US20080152430A1

US20080152430A1 - Drain System

Info

Publication number: US20080152430A1
Application number: US11/883,190
Authority: US
Inventors: Nicolo Flor; John Christopher Polis; John S. Brinkman; Richard H. Hall
Original assignee: Imbibitive Technologies Corp
Current assignee: Imbibitive Technologies Corp
Priority date: 2005-02-04
Filing date: 2006-02-03
Publication date: 2008-06-26
Also published as: WO2006084100A2; WO2006084100A3; EP1851391A2; EP1851391A4

Abstract

Target organic substance can be contained, filtered, absorbed and/or used to shut down flow, and water drained off, with a system having a first, fluid-permeable, hollow housing member; a second, fluid-permeable, hollow housing member disposed inside the first member; and, disposed between the first and second members, a fluid-filtering/absorbing material. A fluid can pass through the first and second members and the fluid-filtering/absorbing material, and have the target organic substance, which may be found with the fluid, filtered and/or absorbed by the fluid-filtering/absorbing material.

Description

This claims priority benefits of United States of America (U.S.) provisional patent application No. 60/650,314 filed on Feb. 4, 2005 A.D. For the US, the same is claimed under Patent Cooperation Treaty and/or Title 35 United States Code, particularly under sections 119(e), 120, 363 and/or 365. Where applicable, as in the US, the complete specification of the '314 application is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

I. Field and Purview
In general, the invention concerns a system that contains material to filter and/or absorb materials such as various hazardous and nonhazardous liquid organic chemicals or organic mixtures, and it can concern methods of making and using the system. In a particular embodiment, it can be a shut off pipe system that employs imbibing polymer particles as well as other filtration units or materials. It can further be a particle or supporting matrix, which is coated or impregnated with an imbibing polymer.
II. Art and Problems
Organic chemical/mixture leaks and spills can be problematic. Often such leaks or spills occur on or about paved areas such as filling stations, parking lots, industrial slabs, and so forth. Runoff from rain or other form of introduced water such as from a spigot, fire suppression, and so forth can carry the leaked or spilled organic substance to a sewer and/or to the ground, and engender an overburden of or contamination by the organic substance. In particular, diesel fuel; kerosene; jet fuel; and gasoline, motor oil, some grades of transformer oil, as well as stored solvents; aliphatic, aromatic, halogenated (especially chlorinated and brominated) compounds are examples and types of substances that may be of special concern, in addition to many other organic liquids.
A number of solutions to such problems have been proposed, and, among these, most highly effective and desirable absorbent products are provided through Imbibitive Technologies Corp. Compare, U.S. design Pat. Nos. 400,973 to Hall et al., 400,974 to Hall et al., 403,059 to Flor et al., 403,060 to Flor et al., 403,418 to Brinkman et al., 415,831 to Hall et al., 419,652 to Hall et al., 428,108 to Flor et al., and 441,067 to Flor et al., and International publication No. WO 01/98757 by Imbibitive Technologies Corp. See also, U.S. utility Pat. Nos. 3,750,688 to Hall et al., and 4,302,337 to Larson et al.
As good as such products are, they are not in all occasions the most suitable. The layout of certain real estate sometimes makes it difficult if not impossible to install a deep drain, and in other cases, a sewer system is not available. In some cases, existing structures or equipment can hinder installation of such products. Certain customers, too, although desiring the elegance and effectiveness of such products, find their higher cost burdensome, to notably include the deeper retrofit and extensively engineered construction operations.
Also, portable or stationary berms defining containment areas for vehicular parking, fueling and loading can present runoff problems. When hydrocarbon based fuels or lubricants such as diesel or jet fuel, gasoline, or motor oil are in the runoff to be contained, they float on top of the water. Overflow can result, during which time such floating organic materials are released.
Other areas of concern exist, the problems of which are evident to those skilled in the art. These include treatment of waste water with diesel or jet fuel, gasoline or oil present such as in runoff from streets, highways, parking lots, factory floors, and so forth; and organic chemical storage tank water draw off such as tanks for diesel or jet fuel, gasoline, and so forth, where water condenses inside the tank and is drawn off, or water blocks are used to separate different products in one pipe line.
It would be desirable to improve upon the art, and ameliorate or overcome problems remaining in it.

A FULL DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

In general, the present invention provides a system for containing, filtering, absorbing organics, draining off water and/or shutting down flow of a target organic substance, which comprises:

- a first, fluid-permeable, hollow housing member;
- a second, fluid-permeable, hollow housing member disposed inside said first member; and
- a fluid-filtering and/or absorbing material disposed between said first and second members,
  such that a fluid can pass through said first and second members and the fluid-filtering/absorbing material, and have the target organic substance, which may be found with the fluid, be filtered and/or absorbed by the fluid-filtering and/or absorbing material.

The invention is useful in environmental conservation.
Significantly, by the invention, the art is advanced in kind, and problems are ameliorated if not overcome. A most effective alternative is provided for helping to control wayward contaminants serving as target organic substance(s) such as diesel fuel; jet fuel; kerosene; gasoline, motor oil; and most transformer oil; as well as stored solvents such as aliphatic, aromatic, halogenated (especially chlorinated and brominated) compounds such as, for example, toluene, styrene, methyl and ethyl styrene, xylene, ethylene bromide, chloroform, trichloroethylene, dichlorobenzene, and so forth and the like, in addition to many other organic target liquids and various dissolved, suspended or otherwise carried target organic substances. Also, especially with proper particulate material, the system can absorb a broad range of target organic solvents and liquids of various solubility parameters. Installation of the system can be effected on or close to the surface of the ground, and can find especially desirable utility as a part of a drain in connection with electric substations; filling stations; garages; railroad yards; airports; portable berms, to include inflated berms; and so forth. In addition, site remediation in particular may be conducted with the system in the practice of the invention, and particularly effective draining of condensed and incidental water from storage tanks holding organic substances can be carried out.
Numerous further advantages attend the invention.

The drawings form part of the specification hereof. With respect to the drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, the following is briefly noted:

FIG. 1 is a side plan view of an embodiment of a system of the invention, embodied as a drain system, and showing an inside to outside flow pattern.

FIG. 2 is a perspective plan view of the system of FIG. 1, but showing an outside to inside flow pattern.

FIG. 3 is a side plan view of another embodiment hereof.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment hereof in which a centering device and an outer conduit are employed.

FIG. 5 is a side plan view of another embodiment hereof in which an outer protective mesh material is provided, and the drain system has its filtering component outside a target containment area.

FIG. 6 is a side plan view of another embodiment hereof in which an outer protective mesh material is provided, and the drain system has its filtering component inside a target containment area.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are views of a drain system of the invention embodied as a shut-off pipe system as from FIGS. 5 and/or 6.

FIG. 9 is a side view of another embodiment of a drain system of the invention, having a housing made of corrugated plastic pipe akin to or being plastic drain tile.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional plan view of another embodiment of the invention in which the drain system housing is made of a flexible plastic web, for example, heat sealed to make a hose type arrangement.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a bent or flexible drain system of the invention.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of runoff water treatment with the system of the invention.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of organic chemical storage tank for which condensed and/or incident water can be drawn off with the system of the invention.

FIG. 14 is a generally exploded and partially cut-away view of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 15 is a sectional view in detail of a drain cartridge of the invention such as found in FIG. 14.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a system of the invention in operation, which includes a cartridge as found in FIG. 14.

The invention can be further understood by the detail that follows, which may be read in view of the drawings. Such is to be taken in an illustrative and not necessarily limiting sense.
With respect to the drawings, system 100, which may be embodied as a drain or as another shut-off or filter element, includes first housing member 10, which has fluid-permeable wall 11 and hollow volume 12. First nonporous cap 15 may close an end, and second nonporous cap 15′ may secure an opposing end and may contain an opening for communication of a throughput fluid. Sealing caulk 15C or other glue may be employed to secure and/or contain members and materials. Fixture 15F, for example, a 2-inch (5.08-cm) diameter pipe with female threads, may be secured to the opening of the second cap 15′ for attachment to plumbing for a drain. Flow-distributing material 19 may be provided to help distribute water flow more evenly. Disposed inside the member 10 is second housing member 20, which has fluid-permeable wall 21 and hollow throughput 22. Fluid-filtering/absorbing material 30 is disposed between the members 10, 20. See, FIG. 1 et seq.
Preferably, the walls 11, 21 are made of a porous plastic material such as of a rigid, open-cell structure, which has small pores suitable for permitting the passage of fluid, for example, water that may carry organic materials as well, and restraining the fluid-filtering absorbing material 30 from entering into such pores and/or passing through the walls 11, 21. These may include materials made of a porous polyolefin, for example, a porous polyethylene (PE), a porous polypropylene (PP), and numerous others. A porous, high density PE (HDPE) is preferred. Among its other advantages, HDPE may be incinerated after use, if such action is environmentally appropriate. Porous plastic materials may include those selected from materials having pores with nominal pore sizes about from five to two hundred microns with the pores distributed at about from twenty to one thousand pores per square centimeter, to include materials having nominal pore sizes about from ten to one hundred fifty microns with the pores distributed at about from twenty-five to one thousand pores per square centimeter, which may include, for example, a PE with nominal pore sizes of 15-45 microns, 50-90 microns, and 90-130 microns; and a PP with nominal pore sizes of 90-130 microns, and 130-175 microns. A porous HDPE, say, with nominal pore sizes of 90-130 microns, is beneficially employed. A macroreticular polyurethane having pores, say, of 5-100 microns, making use of depth filtering, may be employed. Lower and upper values for any recited range may be selected independently at each occurrence from other upper and lower values, and numerical values may be considered as approximate or precise. Also, a PE/PP copolymer, polyvinyldifluoride (PVDF), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyester such as polyethylenterephthalate (PET), vinyl acetate such as ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA), nylon-6 and nylon-66 may be employed as the porous plastic, as may be various others. The porous plastic may be reinforced with fiber such as glass, kevlar, nylon, PET, cellulose or string such as in a core with outer sheath construction, e.g., PET/PE, PET/PET. Many of such porous plastics are commercially available. For example, the outer housing 10 can be a 3-inch (76.2-mm) outside diameter porous HDPE pipe with a 0.3-inch (7.62-mm) thickness to its wall 11, and a nominal pore size of 90-130 microns; and the inner housing 20 can be a 1-inch (25.4-mm) outside diameter porous HDPE pipe with a 0.125-inch (3.175-mm) thickness to its wall 21, and a nominal pore size of 50-90 microns. A POREX (Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off., i.e., R) (Porex Corporation) pipe of HDPE as the outer housing 10 with an outside diameter of 4 9/16 inches (11.6 cm) and ⅛-inch (3.2-mm) thickness to its wall 11 having a nominal pore size of 90-130 microns may be beneficially employed in conjunction with a POREX® pipe of HDPE as the inner housing 20 with an outside diameter of 1 11/16 inches (42.9 mm) and ⅛-inch (3.2-mm) thickness to its wall 21 also having a nominal pore size of 90-130 microns. Any suitable length may be provided. Thus, for example, a system with the 3-inch (7.62-cm) and 1-inch (2.54-cm) pipes and IMBIBER BEADS® can be about from half a foot (15.2 cm) to ten feet (3.05 m), which includes a length about from nine inches (22.9 cm) to five feet (1.52 m), say, which can be provided in 1-foot (30.5-cm), 2-foot (61-cm), and 3-foot (91.4-cm) lengths; and, beneficially, a system with the POREX (R) HDPE pipes with outside diameters of 4 9/16 and 1 11/16 inches (116 and 42.9 mm) can be about from a fourth of a foot (7.62 cm) to ten feet (3.05 m), which of course includes about from six inches (15.2 cm) or three-fourths of a foot (22.9 cm) to to five feet (1.52 m), say, which can be provided in 4-inch (10.2 cm), 6-inch (15.2-cm), 10-inch (25.4-cm), 12-inch 30.5-cm) and 24-inch (61-cm) lengths. And so, any suitable diameter or other cross sectional shape, thickness, pore size, length, and material can be employed for the housings 10, 20. Note, FIG. 1 et seq.
The optional flow-distributing material 19 may be an aggregate, say, sand, gravel, glass or plastic beads, and/or it may be a coil, say, of metal or plastic. The material 19 can be inert. See, FIG. 4.
As an alternative to such pores, holes or slots 31 may be provided in the walls 11, 21. Filter fabric 32, which may be in a form of a sock or a simple wrapping, may be provided to keep the fluid-filtering/absorbing material 30 between the outer and inner members 10, 20 and to keep the material 30 from passing through the holes or slots 31. Such a fabric 32 may be present around the outside of a foraminous or slotted outer member 20, or even around the outside of a porous plastic or other material serving as the outer member 20, and, again, the fabric 32 may be in a form of a sock or a simple wrapping. Tie 32T may be employed to hold a sock 32. Note, FIGS. 5, 6 and 9.
Housing centering element 33 may be provided between the inner and outer members 10, 20. Preferably, the element 33, which may take the form of an inert spacer, does not impede flow of the liquid flowing through the material 30. Thus, with the location of the inner member 10 substantially if not nearly completely equalized inside the outer member 20, the spacing between the members 10, 20 can remain constant so as to provide for a uniform amount or thickness of the material 30. And so, flow and shut-off characteristics can be stabilized and made more dependably uniform. In addition, not only can the invention benefit with employment of rigid members 10, 20 such as in the form of tubular pipe, but also bent and/or flexible members 10, 20 can be employed with more dependable effect. See, FIGS. 4, 11 and 15.
An outer protective covering may be employed such as outer protective mesh 34, for example, of HDPE, or such as outer conduit 35. A mesh 34 of HDPE helps hold a porous HDPE pipe wall 11 rigid; it helps control outward expansion of a drain cartridge of the system 100 when it contains imbibing beads 30 which swell on absorbing a target organic substance; and it provides protection to the member 10 and its wall 11 and so forth should accidental dropping to the ground occur. The outer conduit 35 may be present to help regulate flow and so forth. See, FIGS. 3, 4 and 14-16.
A system 100 can be assembled readily. For example, in a cartridge drain element the caulk 15C may be employed to secure one or more of the members 10, 20 in place, say, in relation to the caps 15, 15′, and to contain particles of the material 30 in place after they have been introduced in their place, as illustrated in FIG. 15. Such a caulk or a glue may be employed to hold members 10, 20, caps 15, 15′, fixture 15F, and mesh 34 in place where they come into contact with one another.
The fluid-filtering/absorbing material 30 may be any suitable substance. This may include sand, diatomaceous earth granules, clay granules, activated charcoal, organic adsorbents or absorbents, and so forth and the like. Although not preferred, such a material 19, 30 may be in a form of a gelling agent. A mixture of such substances may be employed.
Preferably, the fluid-filtering/absorbing material 30 is an absorbent. Beneficially, the absorbent is or contains water insoluble, particulate polymer particles which imbibe liquid organic substances. As described in Hall et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,750,688, on contact with the organic target substance, the absorbent may swell as it is absorbed or imbibed. A coating on a particulate material such as described in Larson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,302,337, may be employed. Other products that serve as the material 30 may be employed. It may not be critical to employ a cross-linked polymer that swells but does not dissolve. However, cross-linked organic liquid-imbibing polymers are preferred, especially to prevent a material 30 only thickened with absorbed target substance from being forced into an outlet tube and perhaps compromising the effectiveness of the system. A wide variety of polymeric materials are employed with benefit. Such polymers include polymers of styrenes and substituted styrenes; copolymers of vinyl chloride including a copolymer of vinyl chloride and comonomers such as vinyl acetate, vinylidene chloride, acrylonitrile, methacrylonitrile, acrylates, methacrylates, and so forth and the like; and acrylic polymers such as polymers of methylmethacrylate, ethyl acrylate, and so forth and the like. Particularly advantageous materials which respond to a wide variety of organic liquids are the polymers of styrene such as polystyrene and copolymers of styrene and divinylbenzene containing up to ten weight percent divinylbenzene. For general use with aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, halogenated hydrocarbons, and so forth and the like, alkylstyrene polymers and copolymers are of particular benefit. When considered for drain or other shut off systems which employ the imbibing/absorbing polymers, such crosslinked alkylstyrene polymers swell very rapidly on contact with aliphatic and/or aromatic hydrocarbons. Generally, the more rapid the swelling of the polymer, the more rapid is the shut off when the organic liquid contaminant or other target is contacted. Alkylstyrene polymers usually show substantial swelling in less than a minute when in contact with organic liquids. Cross-linked polymers of styrenes, notably tertiary-alkylstyrenes, are used to advantage as the imbibing agent. Those alkylstyrenes which can be used to prepare these imbibing polymers have alkyl groups having one to twenty, especially four to twelve, carbon atoms, examples of which include methylstyrene; ethylstyrene; dimethylstyrene; p-tert-butyl, m-tert-butyl, sec-butyl, and/or iso-alkyl styrenes such as of butylstyrene; amlystyrene; hexylstyrene; octylstyrene to include 2-ethyl-hexylstyrene, iso-octylstyrene and di-t-butylstyrene; dodecylstyrene; octadecylstyrene; and eiscosylstyrene. Further, cross-linked copolymers of such alkylstyrenes as aforementioned and an alkyl ester derived from a one to twenty-four carbon alcohol and acrylic or methacrylic acid or mixture thereof. Suitable monomers which can be employed as comonomers with the alkylstyrene include such materials as vinylnaphthalene, styrene, alpha-methylstyrene, methylstyrene, m-ethylstyrene, ring-substituted alpha-methylstyrenes, halostyrenes, arylstyrenes and alkarylstyrenes, methacrylic esters, acrylic esters, and cyclohexyl and isobornyl esters of acrylic and methacrylic acids; esters and half esters of fumaric, maleic, itaconic acids; vinyl biphenyls, alkyl vinyl ethers, alkyl vinyl ketones, alpha-olefins, iso-olefins, butadiene, isoprene, dimethylbutadiene, acrylonitrile, methacrylonitrile, and so forth and the like. A slight amount of cross-linking agent can be contained in the polymer, say, in the range about from 0.01 to two percent by weight. A highly efficient imbibition of organic liquid contaminants occurs when the level of cross-linking agent is less than about one percent by weight since this permits the polymers to swell easily and imbibe a substantial volume of the organic material. When organic liquid-contaminated water is percolated through a packed column or bed of only polymer particles, up to two percent cross-linking agent is satisfactory. Suitable cross-linking agents include polyethylenically unsaturated compounds such as divinylbenzene, diethylene glycol dimethacrylate, diisopropenylbenzene, diisopropenyldiphenyl, diallylmaleate, diallylphthalate, allylacrylates, allymethacrylates, allylfumarates, allylitaconates, alkyd resin type cross-linking agents, polybutadiene or polyisoprene polymers, cyclooctadiene, methylene norbornylenes, divinyl phthalates, vinyl isopropenylbenzene, divinyl biphenyl, as well as any other di- or poly-functional compounds known to be of use as a cross-linking agent in polymeric vinyl addition polymer compositions. If there is too much cross-linking agent, the imbibition takes an unreasonably long time, or the polymer is unable to imbibe a sufficient quantity of the organic liquid, and interstitial spaces in the bed are not completely closed. If the imbibitional polymer contains none or too little cross-linking agent, then it may well eventually dissolve or partially dissolve to a loose gel in the organic material resulting, for example, in a non-discrete, non-particulate mass of polymer-thickened organic liquid, which, as alluded to above, could be undesirably forced through an opening with sufficient pressure. However, for many applications where closure of a line is quickly noticeable, uncrosslinked material may be satisfactory under minimal pressure conditions. The imbibing polymers may be prepared by any suitable technique. For instance, suspension, emulsion, ionic or mass polymerization may be employed. Generally, as is well known in the art, the method of preparation is selected to provide imbibing polymer in the most convenient form for any particular application. A latex polymer such as described in Larson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,302,337, or other polymer may be employed as the organic liquid imbibant to be coated or used to impregnate an adsorbent particulate type of particle. Most beneficially, the absorbent 30 is an IMBIBER BEADS® type of particle, which is made of lightly crosslinked alkylstyrene copolymer, and thus is hydrophobic and oleophilic in general, and appears to the naked eye as a powder, having a particle size distribution of about from forty to four hundred microns, for example, as available from Imbibitive Technologies Corp. Suitable sand and/or clay may be employed as an example of a filter/ filler 19, 30 with the IMBIBER BEADS® particles, but preferably is less than about fifty, to include less than about thirty, percent by volume of unswelled IMBIBER BEADS® particles, if not essentially or even entirely absent for shut off capability with absorbent particles swollen with imbibed organic material.
Thus, the fluid can pass through the first and second members 10, 20 and the material 30. The fluid may have target organic substance (organic target) for being filtered and/or absorbed by the material 30. Flow may be from outside to inside (e.g., FIGS. 2, 6 and 9) or inside to outside (e.g., FIGS. 1, 3-5, 12, 13, 15 and 16). The flow is preferably inside to outside because this provides a dramatically greater flow rate over outside to inside flow. The system 100 configured advantageously with an outer filter 33, outer protective mesh 34 and/or conduit 35, may be employed in lots, contaminated outdoor fields or drain fields, industrial buildings, parking decks and berms, vacuum trucks, and so forth; and the latter in conjunction with water wells, and pumped or higher head pressure applications such as vacuum trucks, and so forth. With the employment of a swelling absorbent such as the IMBIBER BEADS® particles, passive shut off of containment basin 40, for example, made of concrete or clay, when the particles 30 have imbibed a full share of organic contaminant is provided. Automatic or manual valve 41 may be provided also, which can be employed to special benefit when changing a full system 100 with a fresh system 100. Compare, FIGS. 1, 5-8, 12, 13 and 16. A containment basin 40 may include trough 49, for example, about two inches (5.08 cm) deep, say, in a concrete bottom to the basin 40, so as to provide better water drainage. See, e.g., FIG. 2.
Also in the practice of the invention, the organic target may present in runoff, for example, from surface 50, which may be a hard, generally impervious surface such as a paved street, highway, parking lot, factory floor, aircraft wing test floor, and so forth, or it may be present at or below the surface 50 such as in an unpaved road, railroad bed, agricultural field, industrial acreage, and so forth. In such cases, the system 100 can include the first and second members 10, 20 and the material 30, through which the runoff passes when draining occurs, and the target is removed advantageously by absorption. Thus with the invention, for example, storm runoff pollution can be controlled; oleaginous industrial or test overflow can be checked; and site remediation conducted. Compare, FIG. 12.
Also in the practice of the invention, the target organic substance may be stored in tank 60 as a desirable organic chemical or mixture. In the course of its storage, withdrawal and replenishment, dissolved or otherwise carried liquid water and water vapor enter the inside of the tank, and such water coalesces or condenses. Typically, the organic target floats on the coalesced or condensed water in the tank, and in operation of the system 100 the coalesced or condensed water is drawn off periodically through valve 61 that can be in communication with the first and second members 10, 20 and the material 30 through which the coalesced or condensed water passes. If too much water is drawn off, the desirable organic chemical, as the target organic substance, passes through the material 30, particularly if it is a swellable, imbibing polymer such as in particulate form; it is absorbed or imbibed; and it causes such a material 30 to swell and block off flow of the target organic substance from the tank 60. See, FIG. 13.
Advantageously, the fluid carrying the target is aqueous.
As the target, this organic substance can include a variety of substances, to include oleaginous liquids, organic fuels, other hydrocarbons and substituted hydrocarbons including halogenated hydrocarbons, such as those mentioned previously herein, singly or in mixtures. Class “1” and class “2” organic chemicals and mixtures are advantageously imbibed. For example, the target organic material may include #2 diesel fuel; #1 and #2 fuel oils; kerosene; jet fuel such as Jet A-1, JP-4, JP-5, JP-8, JP-8-100; VM&P naphtha; gasoline; xylene; toluene; benzene; pentane; hexane; heptane; octane; nonane; decane; and so forth. The target organic substance can be motor oil and most transformer oils, as well as trichloroethylene, dichlorobenzene, styrene, methylmethacrylate, butyl acrylate, and so forth. In addition, with compatible sorbents, the target organic substance can effectively be acrylonitrile, acrylic acid, isocyanates, alcohols, and so forth.
Accordingly, the present invention can concern a system that contains material to filter and/or absorb materials such as various hazardous and nonhazardous organic liquids. In a particular embodiment, it can be a shut-off pipe system that employs imbibing polymer particles as well as other filtration units or materials, or a polymer-impregnated or coated particle alone or on a supporting matrix. It can be embodied as or with a drain or other system.
The present invention is thus provided. Various feature(s), part(s), step(s), subcombination(s) and/or combination(s) can be employed with or without reference to other feature(s), part(s), step(s), subcombination(s) and/or combination(s) in the practice of the invention, and numerous adaptations and modifications can be effected within its spirit, the literal claim scope of which is particularly pointed out as follows:

Claims

1. A system for containing, filtering, absorbing organics, draining off water and/or shutting down flow of a target organic substance, which comprises:

a first, fluid-permeable, hollow housing member;

a second, fluid-permeable, hollow housing member disposed inside said first member; and

a fluid-filtering and/or absorbing material disposed between said first and second members,

such that a fluid can pass through said first and second members and the fluid-filtering/absorbing material, and have the target organic substance, which may be found with the fluid, be filtered and/or absorbed by the fluid-filtering and/or absorbing material.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said material includes water insoluble, particulate polymer particles which can imbibe the target organic substance.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein said first and second members are in forms of tubes; a first nonporous cap is disposed about first ends of said tubes; and a second nonporous cap is disposed about second, opposing ends of said tubes and has an opening for communication of a throughput with respect to the hollow volume of said second member tube.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein said first and second member tubes are made of a porous plastic.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein said porous plastic has pores about from 90 microns to 130 microns.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein said porous plastic is HDPE.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein said first and second member tubes have about 0.125-inch (3.175-mm) thicknesses to their walls, and an outer protective mesh is employed about said first member tube.

8. The system of claim 2, wherein holes or slots are provided in walls of at least one of said first and second members, and filter fabric 32 is provided to keep said material from passing through the holes or slots.

9. A method for containing, filtering, absorbing organics, draining off water and/or shutting down flow of a target organic substance, which comprises:

providing a system, which includes:

a first, fluid-permeable, hollow housing member;

such that a fluid can pass through said first and second members and the fluid-filtering/absorbing material, and have the target organic substance, which may be found with the fluid, be filtered and/or absorbed by the fluid-filtering and/or absorbing material; and

installing the system such that it can receive an input of a fluid that may contain the target organic substance.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein an opening for communication of a throughput is provided such that said fluid would be communicated to the hollow volume of said second member, and flow of said fluid would pass through said material and said first member; said material includes water insoluble, particulate polymer particles which can imbibe the target organic substance; and said fluid would include water.

11. The method of claim 10, which operates as a drain, and wherein the target organic substance includes at least one substance that is a class “1” or class “2” organic chemical or mixture.

12. The method of claim 10, which operates as a drain, and wherein the target organic substance includes at least one of #2 diesel fuel; #1 or #2 fuel oils; kerosene; Jet A-1, JP-4, JP-5, JP-8 or JP-8-100 jet fuels; VM&P naphtha; gasoline; xylene; toluene; benzene; pentane; hexane; heptane; octane, nonane, decane; motor oil; a transformer oil; trichloroethylene, dichlorobenzene; styrene; methylmethacrylate; butyl acrylate; acrylonitrile; acrylic acid; an isocyanate; and an alcohol.