JRW Bioremediation LLC, in partnership with Archer Daniels Midland Co., recently announced that a U.S. patent has been awarded to the two companies for a soy-based environmental remediation product. Trademarked as LactOil, the micro-emulsion is a renewable product designed to provide environmental professionals with a cost-effective way to clean up soil and groundwater contaminated with chlorinated solvents, metals and perchlorates. 
 According to JRW Bioremediation President Donovan Smith, LactOil is reverse-phase micro-emulsion made of soy oil, ethyl&nbsp;lactate from corn, and a group of emulsifiers. The components are mixed together to from micro-emulsion where oil is a continuous phase that contains emulsion particles of water. "It&#8217;s made up for these extremely small thermodynamically stable particles," Smith said. 
 The product is injected into contaminated with chlorinated solves, metals, nitrates or perchlorates, which are elements that can be aerobically degraded by bacteria that already reside in ground water, Smith continued. The LactOil provides these bacteria with conditions that allow the degradation process to be expedited. The naturally occurring bacteria essentially break down the contaminants into innocuous molecules, including carbon dioxide, water and chloride ions. "We&#8217;re really accelerating an already natural process," Smith said. 

 While traditional remediation treatments are often energy intensive and require groundwater to be pumped to the surface and treated, the use of LactOil is much less energy intensive and more affordable. "You can save about 90 percent of the cost compared to pump-and-treat." There are also chemical oxidation technologies that chemically degrade contaminants contained in groundwater. However, the chemicals that are pumped into the ground can leave toxic byproducts behind, although Smith noted those byproducts are not nearly as toxic as the chlorinated solvents they destroy. 
 Other biobased remediation products are available in the market but Smith notes that LactOil has been designed to overcome many of the limitations they face. "We feel like ours has an advantage with respect to its physical properties, that it is a micro-emulsion as opposed to a standard emulsions," he said. "Our emulsions are actually much smaller and much more stable, which [allow] them to move through the ground water more easily and treat a greater area with less injection points. We&#8217;ve also shown, because it has quite a bit of lactate in it, it tends to be more efficient and degrade the contaminants more quickly."
 To date, LactOil has been used to treat contamination on a wide variety of scales, from large federal or industrial sites to very small areas. Since June 2007, a variety of environmental professionals have successfully deployed LactOil at more than 40 locations in North America. According to information published by JRW Bioremediation, those using LactOil have reported the material is easy to handle, has excellent subsurface distribution and multi-year longevity. 
 While LactOil is primary composed of raw materials sourced from soybeans and corn, JRW Bioremediation also produces products made from biobased waste products. According to Smith, the company currently offers a bioremediation product that is designed to treat sulfuric acid contamination that is present at old mines. That product is made from crustacean shells.

JRW Bioremediation LLC, in partnership with Archer Daniels Midland Co., recently announced that a U.S. patent has been awarded to the two companies for a soy-based environmental remediation product.

Biobased remediation product receives patent

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