There are two common methods of groundwater oxygenation:  1) air injection, and 2) oxygen (or oxygen-augmented air) injection. With both of these methods, the air or oxygen is forced below the surface of a groundwater aquifer, and subsequently migrates upward, creating an oxygenated volume of water surrounding the well point. With air injection, the dissolved oxygen saturation point is approximately 8 to 12 ppm, depending upon elevation and temperature. With pure oxygen injection, the dissolved oxygen can be increased to 15 to 20 ppm. ETEC's DO-IT™ process (utilizing Super-Ox™ equipment) incorporates a unique oxygen mixing process to achieve dissolved oxygen concentrations in the water of 40 ppm or greater, achieving full solubility of the oxygen into the water.

In addition, the total mass of oxygen transferred into the aquifer with vapor-phase injection methods is limited by the flux of groundwater through the injection zone (cross-sectional area of the injection cone – typically estimated as a triangular shape extending from the injection point to the top of the groundwater surface). The flux is a function of the hydraulic conductivity and gradient of the aquifer (units of [L²]/[T]). When the flux rate is taken into account, the actual mass of oxygen delivered to the contaminated soil and groundwater is much smaller than the total mass calculated from the air or oxygen injection rate.

With the Super-Ox™ oxygenation platform, there is no such limitation on the mass of oxygen that can be delivered, since the systems produce water with dissolved oxygen concentrations of greater than 40 ppm via water injection. This processed water is subsequently injected and distributed in the subsurface to optimize aerobic groundwater conditions. Therefore, the only limitation of this process is the extraction/injection flow rate that can be consistently acheived.

Perhaps most importantly, the thermodynamic mixing system integrated within the Super-Ox systems are able to produce stable concentrations of dissolved oxygen. These stable concentrations are critical for performing successful in situ bioremediation applications. Spefically, the dissolved oxygen infused within the processed injection water must remain in solution in order to be transported away from the injection point while remaining available for biological utilization.