I was matrixed within the New Technologies Engineering Division to the Environmental Restoration Division to provide research support at an electro-osmosis soil decontamination site.  Electro-osmosis presents challenges primarily at the cathode, where oxidation-reduction by-products include calcium carbonate build-up that gradually inhibits function of the injection wells.  Previous attempts to reduce calcium carbonate involved handling large volumes of strong acid (HCl).  This method was both dangerous and only temporarily effective.

During the first month of my summer internship, I initiated iterative dialogue with senior scientists that ultimately produced a new approach using fulvic acid.  Fulvic acid was shown to bind ions, preventing calcification at the cathode.  Fulvic acid is much less caustic than HCl, and addressed the mineral deposits as a preventive measure rather than a short-term treatment.  This idea, which had never been applied within context before, resulted in new funding for the electro-osmosis initiative and helped to promote my three-month internship to a full-time appointment within my first month.

As recently as 2011, this same idea was implemented for calcite deposits in large bodies of water by the United States Geological Survey.