Patent ID: 7011749

Claim:
An apparatus for in-situ remediation of sediments containing contaminants that are deposited in an underwater sediment bed, the apparatus comprising: a conveyor; an in-situ ozonator, the in-situ ozonator comprising: an inlet for directing sediment from the underwater sediment bed and for moving the sediment into the in-situ ozonator; a treatment chamber disposed to receive sediment passing from the inlet; a sediment depositing chamber; the treatment chamber of the in-situ ozonator comprising: an ozone injector for injecting ozone into the treatment chamber; a mixer for mixing the sediment and ozone sufficient to react the ozone and contaminants contained in the sediment; the sediment depositing chamber of the in-situ ozonator disposed to receive treated and mixed sediment from the treatment chamber, and including a structure to settle or compress the sediment and redeposit the sediment on the underwater sediment bed; the conveyor operatively associated with the in-situ ozonator to convey the in-situ ozonator through the underwater sediment bed, such that the sediment is directed into and moved through the in-situ ozonator through the conveying of the in-situ ozonator by the conveyor.