April 2002 - sgblue, inc. was invited by the Taiwanese government and the Chinese Petroleum Corp. to demonstrate the company's CAP™ Clean Water Plant technology for the destruction of MTBE and BTEX in contaminated groundwater. Methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), a chemical added to gasoline to reduce emissions of carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons, is highly soluble and migrates quickly into groundwater. Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX) are also components of gasoline and have been found to contaminate both groundwater and soil.
Dr. Charlie Tsai, an advisor to the Ministry of Taiwan and a former employee of Exxon in the U.S., invited sgblue, inc. to demonstrate its technology as part of a technology transfer initiative in cooperation with the government-owned Chinese Petroleum Corporation and the Development Center for Biotechnology. The CWP is a biological treatment system that uses enzymes to oxidize contaminants, breaking them down to non-harmful compounds. To date, carbon and charcoal have been found to be ineffective at controlling MTBE contamination because they become saturated quickly and their replacement costs are high. Not only are the CWP's capital and operating costs low, but the destruction rates are extremely fast.
In order to demonstration destruction of MTBE and BTEX in groundwater, sgblue, inc. constructed the CAP-HOOD-50, a small-scale demonstration plant. Under the leadership of sgblue, inc.'s President, Dr. Sam Sofer, the Development Center for Biotechnology and the Chinese Petroleum Corp. performed numerous tests demonstrating the biological degradation of the contaminants in groundwater. Single cartridge destruction efficiencies using the CWP were proven to be 90% and higher. A dual cartridge system, which incorporated a CAP™ Clean Air Plant cartridge model CAP-75 raised the contaminant destruction efficiencies to 96%.
For more information about the CAP™ Clean Water Plant and the CAPTM Clean Air Plant, call, fax, or write to sgblue, inc., P.O. Box 627, sgblue, inc., NJ 07110. Phone: 877-661-5192. Fax: 973-661-3713. Email: awsi@cleanairplant.com. Or visit our website at: www.cleanairplant.com.
