first aerate, then collect, the waste water a number of times. In each collection tank, sediment precipitates to the bottom of the tank, permitting the clearer water to overflow, or to be skimmed, from the collection tank. A soluble aluminum salt is added to the waste water at an initial stage of aeration in order to coagulate waste particles within the water and form solid precipitates which then settle to the tank bottom, permitting the clearer water to pass on to subsequent aerators and sedimentation tanks, until ultimately, the water may be disposed of without polluting or contaminating the environment.

Abstract: A process and apparatus are disclosed for separating drilling mud and waste materials into pure water and a concentrated solid waste phase which is easily handled and disposed of. The process and apparatus provide for adjusting the pH of the drilling mud and waste materials to be separated, mixing the thus pH adjusted mud and waste materials with a flocculating agent and allowing the solids to settle out. The solids are then removed and further dewatered to produce a relatively dry concentrated solid waste phase. If desired, the clarified water is mixed with finely divided activated charcoal to remove various impurities from the clarified water. The mixture of clarified water and charcoal are then filtered to produce a filtrate stream which is further separated to produce pure water and a liquid phase containing dissolved solids. The pure water can then be reused in the drilling process or safely discharged into the environment.

Abstract: A process for the removal of at least one compound selected from the group consisting of an aromatic hydroxy compound or an aromatic amine having a water solubility of at least 0.01 mg/L from waste water containing the same, which comprises treating the water with a treating agent which consists essentially of peroxidase, at least one agent selected from the group consisting of alcohol oxidase and a straight chain C.sub.1 to C.sub.4 alcohol or glucose oxidase and glucose and an azide salt of the formula MN.sub.3.

Abstract: A method for removing heavy metals from brines used as well servicing fluids in which the heavy metal is oxidized to a higher, stable oxidation state of +3 or greater, the oxide or variants thereof of the oxidized metal is formed resulting in a generally water insoluble precipitate which is then removed by filtration leaving the brine free of deleterious amounts of the heavy metal.

Abstract: Waste water containing dissolved hydrogen sulfide is passed through a vessel containing redox resin which oxidizes the dissolved hydrogen sulfide to elemental sulfur which is removed from the waste water, preferably through filtration. The method of the present invention is also particularly desirable in that the redox-active resin may be restored to a high oxidation state by contacting the resin with an oxidizing fluid such as humidified air or oxygen. The restoration of the redox-active resin is particularly easy when the resin is disposed within a vessel as a membrane dividing the interior volume of the vessel into separate chambers: one chamber for the passage of the waste water and the other chamber for the passage of oxidizing fluid.

Abstract: A method of purifying waste water from oil well rigs in order that the water may be made suitable for reuse on the rig or disposed of conventionally is disclosed. The method incorporates a series of aerators and corresponding collection tanks to first aerate, then collect, the waste water a number of times. In each collection tank, sediment precipitates to the bottom of the tank, permitting the clearer water to overflow, or to be skimmed, from the collection tank. A soluble aluminum salt is added to the waste water at an initial stage of aeration in order to coagulate waste particles within the water and form solid precipitates which then settle to the tank bottom, permitting the clearer water to pass on to subsequent aerators and sedimentation tanks, until ultimately, the water may be disposed of without polluting or contaminating the environment.

Abstract: Intimate contacting of plural, physically disparate phases, e.g., for the purification of waste waters typically comprising sulfide and polysulfide pollutants, is effected by (i) co-atomizing a first liquid stream which comprises solid waste progenitors together with a second fluid stream inter-reactive therewith, (ii) this co-atomization/reaction being made with and within an entraining stream of a third, gaseous phase.

Abstract: Salt caverns or cavities are used only for intermediate storage and not for permanent storage of liquid pumpable wastes, to avoid above ground installations for such operations as phase separation, neutralization and sedimentation. The caverns may be used in combination or in series.

Abstract: A method for removing low concentrations of soluble copper in the form of cupric cation and cuprocyanide and cupricyanide anions comprises first adding ferric cation, or ferrous cation and a soluble oxidizing agent, in an amount in excess of the stoichiometric amount required to form the ferric salts of the cuprocyanide and cupricyanide anions, and after a predetermined time adding an environmentally acceptable soluble precipitant to precipitate substantially all of the remaining excess ferric cation. By this procedure, very small concentrations of soluble cupric cation and the ferric salts of the cuprocyanide and cupricyanide anions, which are typically present in such low concentrations that they remain essentially permanently suspended in colloidal solution, are removed by the insoluble ferric compound which is present in much higher concentrations.

Abstract: Heavy metal ions bonded to complexing agent can be precipitated from waste streams with a combination of a magnesium ion, calcium hydroxide and peroxygen compound.

Abstract: An environmentally sound system for the removal of elemental phosphorus from waste water resulting from phosphorus manufacture, use, conversion to other products, and storage, wherein the waste water is treated with a material such as lime that produces an insoluble phosphate, filtering the precipitate and passing the filtrate through a column of an adsorbent, such as activated carbon, to produce elemental phosphorus-free water which can be discarded without deleterious effects to the environment.

Abstract: The invention relates to a process for working up phosphorus-containing waste water by subjecting it to filtration with the use of a filter aid in a centrifugal filter. To this end, waste water with a temperature of at least 46.degree. C. and a pH-value within the range 0.5 to 4.0 is introduced into the centrifugal filter and fitrate coming from the centrifugal filter is introduced into a calming zone and separated therein within an average period of 10 to 60 minutes into yellow phosphorus and water containing 1 to 30 ppm of phosphorus. Water overflowing from the calming zone is treated with an oxidant and the waste water so freed from phosphorus is reacted with a neutralizing agent.

Abstract: Brackish water resulting from steam extraction of heavy crude oils, including oil sands bitumen, is processed for reuse by removing hydrocarbon contamination and removing mineral contamination. The purified water can be boiled in conventional boilers without scaling or fouling occurring. Heat economy is used in carrying out the process.

Abstract: A process for removing dissolved radioactive materials from aqueous solution by incorporating lime in a sufficient dosage to adjust the pH of the water to greater than 11.0 while simultaneously adding a material from the group consisting of hydrogen peroxide, oxygen, ferrous sulfate, ferric chloride and potassium permanganate.

Abstract: An admixture of waste (oil-well) drill cuttings, drilling fluid and by-products of rotary drilling are separated into good-quality water and high-density solids by chemical and mechanical means in original earthen-mud storage and/or reserve pits. The treatment produces two useful benefits: (1) good-quality water (useful for agriculture or for drilling a new well) is recovered, and (2) resulting concentrated solids are of such a high density that the land area occupied by and containing such dewatered solids can be immediately leveled and restored to the same use it had before the well was drilled. The effect is a reduction in energy of at least 75 to 85 percent over the present method of hauling whole mud off by trucks to a commercial waste-disposal site.

Abstract: A process for removing dissolved radioactive materials from aqueous solution by adjusting pH of the solution to greater than 9.0 and incorporating approximately 80 to 100 mg/l of alum, lowering the pH of the solution to a range of between 5.5 and 7.0.

Abstract: Wastewater is continuously disinfected by combining the wastewater with sufficient acid to reduce the pH of the wastewater to less than about 4 and with sufficient SO.sub.2 that the wastewater has a selected free SO.sub.2 content of at least 5 mg/liter. The combined SO.sub.2 /wastewater is maintained at the selected free SO.sub.2 content for at least about 5 minutes. The wastewater can be treated by dissolving SO.sub.2 into a first portion of the wastewater and combining the first portion with SO.sub.2 dissolved therein with a second portion of the wastewater stream. SO.sub.2 can be stripped from the wastewater, and the stripped SO.sub.2 can be recycled.

Abstract: Organic materials are oxidized in supercritical water to obtain useful energy and/or resultant materials. In one embodiment, conventional fuels are oxidized with high efficiency to obtain useful energy for power generation and/or process heat. In another embodiment toxic or waste materials are converted to useful energy for power and heat and/or to non-toxic resultant materials. The method is also useful to permit use of a wide range of organic materials as a fuel in the desalination of seawater and brine or the removal of certain inorganic salts from water.

Abstract: A process is disclosed for purifying aqueous solutions of metal hydroxides.An aqueous solution of a metal hydroxide, such as sodium hydroxide, containing a complex of a heavy metal contaminant, such as mercury, is heated.An oxidizing agent, such as hydrogen peroxide, is reacted with the solution to precipitate solid particles of an oxide of the heavy metal, for example, mercuric oxide, in a solution. The solid particles of mercuric oxide are separated from the solution by filtration.The purified solution comprised of water and sodium hydroxide and containing less than about 0.3 part per million mercury by weight is sold commercially. The solid particles of mercuric oxide are landfilled or otherwise utilized.

Abstract: A waste solution containing heavy metals tightly bound by complexing agents such as EDTA, NTA, and thiosulfate is treated by contacting the solution with a mixture of peroxide and ozone to oxidize and destroy the complexing agents thereby facilitating separation and recovery of the heavy metals and reducing pollution of streams by the heavy metals.

Abstract: In the process for decreasing the COD-content of effluent by treating with hydrogen peroxide in the presence of a transition metal compound, the improvement which comprises adding to the effluent about 50 to 65% of the calculated quantity of H.sub.2 O.sub.2 required for the total oxidation of the total COD-content of the effluent, the transition metal compound being dissolved in the effluent in an amount such that the molar ratio of H.sub.2 O.sub.2 to transition metal is from about 30:1 to 3:1, bringing the pH initially to about 2 to 9, maintaining the effluent at about 5.degree. to 100.degree. C., and separating from the effluent whatever material has flocculated. Thereafter the effluent can be subjected to conventional biological degradation such as by the activated sludge process.

Abstract: In order to incorporate oxygen into waters there is immersed therein at least one container or vessel which contains liquid oxygen. The oxygen is released into the water. The container is formed at least in part of a water soluble material, so that there results automatic release of the oxygen. Hence, oxygen can be introduced into deeper situated layers of the water without otherwise impairing the waters. With this equipment and technique there is avoided the need for complicated installations and there are not issued any emissions.

Abstract: Wastewater is continuously disinfected by combining the wastewater with sufficient SO.sub.2 that the wastewater has a selected free SO.sub.2 content of at least 5 mg/liter. The combined SO.sub.2 /wastewater is maintained at the selected free SO.sub.2 content for at least about 10 minutes. The wastewater can be treated by dissolving SO.sub.2 into a first portion of the wastewater and combining the first portion with SO.sub.2 dissolved therein with a second portion of the wastewater stream.

Abstract: The process disclosed in this invention takes the waste solids, gases, and water from a phosphorus pentasulfide manufacturing facility and hydrolyzes the phosphorus pentasulfide by heating. The phosphorus portion is converted to a soluble phosphate and the sulfur portion to a mixture of sulfide, sulfite and sulfate. The soluble fraction is then treated with a calcium hydroxide solution precipitating the phosphate and sulfates which are removed. The gaseous portion of the hydrolysis is fed to a catalytic oxidizer which converts the sulfides to sulfur, which is removed and the gas, free of sulfur containing species, is exhausted to the atmosphere. The filtrate from the precipitation reaction can be recycled to the plant, or may be chlorinated and discharged.

Abstract: In a process for pretreating hazardous waste prior to solidification the waste is received in containers (10). The containers are deposited in a large vessel containing a chemical pretreatment media (9) and subjected to an agitating process in the vessel whereby the containers are ruptured and their contents deposited in the media. Neutralization, precipitation and chemical modification processes are envisaged in the container. After pretreatment the liquid is removed for ultimate solidification.

Abstract: Processes for treating the waste water, particularly waste water containing certain unsaturated compounds, from acrolein and acrylic acid production plants to reduce the chemical oxygen demand (COD), which processes comprise polymerizing the unsaturated compounds, desirably with peroxygen compounds; neutralizing the waste water with a reagent forming polyvalent metal ions to provide salts of the polymerized compounds; and separating the salts so formed.

Abstract: A method has been devised for removing hexavalent chromium from concentrated aqueous alkali metal chlorate solutions by reacting the solution with a hydrazine compound and separating trivalent chromium compound from the solution. Alkali metal hypohalites may be simultaneously removed from the chlorate solution by reaction with excess hydrazine compound.

Abstract: Hydrogen sulfide is effectively removed from potable water by the combined action of first chlorinating the water and then passing the chlorinated water through a bed of activated carbon. Chlorine is added in large doses to potable water containing dissolved hydrogen sulfide to convert substantially 90% of the hydrogen sulfide to sulfates. The chlorinated water containing residual hydrogen sulfide is then passed through a bed of activated carbon. Chemisorbed nascent oxygen in conjunction with the activated carbon catalytically affect breakdown of the remaining sulfide compounds into elemental sulfur.

Abstract: A process is disclosed for purifying aqueous solutions of metal hydroxides.An aqueous solution of a metal hydroxide, such as sodium hydroxide, containing a complex of a heavy metal contaminant, such as mercury, is heated.An oxidizing agent, such as hydrogen peroxide, is reacted with the solution to precipitate solid particles of an oxide of the heavy metal, for example, mercuric oxide, in a solution. The solid particles of mercuric oxide are separated from the solution by filtration.The purified solution comprised of water and sodium hydroxide and containing less than about 0.3 part per million mercury by weight is sold commercially. The solid particles of mercuric oxide are landfilled or otherwise utilized.

Abstract: In a process for the treatment of water with ozone a partial current of treated water is contacted under pressure in a packed column with an oxygen-ozone mixture from an ozonizer to oxidize water contaminants and to improve their flocculation. The portion of oxygen which has not dissolved in the water in the packed column is recycled into the ozonizer and the treated partial water current is mixed again with water to be treated. The pressure in the column is adjusted in dependence on the nitrogen content of the water to be treated. By this measure is ensured that the quantity of nitrogen escaping from the water and contained in the cycle oxygen permits an optimum operation of the ozonizer. The nitrogen content in the cycle oxygen is preferably kept below 10% by volume.

Abstract: A method of removing metallic impurities from sewage sludge wherein the sludge is first acidified in the presence of an oxidizing agent and held to take metallic impurities into solution. The sludge is then treated with a flocculating agent and thickened by removing liquid prior to dilution with an aqueous liquid free from metallic impurities and wherein the sludge is finally dewatered by a mechanical method.

Abstract: This invention relates to solid nonionic crosslinked resins containing amine or phosphine borane adducts and their use as reducing agents for metal ions.

Abstract: A method of dehydrating an organic sludge, which comprises adjusting the pH value of a sludge having a solids concentration in the range of from 0.5 to 8% by weight, to a pH of 5 or less, heating the thus adjusted sludge, mixing with the sludge an oxidizer capable of displaying oxidation ability within the acid region, and dewatering the sludge with a dehydrator.