Inventors: Leone AM, Rinne RAJr
Patent Title: Method for removing the gasoline additive MTBE from water using molecularly imprinted polymers
Publication date: 2004
Publication number: US6,783,686

Abstract: A method and product for removing at MTBE molecules from a solution, such as a contaminated aquifer, includes exposing the solution to a plurality of molecularly imprinted polymer beads (MIPS) that have receptor sites on the surfaces thereof that include imprints that match the physical shape of at least a portion of an MTBE molecule. A quantity of the MTBE molecules align with and adhere to some of the receptor sites and, accordingly, they are removed from the solution producing a remediated solution. According to one embodiment, the MIPS are contained in an enclosure having a plurality of openings large enough to permit the solution to pass through and small enough so as to prevent the MIPS from passing through. According to a preferred embodiment the MIPS are applied (i.e., coated) to the inside surface of a conduit and the solution is forced or allowed to flow through the conduit thereby removing some of the MTBE molecules therefrom.
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