Patent ID: 7807101

Claim:
A method suitable for fumigating an enclosed volume and contents requiring fumigation and restoring habitability, comprising the steps of: a) climatizing the enclosed volume and contents therein; b) combining water and chlorine dioxide, thereby generating an aqueous solution of chlorine dioxide; c) removing chlorine dioxide from the aqueous solution and introducing chlorine dioxide gas in a gaseous phase into the enclosed volume via an emitter; d) distributing the chlorine dioxide gas throughout the enclosed volume; e) maintaining a residual amount of the chlorine dioxide gas within the enclosed volume under environmentally safe conditions and at a level and duration to enable gaseous penetration of the contents as required for decontamination, thereby fumigating the enclosed volume and contents therein; f) introducing detoxification scrubbing chemicals into the aqueous solution to remove chlorine dioxide from the aqueous solution and stop flow of chlorine dioxide gas from the emitter into the enclosed volume, thereby allowing the chlorine dioxide gas within the enclosed volume to decrease to acceptable levels and restore habitability; and g) recirculating water recovered from the aqueous solution of step c) to supply a continuous source of water for step b) and/or step f) in a closed-loop, continuous process.