Dakota Technologies, Inc.
Dakota Technologies (Dakota) provides state-of-the-art services for hazardous waste site investigations, specializing in the rapid site assessment of subsurface LNAPL and multi-component DNAPL. Incorporated in 1993, Dakota has an experienced staff with over 100 years of combined experience in developing and deploying direct push screening tools for site investigations. Chlorinated solvents and petroleum hydrocarbons have contaminated subsurface soils and groundwater at thousands of sites all over the world. Traditional methods of determining the presence and extent of light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) and dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) contamination are time consuming and costly, and may not be able to differentiate between contaminant phases. Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) employs laser light to excite fluorescent molecules contained in the vast majority of hazardous NAPLs including petroleum fuels/oils, coal tars and creosotes.
Company details
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- Business Type:
- Manufacturer
- Industry Type:
- Soil and Groundwater
- Market Focus:
- Globally (various continents)
- Year Founded:
- 1993
- Employees:
- 11-100
- Turnover:
- 1,000,000 - 10,000,000 €
About Us
Additionally, through the use of a new dye-enhanced LIF technique, standard LIF tooling is now used to detect dye-labelled DNAPL chlorinated solvents. Direct push logging of the NAPL’s inherent fluorescence with depth provides rapid and reliable identification and delineation of NAPL. Multiple LIF logs completed at NAPL release sites provide a relatively non-subjective basis for a detailed NAPL conceptual site model (CSM).
Three LIF systems have been developed by Dakota Technologies to identify the presence, nature and extent of LNAPL and DNAPL at contaminated sites: Ultra-Violet Optical Screening Tool (UVOST®) for Petroleum, Oil, and Lubricants (POLs); Tar-Specific Optical Screening Tool (TarGOST®) for Coal Tars, Heavy Crudes, Creosotes; and Dye-Enhanced Laser Induced Fluorescence (DyeLIFTM) for DNAPL chlorinated solvents. All three LIF technologies collect and record data in-situ at high resolution, obtaining continuous readings while being advanced into the subsurface at a rate of approximately 2 cm/second. The result is a continuous data set with no data gaps such as those that are often experienced with traditional sampling methods due to poor sample recovery.
History
In 1993, Dakota Technologies, Inc. (Dakota) was founded with the goal of developing and commercializing a laser induced fluorescence (LIF) systems for the characterization of sub-surface contaminants such as fuels, oils, and coal tar.
Based on successful U.S Air Force-funded field demonstrations of Dakota’s CPT-delivered LIF system, a consortium was created for the commercialization of the Rapid Optical Screening Tool (ROST). The consortium, consisting of Dakota, Unisys (prime contractor), Hogentogler & Company, Inc., developed and marketed the world’s first commercially available LIF logging service in 1994.
In 1997, Dakota successfully engineered the specialized tooling necessary to allow for percussion-based direct push platform delivery, including Geoprobes. In 2004, Dakota introduced the Tar-specific Green Optical Screening Tool (TarGOST) for coal tar and creosote, materials which had historically yielded inconsistent responses with ROST.
In 2006, Dakota acquired a sub-license to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s sapphire-window patent, allowing Dakota to independently develop and market sapphire-windowed based tools/services. As a result, Dakota rebranded our ROST services as the Ultra-Violet Optical Screening Tool (UVOST) – a XeCl excimer laser-based fluorescence system for logging petroleum-based fuels, oils, and lubricants.
Dakota has been awarded numerous research contracts in the environmental field to develop instruments, tools, and services for both field and laboratory use. Dakota also pursued other applications for its unique LIF technologies, most significant of which was an initiative to develop instruments and assays for the life-science field. In mid-2006, Dakota spun out its life-science division into a separate company, allowing Dakota to focus solely on its heritage of designing, building, and commercializing environmental based tools/services.
Dakota continues to conduct contract research and development aimed toward commercializing tools that measure, monitor, log, or sample a wide variety of compounds in soils, water, and air. Look on our web site for the latest information on technologies being developed by Dakota.