US Patent 7334965 - Treating polluted medium using iron nanoparticles

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7334965.html

Iron nanoparticles have been found to degrade contaminants in soil and this patent from National Sun Yat-Sen University teaches using an electric field to facilitate the transport of the nanoparticles in the soil. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for treating a body of a polluted porous medium, comprising the steps of: preparing a reactive solution containing nanoparticles; injecting the reactive solution into the body of the polluted porous medium so as to decompose pollutants in the polluted porous medium by reacting the nanoparticles with the pollutants; and applying an electric field to the body of the polluted porous medium so as to enhance transporting effect of the nanoparticles in the body of the polluted porous medium.