Ecosphere Technologies Inc., a U.S. technology licensing and manufacturing company, announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a formal Notice of Allowance for a process patent for lowering the scaling tendencies in flowback water used in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas. This notice of allowance marks the sixth patent for Ecosphere's Ozonix water treatment technology issued by the U.S. Patent Office since 2010.
Ecosphere's Ozonix systems are currently being used by major energy exploration and production companies around the U.S. to reduce the amount of chemicals used during hydraulic fracturing (or "fracking") operations. Ecosphere's latest patent is directed to a technology that allows energy companies to save millions of gallons of water and reduce the amount of production wastewaters being disposed of in Class II injection wells.
The advanced oxidation system covered by the allowable patent combines ozone, hydrodynamic and acoustic cavitation, and electro oxidation equipment in a process that causes colloidal suspension of precipitated hardness salts suitable for water recycling without the need for conventional liquid chemicals.
"This newest patent further reinforces that our timing for this technology in the oil & gas industry was right on point,” said Dean Becker, director and intellectual property srategist for Ecosphere Technologies. “Ecosphere's patent portfolio continues to expand, while at the same time the State of Florida House Agriculture and Natural Resources Subcommittee is supporting two bills that would require oil and gas companies to disclose to state agencies what chemicals are being used during oil and gas exploration. We believe this type of regulation will accelerate the industries desire to reduce chemicals being used during their operations."
Source: Ecosphere Technologies
