Technologies / AVALON technologies

Clean-up technologies for water contaminated by oil products

Biocatalytic clean-up technology for aquatic areas of oil products AVALON is based on phosphate glass characteristics to maintain microflora vitality.

Porous sorbent composed of foamed vitreous phosphates serves as a proactive carrier. Drifting at the water surface it gradually dissolves in fluid medium and provides favorable conditions for biochemical reactions. AVALON provides oil destructive microorganisms with extra mineral nutrition and keeps them at the water surface. Then the carrier dissolves with no damage to the environment. The efficiency of oil (petroleum) products biodestruction is - 79,6 - 94,9%.

The main and principal advantages of AVALON technology:

The possibility of nearly complete deletion of the oil spill remnants in the form of low solubility films from the surfaces of aquatic areas
No need for additional nutrition for the degrading microorganisms during the process of biorecovery
Environmentally friendly technology.

While cleaning aquatic areas from oil and oil products in the case of considerable contamination this technology implies usage of known mechanical methods, their localization and collection (slick bars, hot-metal-slag separators (skimmers), and highly efficient natural sorbents). Oil products fixed with the inert natural carrier are placed on specially conditioned areas for recultivation, where they are affected by biological oxidation with biologicals on the basis of specific pollutants bacteria-destructors. Oil and oil products bacteria-destructors relating to the kin of Burkholderia Acidovorax, Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Serratia, Alcaligenes, are absorbed from the soil by the screening. On the basis of the specific biological activity of strains, depending on the particular conditions (temperature, chemical composition of contaminations) the effective associations of microbes-destructors are developing.

At the second cleaning stage the application of new biopreparation AVALON ensures high efficiency of the process of oil hydrocarbons biodestruction and their films deletion from the water surface. It is composed of strain-destructors associations applied on the porous AVA type sorbent. This AVA type sorbent is foamed vitreous metaphosphates with variable element composition which grants a long time span of optimal conditions for microorganisms' vital activity.

The diagrams show the dynamics of oil products biodestruction after application of AVALON biopreparation.

It's typical for earlier known passive carriers that their catalytic activity decreases due to catalyst poisoning by chemical reaction products. Foamed vitreous phosphates serve as an active carrier. They keep oil destructor-microorganisms at the water surface as well as providing optimal conditions for their mineral nutrition and biochemical reactions. Therein lays the principal difference and considerable advantage of AVA carrier and AVALON technology.

During the process of high-temperature synthesis it's possible to change chemical composition and carrier density within a wide range as well as to add microelements which have a catalytic effect on biochemical processes. It's also possible to modify the dissolution rate of porous AVA type sorbent depending on microelements needs for mineral nutrition. Vitreous phosphate thermodynamic nonequilibrium yields high accessibility of all elements for nutrition of biological objects and dissolution autoregulation. The process of inner pores opening and extension of specific carrier surface takes place. Due to the process of dissolution and filling pores with water solutions the sorbent density increases and finally exceeds water density that leads to material relocation from water surface to the bottom, where the cleaning process goes on.

Biotechnology AVALON has successfully passed extensive approbation in laboratory and production conditions in open air water reservoirs contaminated by oil products (Leningradskaya, Pskovskaya oblast, West Sibiria). Covered by patent.