Notice of Patent and Invention Available for License

US Geological Survey in Reston, VA, is soliciting inquiries from companies interested in licensing rights to commercialize, manufacture and market the following technology. License rights may be issued as exclusive or nonexclusive, and may include specific fields of use. USGS is not providing any funding in conjunction with the potential license. Technology title, "ZONFLO Fluid Sampling System," issued U.S. patent 9,181,799. Background. Fine resolution discrete ground water sampling allows for mapping of natural and anthropogenic contaminant distributions. In many parts of the United States, such sampling is problematic in fractured-rock aquifers due to complicated patterns of fluid flow. Fluid sampling in open boreholes tapping fractured-rock aquifers is particularly challenging because of vertical mixing of fluid within the borehole from flow from multiple fractures. The use of downhole pumps to pump water or other fluid from long, open-hole bedrock wells or long-screen sections of wells is problematic because the well bore acts as a conduit and induces vertical flow and mixing of fluid from multiple fractures at different zones (depths) throughout the entire well opening based on the transmissivity of each fracture. The source of the pumped fluid in an open borehole is a mixture of the well bore fluid and the flow-weighted contribution of fluid from multiple fractures. The unknown source origin of the resultant fluid sample is less than ideal for the identification of natural and anthropogenic contaminant pathways. Packers that straddle the pumps have been used to isolate flow from discrete fractures to reduce capture of well bore fluid. However, the use of packers can be time consuming and logistically difficult in some cases. Opportunity. The ZONFLO (ZONAL FLOW) allows for discrete sampling through hydraulic containment of flow in long open boreholes or long screen wells. In wells where physical isolation of discrete zones is not possible due to the inability to seal packers, hydraulic containment is an effective alternative. ZONFLO does not require packers or associated equipment. Instead, a multilevel pumping system is used to contain flow. The most significant cost savings is a reduction in equipment, such as a packer truck, needed to deploy packers. Other savings include quicker deployment and the ability to hydraulically profile the well using different zones of the well. In long screen wells with sandpack, hydraulic containment is the only method effective in isolating zones of the aquifer. This technology can be applied in geographic regions similar to that of the northeast United States. To express interest in this opportunity, please respond to [email protected] with the title of this technology in the subject line. Include your preferred contact information and the nature of your interest in the technology along with a brief background of your company. For more information about other USGS technologies available for licensing, please visit http://www.usgs.gov/tech-transfer/available_patents.html Responses are provided to members of USGS’s Office of Policy & Analysis for the purpose of promoting public awareness of USGS owned technologies and conducting market research to determine commercial interest. If direct licensing interest results from this posting, USGS will follow the required formal licensing process. No follow-on procurement is expected to result from the responses to this notice.