Claims
- 1. A method of biotreating a solid material to remove an undesired compound using a nonstirred surface bioreactor, said process comprising the steps of:
a. coating the surface of a plurality of coarse substrates having a particle size of less than about 0.3 cm with a solid material to be biotreated and thereby forming a plurality of coated coarse substrates, said solid material to be biotreated having a particle size of less than about 250 μm and containing an undesired compound; b. forming a nonstirred surface reactor by stacking said plurality of coated coarse substrates into a heap or placing said plurality of coated coarse substrates into a tank, said reactor having a void volume greater than or equal to about 25% and a surface area of greater than or equal 100 square meters per cubic meter of reactor space; c. inoculating said reactor with a microorganism capable of degrading the undesired compound in said solid material to thereby form a nonstirred surface bioreactor; and d. biotreating said solid material in said bioreactor until said undesired compound in said solid material is degraded to a desired concentration.
- 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of coarse substrates are rock, and said rock is selected from the group consisting of lava rock, gravel, and barren rock containing carbonate minerals.
- 3. A method according to claim 1, wherein no more than 5% by weight of said coarse substrates are less than 0.3 cm.
- 4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the surface area of the reactor per cubic meter of reactor space is greater than or equal to 500 square meters per cubic meter of reactor.
- 5. A method of biotreating a solid material to remove an undesired compound using a nonstirred surface bioreactor, said process comprising the steps of:
a. coating the surface of a plurality of coarse substrates with a solid material to be biotreated and thereby forming a plurality of coated coarse substrates, wherein said coarse substrates have a particle size greater than about 0.3 cm and less than about 2.54 cm, said solid material to be biotreated has a nominal particle size less than about 106 μm and greater than about 75 μm, said solid material contains an undesired compound selected from the group consisting of sulfide minerals and organic contaminants, and the thickness of said solid material coating on said substrates is less than about 1 mm; b. forming a nonstirred surface reactor by stacking said plurality of coated coarse substrates into a heap or placing said plurality of coated coarse substrates into a tank, said reactor having a void volume greater than or equal to about 25%; c. inoculating said reactor with a microorganism capable of degrading the undesired compound in said solid material to thereby form a nonstirred surface bioreactor; and d. biotreating said solid material in said bioreactor until said undesired compound in said solid material is degraded to a desired concentration.
Parent Case Info
1. This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/097,316, filed Jun. 12, 1998, by William J. Kohr, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/636,117, filed Apr. 22, 1996, which itself is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/588,589, filed Jan. 18, 1996, which is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/459,621 filed Jun. 2, 1995. Each of the foregoing applications is incorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth.
Continuations (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09097316 |
Jun 1998 |
US |
Child |
09735156 |
Dec 2000 |
US |
Parent |
08636117 |
Apr 1996 |
US |
Child |
09097316 |
Jun 1998 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
08588589 |
Jan 1996 |
US |
Child |
08636117 |
Apr 1996 |
US |
Parent |
08459621 |
Jun 1995 |
US |
Child |
08588589 |
Jan 1996 |
US |