Another Ozonix patent has been approved by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), bringing Ecosphere Technologies' Ozonix intellectual property portfolio to 10 approved U.S. patents with 11 more patents pending, the company said in a news release.

On March 3, 2015, the USPTO issued a formal Notice of Allowance for Patent No. 8,968,577, which is a process patent for treating fluids This latest patented invention relates to fluid treatment and, more particularly, to an improved treatment apparatus for destroying aerobic and anaerobic bacteria in fluids used in oil and gas recovery and conditioning of said fluid for reuse, Ecosphere said in the release.

The treatment system aims to provide a cost efficient and environmentally friendly process and apparatus for cleaning and recycling fluids as contaminated as frack water, used to stimulate gas production from shale formations, as well as other types of fluids having various levels of contaminants such as aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and suspended solids, the release said. The calcium carbonate scaling tendency is reduced without the use of acids, ion exchange materials or anti scaling chemicals.