MXPA98001653A - Composition to heal the ground and the water and process of improvement and equipment for e - Google Patents

Abstract

A simplified method for managing the growth and dispersion of microorganisms in solution is described which can be adapted to many different end-use applications, including the treatment of turf, decorative and ornamental vegetation, horticultural plants and agricultural crops. The provision of the starting materials of microorganisms in the form of aqueous suspensions that are incorporated in liquid form in a large volume of water in a container and the subsequent growth of biomass in the container provides the simplicity and flexibility not previously obtained in the devices and methods of the prior art. The method provides biomass containing microorganisms to improve vegetation growth, provide resistance to diseases and / or pests, detoxification, removal of solids, or any combination of the foregoing. The apparatus for performing the method of the invention is also described, which includes efficient and simplified liquid feeding devices.

Description

COMPOSITION TO HEAL THE GROUND AND THE WATER AND PROCESS OF IMPROVEMENT AND APPARATUS FOR IT DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This application is a partial continuation of the application no. serial 08/190, 632, filed on February 2, 1994, entitled "Reactor for microorganisms and feeder device thereto", _ and which will be published as U.S. Pat. do not. 5, 447, 866 on September 5, 1995. The invention relates to processes for improving soil and water conditions and improving their ability to sustain vegetation including crops. More particularly, it refers to methods such that they use microorganisms to improve the properties of soil and water. The improvement of soil and water conditions to improve vegetation growth is a subject of great interest and importance. Parks, golf courses, cemeteries, grass producing farms, athletic fields and other similar places need extensive decorative and functional vegetation, including grass, shrubs and trees. The vegetation should be easy to maintain, providing a pleasant visual appearance and should be resistant to withstand extensive use, particularly in areas such as parks, athletic fields and golf courses. Commercial horticulture, such as greenhouses and producers of landscapes and fluffy plants also require land and water that support the vigorous and healthy growth of commercial plants. Similarly, agriculture also requires soil and water conditions that support the optimal growth of plants whether they are field crops, vegetables or trees. Many water sources or bodies of water are contaminated in one way or another. Typically, the well water includes contaminants that originally dissolved or entered the irrigation water that subsequently flowed into the wells carrying the contaminants with it. At the other extreme, wastewater collection ponds that are clearly highly contaminated from the beginning must often be treated to reduce pollution so that water can be reused for various purposes and so that high levels of pollution do not accumulate. wastewater in a pond for a period of time. Several previous patents have been published dealing with this subject. These patents (nos. 5, 227, 067, 5, 227, 068, and 5, 314, 619, all in the name of L.Runyon, and assigned to Eco Soil Systems, Inc. of San Diego California) deal with a variety of appearance of the remedy and improvement of the land and water treatment by applying several microorganisms, enzymes and nutrients for soil and water microorganisms. The systems described in those patents have proven to be quite successful and substantial benefits have been obtained for application areas such as golf courses, parks and fields. However, those previous systems used solid reagents that had to be dissolved or dispersed before use, or were problematic and not particularly suitable for the treatment of land or water in large areas or in a wide variety of different types of applications. In particular, the handling of solid reagents frequently presented problems with respect to different dissolution rates, concentrations and growth rates. The present invention provides a convenient system which while retaining all beneficial aspects of the previous systems, is substantially simplified with respect to handling the growth and dispersion of the microorganisms in the solution and is also adaptable to many final applications, including the turf treatment, ornamental vegetation, and horticulture and agriculture crops. The provision of the starting microorganism materials in the form of aqueous suspensions that are incorporated into a large volume of water in a vessel and subsequent growth of the biomass in the vessel provides simplicity and flexibility not previously obtained from the devices and methods of, the previous technique. Therefore, in one embodiment, the present invention is a method for remedying and improving the soil or water consisting of: forming concentrated aqueous suspensions of microorganisms and / or nutrients; injecting the aqueous suspensions in a substantially larger volume of water; retain the largest volume of water with the suspensions dispersed in the container at a temperature and for a sufficient time for the microorganisms to feed on at least a part of the nutrients, reproduce and multiply forming a concentrated biomass containing a residue of the nutrients and a greater number of microorganisms in the water; then disperse the biomass, either completely or continuously, from the container and disperse the biomass in the soil or water; and keep the microorganisms, and the soil and water, alive and active with the rest of the nutrients for a sufficient period of time to improve the predetermined desirable properties of the land or water. If the biomass is supplied continuously, the aqueous suspensions of the nutrients will be added continuously to the container to maintain the density of the biomass. In another embodiment, the invention is an apparatus for remedying and improving soil and water consisting of at least one container for a concentrated aqueous suspension of microorganisms and / or nutrients; a container at least larger than the container, and a conduit for liquids between them; an injector for moving the aqueous suspension through a conduit and injecting the aqueous suspension in a volume of water greater than the volume of the aqueous suspension; and inside the container; operative means to produce and maintain the conditions for a period of time within the container that lead to the reproduction and growth of the microorganisms in the presence of the nutrients, in such a way that the microorganisms during the period of time, multiply in a biomass aqueous consisting of microorganisms dispersed in the water of the container; in such a way that the aqueous biomass can subsequently be dispersed in the soil or water and the microorganisms are kept alive and active for a sufficient period of time to improve the predetermined desired properties of the soil or water or to reduce predetermined undesirable properties of the soil or the soil. Water. The useful microorganisms here will improve the growth of the plants, provide the suppression or eradication of pests, the detoxification of the soil or water, the degradation of the solids or any combination of the above. Exemplary microorganisms include thermophiles, microorganisms that utilize carbohydrates as growth substrates, nitrogen-fixing bacteria, halophiles, oxygen-generating bacteria, specific disease control agents, broad-spectrum disease control agents, microorganisms for straw degradation. or debris, and microorganisms that function as insecticides, fungicides, metabolites and / or herbicides. The system also serves to promote microbial growth and stimulate the production of metabolites, such as antibiotics that function as fungistatics, bactericides and the like. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the basic process of the present invention, illustrating liquid feeders, reagents for the growth of biomass and control systems to control the operation of the process. Figures 2, 3 and 4 are schematic diagrams of different systems to disperse the biomasses growing in the present process, including spray dispersion and irrigation, remote dispersion by means of vehicles, and remote dispersion by means of connected systems. Figures 5, 6 and 7 illustrate in different images end applications of the present process, including the treatment of turf and ornamental plants (illustrated in the form of a goal field in Figure 5), use in horticulture (illustrated by the treatment greenhouse plants in Figure 6), and use in agriculture (illustrated by the treatment of crop rows in Figure 7). Figures 8 and 9 illustrate schematically respectively, the treatment of the water of a well by means of the process of this invention for the purification of the water and to load the water with nutrients and treatment of the waste water (figure 9), illustrating the use of the process for the reduction of solids and toxins and purifications for the subsequent reuse of the already clean tributary. Figure 10 illustrates a multi-chambered biomass growth reactor that serves for the asylated growth of different microbes. Figure 11 illustrates a biomass growth reactor in which undescriminated growth microorganisms, such as fungi, grow, and the resulting biomass is macerated to allow the free flow of microorganisms through the system. Figure 12 divided into sections A and B, illustrate two means of applying the compositions: by aircraft (12-A) and by means of a manually operated distributor (12-B). Figure 13 illustrates schematically the use of the invention in order to correct soil water. The process of this invention will be better understood by reference to the drawings. In figure 1, the basic process is shown. A critical aspect is that of initially providing concentrated liquid solutions of microorganisms enzymes and nutrients through the feeding devices 2. The use of liquid microorganisms fed from concentrated containers 2, substantially improves the present process with respect to the prior art that used solid initial reagents that had to be incorporated directly into the biomass growth reactors. The use of liquid food through separate concentrated feed tanks 2 allows the growth process of the biomass in the growth reactors 4 to progress more quickly than at the beginning and with greater uniformity, since the liquid microorganism foods disperse quickly in growth tanks 4, and is not concentrated in or near a container of solid food submerged in the liquid in the growth tank. An effective and rapid dispersion of the liquid throughout the growth tank allows optimal growth of the biomass throughout the tank and not only in areas near the solid food container, having areas of over-stimulated growth and other areas, to some distance from the solid container, desert almost completely of microorganisms. The different microorganisms (which will be specifically illustrated below) can be mixed in liquid form in the containers of concentrated feed 2, or the individual microorganisms or mixtures of microorganisms can be contained in a plurality of food concentrate containers (designated as 2, 2 ' and 2"). The use of a plurality of containers for concentrate 2 may be advantageous where it is required to use a wide variety of microorganisms and where different microorganisms must be injected into the system at different times, or in different concentrations. , it is useful when a much greater quantity of one or some types of microorganisms is to be used in comparison with others, since those that need to be filled frequently can be isolated in their own container or containers 2 which can be reprocessed or replaced easily and frequently, while the microorganisms and nutrients that are used at a high rate They can be kept in their containers of original concentrate more slowly. The system is controlled by means of controller 6 which is preferably a microprocessor of appropriate type. The controller 6 records the concentration and other operating conditions of the containers 2 and the reactors 4 as indicated by dotted lines, and at the preprogrammed times will stop or start the pumps 8 to inject the initial concentrated liquid microorganisms slurries of the tanks to the reactors 4, or will open the valves 10 either to drain the reactors 4 completely from the accumulated biomass after the growth cycle has elapsed or to drain continuously the reactors 4 during a continuous flow cycle. The tanks, sensors, controls and pumps and commercial valves are easy to get. Some are described in the patents cited previously and others are widely described in the literature and commercial sources such as catalogs. Those skilled in the art will discern the different types of equipment that exist and that are appropriate here. The system in Figure 1 is shown with two parallel sets of concentrate tanks 2 and reactor 4. In some cases the process can be carried out with a single reactor 4 and a tank or several appropriate associated concentrate tanks 2.

However, this has the disadvantage that when a cycle is completed, the entire system must be turned off so that new supplies of concentrated microorganisms, enzymes and nutrients are fed to the concentrate tank 2 or new tanks 2 inserted. But the most important thing, however, is that reactor 4 must be turned off to clean, sterilize and purify.

While only one system is switched off, it is clear that no biomass is provided for the final use, whether it is agriculture, horticulture and another application. Therefore it is preferred to have at least two parallel systems, as illustrated in Figure 1, each operating at a different point in the cycle of cleaning, sterilizing and purifying the container; the addition of water; the injection of liquid food suspension; biomass growth; and draining the container and feeding the biomass, so that when one of the units is stopped for maintenance and recharging, waiting for the slow growth of certain types of microorganisms or in case of a malfunction, the other system may be operating producing the biomass and dispersing it to its final use. In this regard, it is contemplated that larger commercial systems using the present invention may contain two, three or more liquid food concentrate reactors / units in such a way that one or more may be operating at a certain time, even when others are operating. deactivated for maintenance or are in a portion of the biomass growth cycle when it is not appropriate to disperse any of the biomass slurry. Those skilled in the art could determine the optimum number of units for a given end use, depending on factors such as the area of the land or volume of water to be treated, the type and concentration of vegetation in question and the cost of the equipment. . Alternatively to operate two, three or more liquid feed concentrate / reactor units in parallel, a single unit can be used in a continuous flow cycle. The process of inoculating the reactor 4 from the liquid feed tanks 2 is as described above; however, once the biomass in reactor 4 has reached a sustainable density, it is drained through valve 10 with a constant velocity that is consonant with the maintenance of biomass through continuous feeding from tanks 2. the soil or water that is being treated (or the distributors that are being filled) can be provided continuously with a flow of biomass while the biomass inside the reactor 4 is provided with enough nutrients to continue growing by replacing what is used. An advantage of this continuous process of feeding and dispersing the biomass is that the reactor 4 does not need to be cleaned and sterilized after each growth cycle. Those skilled in the art will be able to determine the removal rates of the biomass and the addition of nutrients to the reactor to maintain the continuous fermentation of the biomass. The tanks 2 and the reactors 4 can have any convenient size. It has been found to be particularly effective that they have sizes such that a complete system containing a control 6, one or more concentrate tanks 2 and reactor 4 can be contained in a single pallet that can be moved by means of a forklift vehicle. or on a truck that is part of or can be pulled by a truck or similar vehicle from one place to another. Such a truck can be opened or closed. A closed truck allows the system to operate while protected from weather, dust and grime. Connection A for the different end uses would be mounted on the outside of the closed truck cover in such a way that connection by means of hose coupling or other conventional means could be easily obtained. Similarly in units mounted on a ramp or pallet, the coupling A would also be mounted on the pallet or platform, again to facilitate the coupling to end-use application systems. It is clear that in many cases the units of the present invention will be permanently mounted at a central location, such as a golf course or a park or athletic field, and a large plurality of individual systems may be placed together or a smaller number may be used. systems with larger reactors and related equipment. Figure 10 illustrates an alternative configuration of a 4 'biomass reactor. this reactor includes a plurality of chambers illustrated as 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D each of which can be used for the isolated growth of microorganism biomasses or for the lanering of concentrated nutrient suspensions. In an intermediate stage or when completing the growth of one or more of those biomasses or nutrient solutions can be dispersed in the slurry mass in the common chamber 17, in which the mixing or subsequent growth can be performed, before draining the reactor 4 'in the system through the tube 3. Another embodiment of the reactor 4 is shown in Figure 11, to be used when the biomass is or includes a microorganism with undetermined growth such as fungi. The resulting biomass 13 in the chamber 17 is entrapped and does not flow easily, therefore the reactor 4 is modified by the addition of a steeping section 9 in which there is a steerer 8 (essentially a chopper blade mechanism), driven by the motor 11, which is used to chop the biomass into finely divided pieces 15 which can be suspended in the water and flow easily through the outlet pipe 3 and through the system. The ability to use fungi, and particularly fungal spores in the system allows the conduction of viable, active and effective microorganisms to the chosen place. Typical and important final means for dispersing the biomass grown in reactors 4 are illustrated in Figures 2-4. In each case, the interconnection with the connector A is illustrated, in figure 2 the biomass is discharged through the valve 10 from the reactor vessel 4 and passes to a distributor 12 from which it is sent to several individual pipe systems different 14, which in figure 2 are illustrated as spray irrigation lines with a plurality of spray heads 16 mounted in appropriate places. It will be clearly apparent that line 14 can be any of a wide variety of types of irrigation devices, such as drip irrigation, spraying, central pivoting, or any mixture of system types. The distributor 12 can be a simple distributor in which all the lines 14 are fed with liquid simultaneously, but more preferably will be a manually or automatically controlled distribution in which the milky biomass liquid is routed individually and separately to the different lines 14, depending on the particular irrigation needs of the injured and the vegetation fed by each of the lines 14. The sequencing can be automatic according to a predetermined program, it can be operated manually or it can be controlled in response to the determined field conditions by sensors placed near the different lines 14, so that the system responds as needed to the different areas of land and vegetation served by each of the lines as required. For example, if the system in Figure 2 were to be used in a large park with different terrains, those open pasture areas that receive direct sunlight, or the vegetation growing in well-drained soils, would most commonly receive the milky liquid more frequently. than other areas of the park that are under shade or with vegetation that grows in areas of high water retention. If desired, the system of Figure 2 could be operated without distributor 12, such that the basic system of Figure 1 directly feeds line 14. This type of operation can be used only in very limited circumstances, since it does not allow a variation of different application needs such as different soil conditions in the area that is being irrigated. Figure 3 illustrates another type of distribution system that is particularly useful for large open areas such as athletic fields, large parks or row or tree crops. In this case the biomass slurry from the tank 4 is passed to an accumulation or holding tank 18 from which it can be dispersed as needed through the valve 20 to the nozzle 22 from where it flows to the tank 24 mounted on the tank. truck 26. The truck 26 is equipped with a dew system 29 from which the liquid biomass in tank 24 can be pumped and applied to the neighboring land or vegetation including trees. The truck 26 can be driven to faraway places and used there to apply the biomass slurry to areas such as row crops, fruit orchard orchards, or extensive open parks or fields of goal for which systems are not practical. pipeline irrigation as shown in Figure 2. The system of Figure 3 is particularly useful when there are a large number of extended points to be treated with the biomass liquid and where a single tank car 26 could be easily moved from point to point and carry enough liquid of biomass slurry to irrigate and treat all the points in its route. Another system is shown in Figure 4, which consists of a storage tank or spout 30 from which the liquid can pass to a distributor 32 and thence to ducts 34, each of which leads to a satellite storage tank 26. , each of which in turn provides the liquid slurry through various types of irrigation and treatment systems 38. The passage of the slurry from the distributor 32 to the individual ducts 34 is controlled by the valves 40 in turn they are controlled by means of a controller 42. The controller 42, and also the controller 44, which controls the valve 20 in the system of figure 3, can be a separate unit or can be part of a control system 6 of figure 1. In a similar manner it is desired to pump the liquid slurry directly from the tanks 4 to the systems of Figure 3 or Figure 4, the tangents 18 and 30 (Figures 3 and 4, respectively) can be removed from the system. The presence of tanks 18 and 30 is however preferred because they allow the accumulation of the liquid slurry in such a way that they can be easily dispersed as needed and in such a way that the reactors 4 can be used for other purposes without interrupting the operations of the systems. of figures 3 and 4 for local operation. Alternatively, in Figure 4, if the distance involved between the central system and the satellites 46 is excessive, one or more of the conduits 34 of the system can be eliminated. In this case the slurry can be loaded in a tank car 48 and the truck driven to the satellite position where the slurry is transferred from the tank of the truck to the tank 36. Other means of dispersion are illustrated in the figure 12. Part A of Figure 12 shows the dispersion from an airplane 120. The tanks inside the aircraft body 122 are connected by means of tubes to spray heads 124 on the outside of the aircraft, from which the slurry is dispersed in the form of dew on the lawn, crop or other plants 126. The use of aircraft is particularly suitable for the application of the present compositions to extensive or remote areas. Similarly, in part B of that of figure 12, a small hand-operated or energy-like device 130 similar in size to a mower has a tank 132 mounted thereon, with spreader heads or sprays 138 mounted below and connected to the tank 132 by means of ducts with suitable valves. The handle 134 which may also contain valve controls, is used to push or guide the device 130. This type of device is particularly suitable for the application of the compositions to small or delicate areas illustrated here as a green golf area 136. Miscellaneous Final uses of the present invention are shown in Figures 5-9. Figures 5-7 illustrate the use for soil treatment, vegetation growth and lawn improvement, while Figures 8 and 9 illustrate various forms of water treatment. In Figure 5, the irrigation system 50 is shown connected to one or the other of the systems of Figures 2 or 4, as illustrated in B. The liquid slurry is pumped through μno or more conduits 52 to which they are mounted different irrigation devices such as a spray head 54 and from which the slurry is sprayed on the different areas of grass or vegetation to be treated. In the case illustrated in figure 5, the area is a golf course and the grass arras are irrigated by means of spray from nozzles 54 are fields 56 t green areas 58. it is clear that if desired and depending on the type of terrain and local climate, the different irrigation systems 52 can be used to irrigate steep areas 60 and other 62 areas of the field. It will be understood that there will be a plurality of conduits 52 and that they are controlled by different distributors and if needed, the pumps (not shown) all in a conventional manner of irrigating golf courses, parks and similar areas. Similar results will be obtained through the treatment of other vegetation areas such as parks, athletic fields, streets and areas near the railroad tracks, green areas, gardens and the like. Figure 6 illustrates the use of the present system for horticulture illustrated by a greenhouse 64, shown partially separated. Within the greenhouse there is a variety of boxes or pots with plant growth 66, each of which is filled with soil and used to grow individual plants 68. This system of the invention can be included in structure 70 in such a way that the Greenhouse is operated directly with a single individual system. Alternatively an individual system can be mounted on the structure 70 and used to supply not only the greenhouse 64, but also the neighboring greenhouses (not shown), since it is common in many commercial horticultural operations to have several greenhouses placed one next to the greenhouse. another, either to grow large numbers of the same type of plants or to grow different types of plants in different greenhouses. Also alternatively, the structure 70 may include one of the satellite units 36 as illustrated in Figure 4. Regardless of whether it is a primary or satellite system that is in the structure 70, the biomass slurry is conducted in the greenhouse and It distributes in the plants in one or more of the different conventional routes, including direct feeding to the plant through 66 as illustrated in 72, which can be a simple liguido feed system or a drip irrigation system, or spray top of the plants as illustrated with 74. Other routes to apply slurries to plants such as annual hoses and nozzles connected to the slurry system, they can also be used. Those familiar with greenhouse horticulture will be aware that numerous methods of applying the slurry to the plants or the soil in the gutters 66, and all of them will be equally suitable for use in the present invention. Other. End-use application is illustrated in Figure 7, as production agriculture in large areas. Again the particular irrigation systems 76 are shown connected to the system at B and the variety of different irrigation units that can be used are illustrated by means of the spray nozzle 78 and the drip irrigation nozzles 80. Figure 7 illustrates crops in rows such as corn, beans but it will be readily understood that the present invention can also be applied to field crops such as wheat and orchards or fruit trees such as fruit trees and various types of nuts. The system is applied to linear irrigation systems and also to centennial pivot and movable irrigation systems in the field. Several desirable properties of the land can be improved by dealing with the present process and the microorganisms of the original liquid food that multiply and disperse above the areas of land and vegetation. Nitrogen fixation in the soil is improved and increased, leading to increased growth of crops and other vegetation. the availability of nutrients in the ground for the growth of vegetation improves with the ability of the roots of the plants to reach those nutrients, the dispersion of growth factors, regulators and metabolites in the field can be achieved which in turn It will improve the growth of the vegetation that uses these materials. Conversely, the undesirable properties of the ground that inhibit the growth of vegetation can be reduced or eliminated. The treatment of the soil with specific antibiotics to the microorganisms can eliminate the harmful pathogens that are initially present in the soil without adverse effect on the desirable microorganisms fed to the land through the present process. Similarly, various organic or inorganic compounds, such as salts, hydrocarbons and pesticide residues, can be eliminated or their effects reduced by the action of specific microorganisms fed. So the land that has previously been able to give only reduced yields of crops, poor support for the vegetation and even free of sustainable vegetation can be remedied by means of the treatment with the present process, up to a point in which healthy vegetation and crops are obtained. abundant, and then subsequently maintained by the • continuous application of the present process. It will be understood that the quantities and types of microorganisms, nutrients, enzymes, metabolites and other materials supplied by the present process will vary depending on the types of terrain and vegetation in question, whether the process is used to remediate or maintain the soil. and vegetation, local topography, if food crops and the like are being cultivated. Those skilled in the art will have no difficulty in determining the optimal types of microorganisms and other materials to provide through the initial liquid feed, the amount of biomass to be produced, and the application of the biomass to the terrain or vegetation in question. Figure 8 and 9 illustrate different types of water treatment that can be obtained by means of the present invention. In Figure 8 the system of the present invention is used to purify contaminated water from a well. A well 82 formed in the soil 84 and framed by porous coating 86 is shown filled with water 88. The biomass slurry of the present invention is contained in the tank 90 from which it is pumped to a sprayer or other spout device 92. submerged in the well, preferably near the bottom. As the biomass disperses in the water and stays there for an appropriate period of time, the biorase and microorganisms and enzymes gradually remove the different pollutants from the water in such a way that after a period of time (usually a few days or weeks) the well water is partially decontaminated and can be used when pumping by means of the pump. that draws the water through the 96 inlet. If the contamination enters the well as soil water 84 through the porous coating 86, the rate of water extraction, once the water in the well 88 is initially purified, must be maintained at a rate or below the speed at which the biomass slurry is pumped from tank 90 can decontaminate the incoming water. In Figure 9, a pond of waste effluent water 98 is formed with a waterproof coating 100 scraped into the ground 102. The biomass slurry is contained in the tank 104 from which it is pumped to sprinklers or similar dispensing devices 106 which are submerged in the effluent body 108. The biomass is pumped into the water and fed back as needed for a period of time necessary to reduce the contamination and the effluent to the desired level, the biomass will effect a reduction of the solid content of the affluent, especially organic solids, and will also serve to detoxify contaminants in the effluent. It is contemplated that a single treatment tank 98 will not be sufficient in many cases and treated fluents will have to be sequentially transferred to additional ponds for further treatment to obtain the general degree of reduction and elimination of pollutants, solids and toxins that are desired. Also the treatment by the biomass of the present invention will preferably be carried out in conjunction with conventional fluent treatment processes such as aerated 110 and filtering. As in the case of the improvement or remedy of soil and vegetation, water treatment through the present process produces substantial improvements in water quality, as well as water or water stored in a container such as a tank can improve the quality of the water by elimination or reduction of the organic materials and the salts and by means of the detoxification of the toxic ones. The same will be true on a larger scale for the treatment of heavily contaminated water sources, such as wastewater fluents or polluted groundwater aquifers, subsoil water indirectly benefits from the soil treatment described above, since the presence of an active microbial region in the upper layers of the soil will denitrify the nitrates and immobilize the nitrogen coming from ammonia, preventing the conversion to nitrate at a faster rate than at which the nitrates can be used by the local vegetation. The direct treatment of the water of the subsoil is illustrated in Figure 12, in which an "active" layer 25 of the soil is created in which the microorganisms, enzymes and nutrients of this invention are contained. Layer 25 is at the top of the floor, commonly a few centimeters below and generally includes the floor surface 27. A tube with a spray head 29 and suitable pumping means (not shown) reaches the aquifer 31 and extracts the contaminated water from the aquifer 31 to the tube through the inlet 33. The water is sprayed 37 on the surface of the soil 27, from where it again wet the soil. It passes through the active layer 25 where it is at least partially decontaminated. Decontaminated water continues to flow into deeper layers or layers of soil until it returns to aquifer 31. Pumping, spraying, and continuous passage of water through the active layer will eventually result in a substantial reduction in the level of contaminants in the water of the aquifer. aquifer. Other applications of this water and / or land treatment process are also contemplated although they are not specifically identified. For exampleIt is understood that septic tanks are particularly susceptible to decontamination by means of this process. Contaminated water from the septic tank can be removed, treated by the process described and returned to the tank or the biomass can be fed directly to the septic tank or a similar treatment can be implemented. Similarly, the soil to be treated by the process described can be located essentially anywhere and can be used to grow almost anything. For example, it will be recognized that this process can be used to improve the soil that is used to feed animals or to improve gardens and residential lawns as well as for commercial use. The microorganisms preferably used in this invention grow by means of a consistent source of nutrients and the availability of adequate oxygen. It is not preferred to use microorganisms that are roasted in photosynthesis and that therefore require the presence of light to grow. However, it is desired to use such microorganisms, the container 4 can incorporate its own lighting system to provide light for the biomass to grow either by making the container 4 of a clear or transparent material that allows ambient light to reach the biomass. place artificial light placed in such a way that the artificial light focuses on the biomass. The growth of the microorganisms can be aided by mechanical mixing of the aqueous biomass in the container, such as by use of a mechanical mixer or by recycling the aqueous biomass through an external recycling conduit (not shown). Both the use of a recycler and a mixer are common in biomass containers and those skilled in the art will know of the existing techniques and equipment and how they should be used. The degree of turbulence induced by the mixer or recycler should be kept within relatively low limits, to avoid degradation by tearing of the biomass of microorganisms, particularly as the biomass is concentrated at the end of each growth cycle. Typical of the different materials that can compose the biomass are different microorganisms, either alone or in different mixtures in the aqueous suspensions, together with the appropriate nutrients and enzymes. Many of those microorganisms, nutrients and enzymes are sold commercially as commercial products. Those skilled in the art can determine the appropriate materials for their needs by selecting those that give the desired seed treatment properties, such as growth promotion, disease resistance and / or resistance to plague. For example, Azospirillum brasilense is useful for the fixation of non-symbiotic nitrogen in pastures and for the improvement of shoot implantation. Rhizobium ssp. they are useful for the symbiotic fixation of nitrogen in legumes. The bacillus species licheniformis, subtilus and polymyxa on the other hand are useful for the general improvement of the soil such as the formation of aggregates and stabilization. Additionally, most species of the genus Bacillus are useful as hypercellulase products for the degradation of straw and debris. Gliocladium spp. provides disease control such root decomposition and diseases caused by fungi, phytohthora, and Trichoderma spp. they are useful both as control microorganisms of broad spectrum diseases and as hypercellulase producing organisms. Examples of other useful microorganisms include thermophiles such as Archaejbacteria described by Broock et al, in Biology of Microorganisms (5th edition, 1988) art. 18.6; microorganisms that use hydrocarbons as nutrients such as Pseudomonas and Mycobacterium (Brock et al., "Article 16.23), nitrogen-fixing bacteria such as Axotobacter spp., Cyanobacteria and Bacillus polymyxa (Brock et al., Article 16.24) and halophiles as Halobacterim (Brock et al., article 19.33) .Other typical microorganisms are the oxygen generating bacteria exemplified by a microorganism commercially distributed under the trademark "AG-14" of Natural Oxygen Products of El Paso, Texas, and described in U.S. Patent No. 3, 855, 121. Similar microorganisms include Pseudomonas, Flavobacterium, Euglina spp., and the three species of bacilli described above, see for example Brock et al., arts 19.15, 19.20 and 19.26. , and Moore et al., Biological Science (1963), pp. 248-249. Numerous microbial nutrients and enzymes are also known such as those exemplified by a product commercially distributed under the trade name l "BNB-931" of Westbridge Company of Carlsbad, California and a chelated product commercially distributed under the trade name "Sun-Up". The chelating agent in "Sun-Up" critical acid. Microorganisms that function as insecticides, fungicides, metabolites and / or herbicides can also be part of the biorase. A particularly preferred product useful in this regard is a fungicidal / nematicidal product in which the active ingredient is Burjholderia cepacia, Wisconsin type, at a concentration of 10S cells / gram. This product is commercially available under the "Deny" name of CCT Corporation of California. Another useful product is "Azo-Kote" from Encoré Technologies, Inc. of Minnesota, which has Azospirillium brasilense as an active ingredient and is useful for non-symbiotic nitrogen fixation. The foregoing are only examples of the different materials that the biomass may contain and are in no way intended to limit the scope of the invention. It is intended to include as part of the concept of this invention both the presently known and commercially existing microorganisms, enzymes and nutrients and those of similar function that exist and are approved for future seed treatment applications. It will be evident that there are different modifications of this invention that although not expressly described before, are clearly within the scope and spirit of the invention. The foregoing description is therefore intended to be exemplary only, and the scope of the invention will be limited only by the appended claims.

Claims (27)

1. - A method to remedy and improve the soil or water that consists of: forming a concentrated aqueous suspension of microorganisms and nutrients for them; injecting the aqueous suspension into a substantially larger volume of water in a container; retain the large volume of water with the suspension dispersed in the water in the container at a temperature and for a sufficient time for the microorganisms to feed on at least a portion of the nutrients, reproduce and multiply in a concentrated biomass containing the rest of those nutrients and an increasing number of microorganisms in the water; then extract the biomass from the container and disperse the biomass to the soil or water; and keeping the microorganisms alive and active with the rest of the nutrients for a sufficient period of time to improve the predetermined desired properties of the soil or water or reduce the predetermined undesirable properties of the soil or water.

2. A method according to claim 1 in which the aqueous suspension also contains enzymes, growth factors for vegetation, growth regulators of vegetation, antibiotics or metalites.

3. A method according to claim 1 which consists of a plurality of the concentrated aqueous suspensions.

4. A method according to claim 3 in which a first individual suspension in the plurality of suspensions consists of components different from the components of the second individual suspension.

5. A method according to claim 4 in which the first and second suspensions are injected into a large volume of water at different times during the biomass growth cycle.

6. - A method according to claim 1 which consists of a plurality of containers, each of which contains a biomass in a growth stage different from the biomasses in other containers or which is empty without biomass and water and is being subjected to the preparation for the addition of water, the subsequent injection of the aqueous suspension into the water and the resulting growth of the biomass.

7. A method according to claim 6 in which a cycle of preparation of the container, addition of water, growth of the biomass and extraction of the biomass exists for each container of the plurality.

8. - A method according to claim 7 in which at least one container of the plurality is at a time point different from the cycle than the other container in the plurality.

9. A method according to claim 1 in which the microorganisms include species that have indeterminate growth.

10. A method according to claim 9 further comprising macerating a biomass consisting of the species to comminute the biomass into appropriate portions to flow in a liquid slurry.

11. A method according to claim 1 in which the biomass is dispersed in the ground.

12. A method according to claim 11, wherein the land supports turf, crops, ornamental plants, row and tree crops. 13.- Apparatus for healing and improving the soil or water consisting of: a container for a concentrated aqueous suspension of microorganisms and nutrients for them; a container greater than the container, and a conduit for liquids between them; an injector for moving the aqueous suspension through the conduit and injecting the aqueous suspension in a volume of water greater than the volume of the aqueous suspension, and into the container; means of operation to produce and maintain the conditions for a period of time within the container that lead to the reproduction and growth of the microorganisms in the presence of the nutrients, such that the microorganisms during the period of time multiply in a biomass water that consists of dispersed microorganisms_ in the water of the container; and extraction means for removing the aqueous biomass from the container; in such a way that the aqueous biomass can subsequently be dispersed in the soil and the microorganisms remain alive and active for a sufficient period of time to increase predetermined desirable properties of the soil or water or to reduce predetermined undesirable properties of the soil or water. 14. Apparatus according to claim 13 consisting of a plurality of containers, each with an individual injector and a conduit to the container. 15. Apparatus according to claim 14 comprising a control for regulating the speed and times of injection of the aqueous suspension in the container. 16. An apparatus according to claim 13 in which the container is connected to a plurality of containers, each of which is adapted to allow the growth of a microorganism biomass isolated from the biomasses of microorganisms in the other containers of plurality. 17. Apparatus according to claim 16 in which the container and the plurality of containers are housed in a single structure. 18. Apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising means for transporting liquids to transport the extracted aqueous biomass from the container to the ground or water. 19. Apparatus according to claim 18, in which the means of transportation consist of a liquid conduit and a spray nozzle for spraying the aqueous biomass in the ground or water. 20. Apparatus according to claim 18 in which the means of transportation consist of a vehicle having a tank in which the aqueous biomass is loaded to transport the land or water. 21. Apparatus according to claim 20 in which the aqueous biomass is dispersed directly from the tank to the ground or water. 22. Apparatus according to claim 20 in which the vehicle consists of an airplane, truck, trailer or mobile device pushed or guided by hand. 23. Apparatus according to claim 12 in which the biomass is continuously extracted from the container, while the container is continuously fed with the aqueous suspension; in such a way that the volume of the container is not completely emptied. 24.- A method to heal and improve the soil or water that consists of: forming a concentrated aqueous suspension of microorganisms and nutrients for them; injecting the aqueous suspension in a substantially larger volume of water in the container; retain the largest volume of water with the suspension dispersed in it, in the container at a temperature, for a while and with sufficient nutrients so that the microorganisms feed on at least a portion of the nutrients, to reproduce and multiply in a concentrated biomass which contains a residue of nutrients and an increasing number of microorganisms in the water; after this, remove the biomass from the container and disperse the biomass in the soil or water; and keeping the microorganisms alive and active, in the field or water, with the rest of the nutrients for a sufficient period of time to improve predetermined desired properties of the land or water to reduce the predetermined undesired properties of the land or water. 25. A method according to claim 24 in which the concentrated biomass is continuously distributed and the container is continuously fed with nutrients in such a way that the density of the concentrated biomass remains almost constant. 26.- Apparatus for healing and / or improving the soil or water consisting of: a container for a concentrated aqueous suspension of microorganisms and / or nutrients for them; a container larger than the container, and a conduit for liquid between them; an injector to move the aqueous suspension through the conduit and inject the aqueous suspension into a volume of water greater than water than the volume of the aqueous suspension and into the container; operative means for producing and maintaining the conditions for a period of time within the container that leads to the reproduction and growth of the microorganisms, such that the microorganisms multiply in an aqueous biomass comprising the microorganisms in excess of nutrients and dispersed in the water of the container; and extractor means for removing the aqueous biomass from the container, such that the aqueous biomass can subsequently be dispersed in the soil or water and the microorganisms are kept there alive and active for a sufficient period of time to improve predetermined desirable soil properties or water or to reduce predetermined undesirable properties of the land or water. 27. Apparatus according to claim 26, in which the extractor means continuously extracts the aqueous biomass and the operating means continuously provide the container, such that the density of the aqueous biomass remains almost constant.