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Experienced Technical Consultation For Hydrocarbon Recovery & Water Treatment

Whatever the technical challenges you’re trying to tackle or goals you’re trying to achieve, we’ll provide you with sound advice and experienced guidance every step of the way. Contact us today  and see all that we can do for you today. Electrochemical Activation Technologies for petroleum recovery applications are among our current projects.:

Executive Summary : Electrochemical Activation Technology ;  Safe Electrochemical Oxidizer and Antioxidant Solutions from Paradigm Convergance Technologies (PCT) LTD

 David L. Holcomb, Pentagon Technical Services, Inc. & Scientific Consultant to PCT Ltd.

Electrochemical Activation (ECA)  is a process that uses membrane cell electrolysis of water or saline solutions for the purpose of producing temporary, effective  oxidizers,  or anolyte principally hypochlorous acid (HOCl) , plus other metastable oxidants  for use as disinfecting and sanitizing solutions in a number of industries. These oxidants  degrade within a few weeks to weak salt and water solutions that can be disposed of easily leaving no ecological footprint. An optimum timeframe for use of freshly made product is within 72 hours to no more than two weeks. Keeping the product in opaque containers, in a cool or refrigerated storage facility, and filled to the maximum level  and sealed will extend the effective life of the product. While there may be some effectiveness remaining after two weeks, it is greatly diminished and much of the HOCl has been compromised with other degradation oxidants such as hypochlorite (bleach).  

As an added benefit, the process can simultaneously produce an anti-oxidant product or catholyte which can act as an environmentally friendly, alkaline cleaning solution to replace harsh chemicals.

PCT has designed and built its own equipment for over 20 years which has evolved into state of the art and highly efficient technology and methodology for preparing the highest concentrations of HOCl available in the market today. Pricing for manufacturing HOCl based oxidants and associated antioxidants is based on providing a System-Service Agreement for example: $5000 per month for a four cell unit capable of producing 1000 gallons per day of up to 500 ppm anolyte. Larger or smaller requirements can be priced accordingly.  The product can be produced for a few cents a gallon and sold at competitive rates compared to existing technology or less. In surface sanitizing and disinfection this quantity and rate usually provides more than is required to disinfect thousands of square feet of affected surface area. Fogging or atomizing room surfaces can require as little as one pint to one quart per room such as in hotels or cruise ship staterooms.

The chemistry for producing these products is relatively simple and uses simple clean brine solutions and electricity in PCT’s automated  membrane electrolysis equipment to provide on-demand or stored quantities of the various unique oxidizers or antioxidant cleaner. Salt water (NaCl+H2O) is input past the cathode  ( negative voltage) side of a membrane to produce the antioxidant sodium hydroxide and Hydrogen ions or Catholyte an effective and safe alkaline cleaning solution. The same salt water ( NaCl+H20) input past the anode ( positive voltage) to produce predominately HOCl (hypochlorous acid), as well as lesser  amounts of other nascent oxidants , Cl2 (chlorine) or NaOCl ( sodium hypochlorite or bleach), etc. ORP ( oxidation-reduction potential)  is the measure of activity for these products with high positive numbers for the oxidants ( >900) and negative ORP ( -900) for the antioxidants. The pH of the anolyte oxidizers is usually 6.5 -7.5 which is near neutral, and alkaline cleaner antioxidants are pH 12-13. .

From an environmental aspect the anolyte and other oxidants produced from a solution of high purity salt and water create a powerful antimicrobial, disinfection package that is both biodegradable and non-accumulative. The crucial active ingredient hypochlorous acid (HOCl) is derived from naturally occurring salt minerals and water. PCT oxidizer products achieve  industrial performance standards with respect to production efficiency and optimum efficacy while maintaining a minimum FAC ( free available chlorine) of 500 ppm. They are non-flammable and contain no alcohol. They can be transported as a non-chemical with no strict HAZMAT requirements. These oxidizers are composed of 99,5 % water and yet they effectively and rapidly kill viruses and bacteria thus providing better alternatives to harmful chemicals in use today.

Applications of the technology have been made in the hospital, healthcare, food processing , and petroleum markets.  In healthcare the ECA oxidizers and antioxidants  are  available as a commercially ready, patented, integrated product and technology solution for complete facility cleaning and sanitizing. The PCT’s infection control System is designed for use in hospitals, urgent care centers, dental and veterinary practices, nursing homes and other large healthcare facilities.  Microbes cannot develop resistance to these cleaning and sanitizing products as they actually penetrate the cell walls of the micro-organisms rendering them unable to shield themselves from the effects of the ECA oxidizer’s (anolyte) effects.

The oil and gas industry has used ECA anolyte solutions to treat sulfate reducing bacteria ( SRB’s) in several wells  for Yates Petroleum ( now Anadarko) thereby reducing the losses due to corrosion causing expensive rod and tubing failures in pumping wells at costs up to $100,000 per well in some cases.  The corrosion is caused by sulfate reducing bacteria and subsequent H2S.  Anolyte treated wells showed production upticks of up to 20%  in many cases. The wellbore remediation/production enhancement from using the ECA anolyte has shown promising results in Utah , North Dakota as well as Texas , Oklahoma and  New Mexico.

 Several scholarly articles have verified the effectiveness of anolyte oxidizers on bacteria, viruses, molds, fungi and H2S / sulfate reducing bacteria. In addition there are several references specific to the Oil & Gas industry such as the Society of Petroleum Engineers, SPE paper No.141,211; April , 2011. Another two papers were published for the Texas Tech University, Southwestern Petroleum Short Course, April 2005 and 2006 wherein treatments for Yates Petroleum and Antero Resources were documented. Additionally a twenty-five well anolyte application  by an operator in Utah, New Mexico and West Texas showed both effectiveness in treating H2S as well as increased well production. Small volumes in stripper wells ( 5-50 gallons) to larger treatments for well remediation and stimulation in deeper wells required from 55 gallons to 5000 gallons per well. Treatment volumes custom designed for each well’s specific problems or challenges as well as depth and types of problems such as H2S, bacteria, biofilm and calcium  scale buildup issues.

There is continued growth in the study  and application of PCT Ltd.’s  ECA Products for industrial cleaning in cooling towers, food processing, cruise lines, discount shopping centers, grocery stores, etc. Anywhere the risk of bacteria or viruses poses a health risk, this environmentally friendly solution package can be considered and applied with equipment ready to place wherever it may be required.  Continued studies for validation of the technology for multiple applications  are being proposed, funded and executed.

The need for safe, environmentally friendly, cost effective , and economical sanitizers, disinfectants and biocides is growing rapidly . Now, harsh, often toxic chemicals can be replaced. The raw materials water and salt, plus a small electrical and mechanical footprint required to make the PCT Ltd. oxidizer ( anolyte)  as well as antioxidant cleaners  allows extremely cost effective and highly competitive end use product technology to be made using proven equipment manufactured for whatever volume and method of delivery may be required.