ENZYMATIC NITRATE ELIMINATION TECHNOLOGY FOR SMALL SYSTEMS

Nitrate contamination of ground water is a world wide problem. Nitrate at 10 ppm Nitrate-N (EPA's MCL) is toxic to infants, and chronic exposure may be harmful to adults. Physical and chemical nitrate removal methods only concentrate the pollutant, and bioremediation methods introduce other contaminants into the water. In the Phase I stage of this project, The Nitrate Elimination Company, Inc. (NECi) proved the feasibility of utilizing electrically-driven immobilized enzymes, EzNET(TM), for point-of-use denitrification of potable water. This process is fast and selective, and reduces nitrate to environmentally benign nitrogen gas thereby eliminating the pollutant from the environment, without introducing contaminants into the water. In Phase II, NECi proposes to improve reactor design and optimize formulation of immobilized enzymes catalysts, and determine how to produce required quantities of the enzymes in a cost-effective manner. A variety of electrode materials will be tested in the EzNET(TM) reactor, and large scale enzyme production methods will be developed. Optimized prototypes will be tested for performance and stability. Finally, design of an EzNET(TM) reactor suitable for commercial manufacture will be developed. At the end of Phase II, project cost of the EzNET(TM) system relative to alternative nitrate removal methods will be known.