VeruTEK Announces Verification of Complete Environmental Remediation of Toxic Soils and Groundwater Using Advanced Analytical Chemistry Methods

VeruTEK Technologies, Inc. (VTKT.OB) announced the development of new analytical chemistry methods to further support their already advanced Smart Environmental Remediation Technologies including Surfactant Enhanced In Situ Chemical Oxidation (S-ISCOTM), a combination of plant oil-based surfactants and chemical oxidation processes that destroy recalcitrant chemicals.

VeruTEK is using Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (UPLC/MS™) instrumentation to document performance of its current and future remediation solutions to environmental problems much in the same way that pharmaceutical research leads to new drugs to combat diseases. One historic problem in the $10B environmental remediation marketplace is the lack of sophisticated tools to remedy and to verify complete remediation of toxic materials in soils and groundwater. VeruTEK is developing both green and safe remedies and sophisticated tools to verify complete remediation.

Recently, VeruTEK conducted tests of its S-ISCOTM process on coal tar from a former Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP) site to demonstrate the application of the UPLC/MS method and other state-of-the-art techniques. VeruTEK is the first company to develop a custom solution that can effectively destroy in place carcinogenic contamination associated with these former gas plants, without digging up, extracting or landfilling the wastes, all which transfer the problem to some other location. Landfilling, containment in place, solidification and the other common methods of environmental remediation are neither sustainable remedies nor, by themselves, fully protective of human health and the environment.

To demonstrate the tremendous power of the UPLC/MS™ method, VeruTEK worked with Waters Corporation of Milford, Massachusetts to develop a method for analyzing plant-based surfactants along with coal tar polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). As part of the S-ISCOTM process, VeruTEK uses its plant oil surfactants (VeruSOLTM) to increase the aqueous solubility of coal tars and then uses activated persulfate, a very strong free-radical oxidant system, to destroy the solubilized coal tars. The method developed using UPLC/MS™ analysis of standard solution of PAH compounds is shown in Figure 1 and reveals a pattern of compounds present called a chromatogram. VeruTEK dissolved the coal tar with its VeruSOLTM systems and performed the same UPLC/MS™ analysis, which shows both the PAH compounds VeruSOLTM plant-based surfactant compounds in Figure 2A. The solubility of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons increased by more than a factor of 50, using only small amounts of VeruSOLTM. The solubilized coal tar emulsions were then subject to chemical oxidation using alkaline activated persulfate consisting of sodium persulfate activated with Fe(II)-EDTA. Samples were taken after 1 day, 7 days and 14 days of treatment and analyzed for Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds (SVOCs) by a third party NELAC-certified commercial laboratory. Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) analyses were conducted in VeruTEK’s R&D Laboratories using the Sitelab 3100-UVF Analyzer Method™. The destruction of both the VeruSOLTM, plant-based surfactant system and the emulsified MGP coal tar is documented in Figures 2B, 2C and 2D, following 1, 7 and 14 days of treatment.

The absence of residual VeruSOLTM or coal tar is evidenced by these Figures all run under the same operating conditions and the same vertical comparison. The initial concentrations of TPH compounds in the emulsified MGP coal tar solution was 2822 mg/L and the concentration after 14 days of treatment was 8.5 mg/L, resulting in 99.7 percent destruction of the coal tar. All VOC and SVOC compounds in water were reduced to below instrument detection limits of 5 micrograms per liter for VOCs and 10 micrograms per liter for SVOCs after the 14-day treatment period.

The use of advanced chemical analysis, in addition to traditional environmental analytical methods, is important to monitor and document performance of VeruTEK’s Smart Remediation Surfactant Enhanced In Situ Chemical Oxidation (S-ISCOTM) process. The use of the UPLC/MS™ method demonstrates that VeruSOL-3TM serves its purpose to emulsify MGP DNAPL in a controlled and efficient manner, but is also destroyed along with the volatile and semi-volatile compounds present in the MGP coal tar during the chemical oxidation process. Coupled together, enhanced solubilization of MGP coal tars and chemical oxidation of the dissolved MGP chemicals is effective in treating this persistent environmental problem.

About VeruTEK Technologies, Inc.

VeruTEK (VTKT.OB) provides proprietary, patent-pending, green, and sustainable solutions for cleaning up the environment. For more information, please visit www.verutek.com.