Claims
- 1. A groundwater treatment system, comprising:
a subterranean inlet portion configured to collect groundwater from an aquifer; a subterranean treatment portion including a replaceable treatment media and configured to receive the groundwater from the inlet portion and expose the groundwater to the treatment media; and a subterranean outlet portion configured to receive groundwater from the treatment portion and expel the groundwater to the aquifer.
- 2. The groundwater treatment system of claim 1, wherein the treatment portion is positioned above the inlet and outlet portions.
- 3. The groundwater treatment system of claim 2, wherein the treatment portion is concentrically aligned above the inlet and outlet portions.
- 4. The groundwater treatment system of claim 1, wherein the inlet portion, treatment portion, and outlet portion are laterally defined by a well casing.
- 5. The groundwater treatment system of claim 4, wherein the diameter of the well casing defining the treatment portion is greater than the diameter of the well casing defining the inlet portion or outlet portion.
- 6. The groundwater treatment system of claim 1, wherein the treatment includes a lead treatment segment and a lag treatment segment, wherein the lead treatment segment and the lag treatment segment are physically separated and in fluid communication with one another.
- 7. The groundwater treatment system of claim 1, wherein the treatment portion is configured to facilitate replacement of exhausted treatment media with other treatment media.
- 8. The groundwater treatment system of claim 1, further comprising a manhole providing access to the treatment subsystem.
- 9. The groundwater treatment system of claim 1, wherein the treatment media includes an adsorbent solid.
- 10. The groundwater treatment system of claim 9, wherein the treatment media includes granular activated carbon.
- 11. The groundwater treatment system of claim 1, wherein the treatment media includes a reactive solid.
- 12. The groundwater treatment system of claim 1, wherein the groundwater treatment system is selectively sealable so that groundwater collected by the inlet portion remains subterraneanly sealed within the groundwater treatment system until being expelled by the outlet portion.
- 13. The groundwater treatment system of claim 1, further comprising a pumping subsystem configured to move groundwater from the inlet portion to the treatment portion.
- 14. The groundwater treatment system of claim 13, wherein the pumping subsystem is configured to expel groundwater from the outlet portion via applied pressure.
- 15. The groundwater treatment system of claim 1, further comprising a return configured to move groundwater from the treatment portion to the outlet portion.
- 16. The groundwater treatment system of claim 1, further comprising a packer operationally separating the inlet portion and the outlet portion.
- 17. The groundwater treatment system of claim 15, wherein the inlet portion and outlet portion share a common screen that is operationally segmented by the packer.
- 18. The groundwater treatment system of claim 1, wherein the inlet portion is above the outlet portion.
- 19. The groundwater treatment system of claim 1, wherein the inlet portion is below the outlet portion.
- 20. An in situ groundwater treatment system, comprising:
a well casing configured to be installed below a ground level, wherein the well casing includes a treatment portion configured to receive a replaceable treatment media; and a manhole providing access to the treatment portion of the well casing for replacing the treatment media.
- 21. The in situ groundwater treatment system of claim 20, wherein the well casing includes a lower portion below the treatment portion, and wherein the lower portion includes an inlet portion for receiving groundwater from an aquifer and an outlet portion for expelling groundwater to the aquifer.
- 22. The in situ groundwater treatment system of claim 21, wherein the treatment portion and the lower portion are concentrically aligned.
- 23. The in situ groundwater treatment system of claim 21, further including a pump configured to move groundwater from the inlet portion to the treatment portion.
- 24. The in situ groundwater treatment system of claim 23, wherein the pump is further configured to over-pressure groundwater in the lower portion near the outlet portion to encourage expulsion of the groundwater from the treatment system to the aquifer.
- 25. The in situ groundwater treatment system of claim 21, further including a return configured to move groundwater from the treatment portion to the outlet portion.
- 26. The in situ groundwater treatment system of claim 21, wherein the treatment portion of the well casing has a larger diameter than the lower portion of the well casing.
- 27. The in situ groundwater treatment system of claim 20, further comprising a seal configured to selectively seal the well casing.
- 28. An in situ groundwater treatment system, comprising:
a well casing having a treatment portion, an inlet portion, and an outlet portion, wherein the treatment portion is concentrically aligned above the inlet portion and the outlet portion and includes a replaceable treatment media for treating contaminated groundwater; an inlet fluid path positioned within the well casing and extending between the inlet portion and the treatment portion; a pump positioned within the well casing and configured to move water from the inlet portion to the treatment portion via the supply fluid path; a return fluid path positioned within the well casing and extending between the treatment portion and the outlet portion and configured to move water from the treatment portion to the outlet portion.
- 29. The in situ groundwater treatment system of claim 28, wherein the well casing is selectively sealable.
- 30. The in situ groundwater treatment system of claim 29, further comprising a pumping subsystem configured to over-pressure groundwater for expulsion through the outlet portion.
- 31. The in situ groundwater treatment system of claim 28, wherein the treatment portion is positioned below ground level.
- 32. The in situ groundwater treatment system of claim 31, further comprising a manhole providing access to the below-ground treatment portion.
- 33. A plural-stage groundwater treatment system, comprising:
a subterranean inlet portion configured to collect groundwater from an aquifer; a treatment portion including a lead treatment segment configured to receive the groundwater from the inlet portion and a lag treatment segment configured to receive the groundwater from the lead treatment segment, wherein the lead treatment segment and the lag treatment segment each include replaceable treatment media for removing groundwater contamination; and a subterranean outlet portion configured to receive groundwater from the lag treatment segment and expel the groundwater to the aquifer.
- 34. The plural-stage groundwater treatment system of claim 33, further comprising a manhole providing access to the treatment subsystem.
- 35. The plural-stage groundwater treatment system of claim 33, wherein the groundwater treatment system is selectively sealable so that groundwater collected by the inlet portion remains subterraneanly sealed within the groundwater treatment system until being expelled by the outlet portion.
- 36. The plural-stage groundwater treatment system of claim 33, wherein the replaceable treatment media of the lead treatment segment is a different composition than the replaceable media of the lag treatment segment.
- 37. The plural-stage groundwater treatment system of claim 33, wherein the lag treatment segment is one of a plurality of lag treatment segments.
- 38. The plural-stage groundwater treatment system of claim 37, wherein the plurality of lag treatment segments receive the groundwater from the lead treatment segment in series.
- 39. The plural-stage groundwater treatment system of claim 37, wherein the plurality of lag treatment segments receive the groundwater from the lead treatment segment in parallel.
- 40. The plural-stage groundwater treatment system of claim 33, wherein the inlet portion and outlet portion are concentrically aligned below the treatment portion.
- 41. The plural-stage groundwater treatment system of claim 33, further comprising a pumping subsystem configured to over-pressure groundwater for expulsion through the outlet portion.
- 42. A method of treating groundwater, comprising:
forming a borehole below ground level and extending below a groundwater level; placing a well casing into the borehole so that the well casing is below ground level and extends below the groundwater level, wherein the well casing includes an inlet portion, an outlet portion, and a treatment portion; loading an arrangement of treatment media into the treatment portion of the well casing; installing a pump to move groundwater collected by the inlet portion of the well casing to the treatment portion of the well casing; and establishing a return fluid path from the treatment portion of the well casing to the outlet portion of the well casing.
- 43. The method of claim 42, wherein the method further includes:
sealing the well casing.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority from the following co-pending provisional patent application, the content of which is incorporated by reference: IN SITU WATER TREATMENT SYSTEM, Serial No. 60/371,005, filed Apr. 8, 2002.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60371005 |
Apr 2002 |
US |