Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory researchers have discovered a novel method to use yellow phosphorous to produce powerful oxidation agents. The Pozone process is a simple, elegant solution to waste treatment problems. Yellow phosphorus is added to water, then oxygen or air is passed through the slurry. Naturally occurring reactions then immediately begin to produce ozone and other intermediate oxidizing agents. It can be applied to destruction of toxics in solid, liquid and gas phases. In laboratory experiments, the process has been shown to destroy 90% or more of toxic compounds. The final reaction byproduct is phosphoric acid, which can be easily collected without contamination by the toxic compounds being treated, and is a valuable commodity. This makes the economics of Pozone very favorable. The process has been demonstrated to work with a wide range of toxics including: nitrobenzene, aniline, benzoic acid, phenol, isophorone, chlorobenzene, PCBs, aliphatic chlorides, toluene, diakyl sulfide, azo-dyes, and organophosphorus pesticides. Pozone can also be coupled with activated carbon filtering of toxic wastes, using Pozone to regenerate the carbon, and reducing costs. Normally activated carbon absorbents are transported to another location for regeneration, which requires costly hazardous material transportation. For pulp bleaching, Pozone provides an attractive alternative to chlorine bleaching, which produces a toxic waste stream. Ozone bleaching eliminates the toxic waste stream, but until now has been produced via corona discharge, which results in high energy costs. Pozone can cut the cost of producing ozone in half. Bench scale tests have shown the process will bleach pulp to industry standards of brightness.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is currently seeking partnerships with industries to further develop other applications for Pozone. This concept was developed by Shih-Ger Chang and subsequently awarded U.S. Pat. No. 5,332,563. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is continuing to develop and pilot test applications for this invention, and is currently in search of partners to market and further commercialize this concept. Licensing opportunities are available for the manufacture of products using this technology.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Technology Transfer Department, Reference #: IB-854
MS 90-1070
Berkeley, CA 94720
Tel: (510) 486-6467 Fax: (510) 486-6457
http://www.lbl.gov/Tech-Transfer/techs/lbnl854.html
Environmental, Waste Treatment, Pozone,