Adventus Group Issues Zero Valent Iron Guidelines
The Adventus Group, a global bioremediation technology provider, has issued industry guidelines surrounding the use of zero valent iron (ZVI) in conjunction with emulsified vegetable oil (EVO) and similar carbon amendments for remediation of halogenated organic compounds (VOCs) in groundwater.
More complete details surrounding the legal obligations of environmental remediation firms that use this combination are online at Open Letter.
The purpose of these guidelines is to address any considerable confusion or speculation in the industry concerning the company’s intellectual property rights in this respect. Adventus IP rights that pertain to these applications include No. 5,266,213 (30 November 1993), and No. 5,534,154 (9 July 1996).
Alan Seech, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Adventus said, “Many firms with their own proprietary or patented bioremediation amendments, emplacement/injection methods, or specific project needs do respect intellectual property rights and have signed license agreements with Adventus. These firms have not found the license terms onerous, and have indeed benefited from our technical input on their projects, which is provided as part of the license agreement. Adventus is committed to enforcing its IP rights. It is unfair to the licensees who do respect patent law, and thus obtain a license, to be at a cost disadvantage to those who abuse IP. Adventus remains willing to grant reasonable licenses under our U.S. Patents to suppliers of EVO or other carbon amendments who wish to add ZVI to their product, to consultants, to installation contractors, and to end users."
Adventus Group provides environmental remediation technologies, including patented offerings from Adventus Americas Inc., and EnviroMetal Technologies Inc. According to the company's press release, its business model supports site owners, environmental engineers, consultants, regulators, and the academic community by providing unbiased design, and selection of the most cost-effective remediation strategies.