Patents Represented by Attorney Bronwyn A. Welvaert
  • Patent number: 7413664
    Abstract: A process for removing selenium from an aqueous stream using a supported sulfur material, to convert selenocyanate to selenite, followed by removal of the selenite from the aqueous stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2008
    Assignee: ConocoPhillips Company
    Inventors: Charles J. Lord, III, Larry E. Reed
  • Patent number: 7378068
    Abstract: The present invention includes a process for the removal of hydrogen sulfide from hydrogen sulfide gas containing gaseous streams. In one embodiment, the process comprises feeding a sulfide ion containing solution to an oxidation unit. The method further comprises feeding an oxidizing gas to the oxidation unit and contacting the sulfide ion containing solution with the oxidizing gas under sufficient conditions to form a polysulfide solution comprising polysulfide and hydroxide ions. In addition, the process comprises mixing the polysulfide containing solution with a hydrogen sulfide gas under conditions sufficient for absorption of hydrogen sulfide and precipitation of sulfur from the polysulfide containing solution. In some embodiments, the process comprises separating the precipitated sulfur from liquid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2008
    Assignee: ConocoPhillips Company
    Inventors: Zhenhua Mao, Shang Y. Chen
  • Patent number: 7241929
    Abstract: Attrition resistant, sorbent compositions for the removal of elemental sulfur and sulfur compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide and organic sulfides, from cracked-gasoline and diesel fuels are prepared by the impregnation of a sorbent support comprising zinc oxide, expanded perlite, and alumina with a promoter such as nickel, nickel oxide or a precursor of nickel oxide followed by reduction of the valence of the promoter metal in the resulting promoter metal sorbent support composition. Also disclosed is a composition comprising desulfurized, cracked-gasoline wherein the desulfurized cracked-gasoline comprises less than about 1 ppmw thiol compounds and less than about 1 ppmw tetrahydrothiophene compounds.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2007
    Assignee: ConocoPhillips Company
    Inventors: Edward L. Sughrue, Marvin J. Johnson, Glen W. Dodwell, Larry E. Reed, Joseph E. Bares, Jason J. Gislason, Robert W. Morton, James L. Malandra
  • Patent number: 7220704
    Abstract: A composition comprising a promoter and a metal oxide selected from the group consisting of a gallium oxide, an indium oxide, and combinations of any two or more thereof, wherein at least a portion of the promoter is present as a reduced valence promoter and methods of preparing such composition are disclosed. The thus-obtained composition is employed in a desulfurization zone to remove sulfur from a hydrocarbon stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2007
    Assignee: ConocoPhillips Company
    Inventors: Robert W. Morton, Jason J. Gislason, M. Bruce Welch, David E. Simon, Roland Schmidt
  • Patent number: 7214845
    Abstract: A novel hydrocarbon disproportionation process is provided and includes contacting a hydrocarbon feed comprising at least one paraffin with a disproportionation catalyst comprising a support component, a metal, and a halogen in a disproportionation reaction zone under disproportionation reaction conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2007
    Assignee: ConocoPhillips Company
    Inventors: Bruce B. Randolph, Marvin M. Johnson, Edward L. Sughrue, II
  • Patent number: 7182918
    Abstract: A hydrocarbon desulfurization system that circulates fluidizable solid particles through a fluidized bed reactor, a fluidized bed regenerator, and a fluidized bed reducer to thereby provide for substantially continuous desulfurization of a hydrocarbon-containing fluid stream and substantially continuous regeneration of the solid particles. A novel transport system is employed for transporting the solid particles between the reactor, the regenerator, and the reducer. The transport system uses close-coupled vessels and gravity flow between various vessels to minimize equipment cost and particle attrition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2007
    Assignee: Conoco Phillips Company
    Inventors: Victor G. Hoover, Max W. Thompson, Darrin D. Barnes, Joe D. Cox, Philip L. Collins, Christopher J. Lafrancois, Ronald E. Miranda, Ricky E. Snelling, Jean B. Thesee, Robert Zapata
  • Patent number: 7172685
    Abstract: A hydrocarbon desulfurization system employing regenerable solid sorbent particulates in a fluidized bed desulfurization reactor. The sulfur-loaded sorbent particulates are continuously withdrawn from the reactor and transferred to a regenerator. A novel solids transport mechanism provides for the safe and effective transfer of the sulfur-loaded sorbent particulates from the high pressure hydrocarbon environment of the reactor to the low pressure oxygen environment of the regenerator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2007
    Assignee: Conocophillips Company
    Inventors: Max W. Thompson, Behzad Jazayeri, Robert Zapata, Manuel Hernandez
  • Patent number: 7147769
    Abstract: A composition comprising a metal oxide and a promoter, wherein at least a portion of the promoter is present as a reduced valence promoter, and methods of preparing such composition are disclosed. The thus-obtained composition is employed in a desulfurization zone to remove sulfur from a hydrocarbon stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2003
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2006
    Assignee: ConocoPhillips Company
    Inventors: Tushar V. Choudhary, Glenn W. Dodwell, Marvin M. Johnson, Edward L. Sughrue, II, Robert W. Morton
  • Patent number: 7105140
    Abstract: A composition comprising manganese oxide and a promoter, wherein at least a portion of the promoter is present as a reduced valence promoter and methods of preparing such composition are disclosed. The thus-obtained composition is employed in a desulfurization zone to remove sulfur from a hydrocarbon stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2006
    Assignee: ConocoPhillips Company
    Inventors: Ashley G. Price, Jason J. Gislason, Glenn W. Dodwell, Robert W. Morton, George D. Parks
  • Patent number: 7029640
    Abstract: In a process for oxidizing carbon monoxide with oxygen to carbon dioxide using a composition comprising platinum and iron, a process of at least partially regenerating the composition is disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2006
    Assignee: ConocoPhillips Company
    Inventors: Jianhua Yao, James B Kimble
  • Patent number: 6955752
    Abstract: Sorbent compositions for the removal of sulfur from cracked-gasoline and diesel fuels are prepared by the impregnation of a sorbent support comprising zinc oxide, expanded perlite, and alumina with a promotor metal followed by reduction of the valence of the promotor metal in the resulting promotor metal sorbent support composition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2005
    Assignee: ConocoPhilips Company
    Inventor: Glenn W. Dodwell
  • Patent number: 6930074
    Abstract: A sorbent composition comprising a promoter metal, zinc oxide, and a high density refractory metal oxide can be used to more effectively desulfurize a sulfur-containing fluid such as cracked-gasoline or diesel fuel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2005
    Assignee: ConocoPhillips Company - I. P. Legal
    Inventors: Gyanesh P. Khare, Glenn W. Dodwell
  • Patent number: 6914033
    Abstract: A composition comprising a promoter and a metal oxide selected from the group consisting of a cerium oxide, a scandium oxide, a lanthanum oxide, and combinations of any two or more thereof, wherein at least a portion of the promoter is present as a reduced valence promoter and methods of preparing such composition are disclosed. The thus-obtained composition is employed in a desulfurization zone to remove sulfur from a hydrocarbon stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2005
    Assignee: ConocoPhillips Company
    Inventors: Jason J. Gislason, Robert W. Morton, Roland Schmidt, M. Bruce Welch
  • Patent number: 6745708
    Abstract: A method and/or apparatus for efficiently operating a combustion device including at least one control zone, with each control zone including at least one burner assembly, is disclosed and includes a) individually supplying fuel to each of the burner assemblies in each of the control zones, b) individually measuring a separate combustion characteristic of the collective combusted gas from each of the burner assemblies in each of the control zones, and c) individually adjusting the flow of air to each of the burner assemblies in response to the value of the combustion characteristic corresponding to each of the control zones to keep the value of each separate combustion characteristic within a predetermined range. In a preferred embodiment, primary air and secondary air are separately supplied and controlled to each of the burner assemblies in each of the control zones in response to the value of the combustion characteristic corresponding to each of the control zones.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2004
    Assignee: ConocoPhillips Company
    Inventors: Peter N. Slater, Jimmie Joe Straw, Bruce W. Gerhold, Ricky E. Snelling, Steven A. Owen, Kent E. Jeffers
  • Patent number: 6683024
    Abstract: A sorbent composition is provided which can be used in the desulfurization of a hydrocarbon-containing fluid such as cracked gasoline or diesel fuel. The sorbent composition contains a support component and a promoter component with the promoter component being present as a skin on the support component. Such sorbent composition is prepared by a process of impregnating a support component with a promoter component, wherein the promoter component has been melted under a melting condition, followed by drying, calcining, and reducing to thereby provide the sorbent composition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2000
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2004
    Assignee: ConocoPhillips Company
    Inventors: Gyanesh P. Khare, Donald R. Engelbert
  • Patent number: 6673239
    Abstract: A system and process for removing water and heteroatom-containing compounds from hydrocarbons and for regenerating the adsorbent used in the system and process is disclosed and includes contacting the hydrocarbon stream with a water adsorbent and a heteroatom-containing compound adsorbent. The regeneration includes passing an isoparaffin over the water-adsorbent, then passing the isoparaffin over the heteroatom-containing compound adsorbent; and, optionally; cooling the effluent; separating such into a hydrocarbon phase and a water phase in a settler; removing a portion of the hydrocarbon phase for mixing with water; returning the hydrocarbon/water mixture to the settler; removing some of the hydrocarbon phase from the settler to form a recycle isoparaffin stream for use as a portion of the stripping stream; and removal of a portion of the water phase from the settler to form a waste water stream containing water and heteroatom-containing compound.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2000
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2004
    Assignee: ConocoPhillips Company
    Inventors: Marvin M. Johnson, Bruce B. Randolph
  • Patent number: 6656877
    Abstract: Attrition resistant, sorbent compositions for the removal of elemental sulfur and sulfur compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide and organic sulfides, from cracked-gasoline and diesel fuels are prepared by the impregnation of a sorbent support comprising zinc oxide, expanded perlite, and alumina with a promoter such as nickel, nickel oxide or a precursor of nickel oxide followed by reduction of the valence of the promoter metal in the resulting promoter metal sorbent support composition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2003
    Assignee: Conocophillips Company
    Inventors: Edward L. Sughrue, Marvin J. Johnson, Glenn W. Dodwell, Larry E. Reed, Joseph E. Bares, Jason J. Gislason, Robert W. Morton, James L. Malandra