Methods and apparatus are provided for treating agricultural waste with an alkane substrate to stimulate bacterial digestion. The alkane treatment may also reduce odor of the agricultural waste material. The agricultural waste may include animal waste, vegetable material, leaf material, plant material, composting material or waste paper products. The alkane preferably includes butane, propane, methane and/or ethane, with butane being particularly preferred. Methods and apparatus are also provided for recovering plant growth-enhancing material from the treated agricultural waste and for treating soil with alkane-utilizing bacteria and/or an alkane substrate in combination with a carrier material to increase seed, bulb, plant and crop growth.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/400,963 filed Mar. 27, 2003, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/308,607 filed Dec. 2, 2002. The Ser. No. 10/308,607 application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/924,791 filed Aug. 8, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,669,846 which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/291,165 filed May 15, 2001. The Ser. No. 10/308,607 application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/729,039 filed Dec. 4, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,488,850 issued Dec. 3, 2002, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/275,320 filed Mar. 24, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,245,235 issued Jun. 12, 2001, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/767,750 filed Dec. 17, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,888,396 issued Mar. 30, 1999. The Ser. No. 09/729,039 application also claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/234,482 filed Sep. 22, 2000.
This application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/282,891, Publication No. 20030084609, filed Oct. 29, 2002 and published May 8, 2003, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/334,981, filed Oct. 31, 2001.
This application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/308,607, Publication No. 20030136735 filed Dec. 2, 2002, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/924,791 filed Aug. 8, 2001, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/291,165 filed May 15, 2001. The Ser. No. 10/308,607 application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/729,039 filed Dec. 4, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,488,850 issued Dec. 3, 2002, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/275,320 filed Mar. 24, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,245,235 issued Jun. 12, 2001, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/767,750 filed Dec. 17, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,888,396 issued Mar. 30, 1999. The Ser. No. 09/729,039 application also claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/234,482 filed Sep. 22, 2000.
All of the foregoing applications and patents are incorporated herein by reference.
Methods and apparatus are disclosed for remediating sulfur-containing pollutants with a hydrocarbon that is used to stimulate the growth of hydrocarbon-utilizing bacteria. The hydrocarbon is preferably an alkane such as butane. The sulfur-containing pollutant may comprise sulfate, sulfite, sulfide, disulfides, mercaptans, alkanesulfonates, dialkyl sulfides, thiosulfate, thiofurans, thiocyanates, isothiocyanates, thioureas, thiols, thiophenols, thioethers, thiophene, tetrathionate, dithionite, dialkyl disulfides, sulfones, sulfoxides, sulfolanes, sulfonic acid, dimethylsulfoniopropionate, sulfonic esters, hydrogen sulfide, sulfate esters, sulfur dioxide and any other sour gases, elemental sulfur and any other sulfur-containing material considered to be a contaminant or pollutant.
