Patents Examined by Andrew H. Metz
  • Patent number: 4678555
    Abstract: It has been discovered that cellulose acetate membranes, fabricated using nonaqueous solvent systems, can be used for the separation of polar solvents, especially ketone dewaxing solvents from dewaxed oil. The cellulose acetate membranes so prepared are of a reduced acetyl content and exhibit very good resistance to ketone solvents. The specific fabrication procedure avoids exposing the cellulose acetate to even transient mixtures of ketone and alcohol or ketone and water. Although the cellulose acetate polymer is insoluble in pure water, alcohol, or ketone it is soluble in mixtures of ketone-alcohol and ketone-water.The resulting membrane is an effective means for separating ketone dewaxing solvent from dewaxed oil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 1985
    Date of Patent: July 7, 1987
    Assignee: Exxon Research and Engineering Company
    Inventor: David L. Wernick
  • Patent number: 4678650
    Abstract: An aqueous alkali phosphate solution is made. An organic phase is countercurrently mixed with an aqueous phase, the two phases being used in a volume ratio larger than 1:1 and formed aqueous alkali phosphate solution is separated from the remaining organic phase. The two phases are mixed and reacted in a reaction zone comprised of a mixing and separating zone. The organic phase is continuously dispersed in the aqueous phase. A volume excess of aqueous phase is maintained in the mixing zone and the two phases are used in an overall quantity sufficient to provide a volume ratio of organic to aqueous phase of 4:6 to 2:8.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 1985
    Date of Patent: July 7, 1987
    Assignee: Hoechst Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Reinhard Gradl, Gero Heymer
  • Patent number: 4676886
    Abstract: The present invention is drawn to a process for the production of anode grade coke from a hydrocarbon feed characterized by high levels of sulfurs and metals. The hydrocarbon feed is hydrocracked in a hydrocracking reactor so as to produce an overhead effluent which is fed to a hot separator wherein a light hydrocarbon stream and a slurry hydrocracked product are produced. The hydrocracked product is fed to a separator and mixed with a solvent wherein the solids are separated out from the hydrocracked residual so as to produce a clean hydrocracked residual which is fed to a coking drum and coked so as to leave a mass of green anode grade coke.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 1986
    Date of Patent: June 30, 1987
    Assignee: Intevep, S.A.
    Inventors: Georgette Rahbe, Roger Marzin, Ivan Cavicchioli, Julio Krasuk, Rodolfo B. Solari
  • Patent number: 4676839
    Abstract: An electrically powered automated golf club grip cleaning unit for sequentially cleaning a full set of golf clubs essentially as fast as the operator can insert and withdraw the clubs from the unit. The automated unit comprises a closed, water tight housing that is divided into an upper and a lower compartment having a rotating (carousel-like) lid that accepts a plurality of inverted golf club shafts and grips through openings into the top compartment and spins the clubs while advancing them through a wash and rinse zone while making abrasive contact with spinning brushes within the upper compartment and simultaneously recycling wash water as well as rinse water accumulating in partitioned reservoirs in the lower compartment back to the upper compartment for cleaning the grips of the golf clubs. The apparatus further provides continuous bleed-off of some of the recirculating rinse water and make-up of fresh water.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 1986
    Date of Patent: June 30, 1987
    Inventor: Jack S. Osborn
  • Patent number: 4676888
    Abstract: A hydrocarbon chargestock (11) is separated by distillation (12, 16), e.g. at least in part under reduced pressure, into a conversion feedstream (22, 24) and a vacuum residuum (17). The feedstream is converted at an elevated temperature in a conversion unit (25), e.g. a fluidized catalytic cracking system, to high temperature conversion products (26) which are passed into the bottom region of the lower portion (27) of a fractionation tower (28). The vacuum residuum (17) is passed (via 50) into the top of the lower portion (27) of the fractionation tower (28).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 1986
    Date of Patent: June 30, 1987
    Assignee: Exxon Research and Engineering Company
    Inventor: Martin A. Murphy
  • Patent number: 4676900
    Abstract: Disclosed is an apparatus for recovering solid particulates in liquid, typically water containing precious metal particles, such as is produced as a by-product of jewelry manufacture. The apparatus has a settling tank, which contains a fabric trap for entrapping very fine particles. Water in the tank is moved through the trap by a syphon producing a very small pressure gradient across the trap, which, because the pressure is so small, enables one to use a trapping fabric of much larger mesh than has been possible heretofore.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 1984
    Date of Patent: June 30, 1987
    Inventors: Jorge Masihy, Jose Navarrete
  • Patent number: 4676970
    Abstract: A method for making a fused compound from a metal and a non-metal and more particularly a method for making a metal sulfide is disclosed. The method is particularly advantageous in making manganese sulfide. An excess of metal and recycled compound are used to control sulfur vaporization and a portion of the product is recycled to control the reaction. Conventional equipment can be used in the method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 1985
    Date of Patent: June 30, 1987
    Assignee: Elkem Metals Company
    Inventors: Lamar S. Todd, Robert H. Kaiser, Donald R. Hilburger
  • Patent number: 4676963
    Abstract: A process is described for converting wet acid into sodium tripolyphosphate by pretreating the wet acid in a pretreatment stage with a sodium source and SiO.sub.2 to precipitate fluoride values from the wet acid, solvent extracting the pretreated wet acid to remove further impurities, reacting the solvent extracted acid with a sodium source in a made up stage to form a sodium orthophosphate liquor, heating the resulting liquor in a calcining stage to produce sodium tripolyphosphate, passing gases from the calcining stage into a scrubber liquor to remove fluoride impurities and entrained sodium tripolyphosphate, recycling scrubber liquor to the make up stage to recover sodium tripolyphosphate values, and removing a bleed stream from the recycled scrubber liquor and recycling it to the pretreatment stage to remove fluoride impurities therein in the pretreatment stage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 1986
    Date of Patent: June 30, 1987
    Assignee: FMC Corporation
    Inventor: Nirmal K. Khanna
  • Patent number: 4676263
    Abstract: A composition and process for setting hair comprises impregnating the hair with a composition containing in solution in a cosmetic vehicle at least one water-soluble polymer containing at least 5% of units having a primary amide function, a crosslinking agent and an acid catalyst. The hair is then placed on hair-setting rollers and dried by means of an external heat source. The hair rollers are then removed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 1983
    Date of Patent: June 30, 1987
    Assignee: Societe Anonyme dite: L'Oreal
    Inventors: Claude Mahieu, Christos Papantoniou
  • Patent number: 4676887
    Abstract: A moderate pressure hydrocracking process is disclosed in which substantially dealkylated heavy distillate feedstocks are processed directly to high octane gasoline over a catalyst, preferably comprising a crystalline silicate zeolite hydrocracking component having a Constraint Index less than 2. The bottoms fraction produced from the contacting may be passed to an FCC unit for further processing. In another embodiment, the substantially dealkylated heavy distillate feedstock may be fractionated into a lighter boiling stream and a heavier boiling stream for better ease of processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 1986
    Date of Patent: June 30, 1987
    Assignee: Mobil Oil Corporation
    Inventors: Ronald H. Fischer, Yun-Yang Huang, Rene B. LaPierre, Philip Varghese
  • Patent number: 4676885
    Abstract: The invention disclosed herein comprises a process for the selective upgrading of combustion quality of a distillate transportation fuel by careful selective dehydrogenation, disproportionation and hydrogenation to convert cycloparaffinic materials contained in the distillate transportation fuel to acyclic paraffinic hydrocarbons, wherein said conversion is undertaken by first forming cyclomonoolefinic hydrocarbons from cycloparaffinic hydrocarbons via dehydrogenation, disproportionating the cyclomonoolefinic hydrocarbons to acyclic di-.alpha.-olefin hydrocarbons and then selectively hydrogenating said di-.alpha.-olefin hydrocarbons in the presence of hydrogen to saturate the double bonds of the di-.alpha.-olefin to form acyclic paraffinic hydrocarbons. The selective disproportionation reaction includes the addition of ethylene or an ethylene acting material to ring open the cyclomonoolefinic material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 1986
    Date of Patent: June 30, 1987
    Assignee: Shell Oil Company
    Inventor: Warren V. Bush
  • Patent number: 4675036
    Abstract: A low temperature rectification process for obtaining C.sub.2+ or C.sub.3+ hydrocarbons from feed gas mixtures, which contain essentially light hydrocarbons and, if desired, hydrogen or nitrogen is shown. The gas mixture is first cooled and subjected to phase separation, whereupon the gaseous fraction is work expanded and the liquid fraction is fractionated by rectification. The light overhead fractionated product of the rectification is mixed with the gaseous fraction of the phase separation of the feed gas mixture before its work expansion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 1985
    Date of Patent: June 23, 1987
    Assignee: Linde Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Heinz Bauer
  • Patent number: 4675053
    Abstract: A cleaning and scrubbing apparatus is described which consists of a vacuum head to which is coupled small hollow fibers. Each of the fibers has a diameter of approximately the size of the record groove so that it may fit within the record groove to scrub away debris formed within the groove. A cleaning fluid is be placed over the record to partially dissolve the debris so that the fibers can loosen it as the record is rotated across the fibers. The vacuum causes the cleaning fluid including the debris to be sucked through the hollow opening of the fibers. The side walls of the fibers may be a membrane material so that additional fluid flows through the side walls. In order to clean the cleaning head, the fluid is forced in the reverse direction while the head and fibers are facing upright, thereby washing away the debris which has become affixed to the fibers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 1984
    Date of Patent: June 23, 1987
    Inventors: Steven McCarty, Ralph Perrini
  • Patent number: 4675463
    Abstract: An improved process for oligomerizing olefins is provided in which olefin feed is contacted with phosphoric acid catalyst to form an olefin oligomerization product containing phosphorous-containing foulant precursors. The olefin oligomerization product is then contacted with a foulant adsorbent comprising at least one member selected from the group consisting of alumina, activated alumina and magnesium oxide in an amount and under conditions sufficient to effect removal of at least a portion of said foulant precursors. The treated olefin oligomerization product stream can then be passed to downstream recovery and process equipment with minimized fouling.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 1986
    Date of Patent: June 23, 1987
    Assignee: Exxon Chemical Patents Inc.
    Inventors: Alexandr P. Glivicky, Donald J. Norris
  • Patent number: 4675102
    Abstract: The invention provides an improvement to a process for producing a diesel fuel from a medium heavy oil obtained from coal. The invention increases the amount of medium oil which can be used to produce diesel fuel while keeping the total yield of oil from the coal about the same. Thus, the fraction of the medium oil recovered is greater without altering the total yield of oil from the coal, and now amounts to about 80 to 85 percent of the total oil yield. Accordingly, the amount of light oil derived in this process becomes correspondingly smaller. Thus, the total oil yield is increased by about 4 to 6 percent compared with previously obtained results.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 1985
    Date of Patent: June 23, 1987
    Assignee: Ruhrkohle Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Eckard Wolowski, Klaus-Dieter Dohms
  • Patent number: 4675100
    Abstract: An apparatus and process is described whereby a sour hydrocarbon distillate stream is treated in two oxidation zones within the same reaction vessel to oxidize mercaptans. The initial treatment is in the presence of a fiber bundle and the subsequent treatment over a bed of supported oxidation catalyst.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 1985
    Date of Patent: June 23, 1987
    Assignee: Merichem Company
    Inventors: Ralph E. Maple, Felipe J. Suarez
  • Patent number: 4675461
    Abstract: Disclosed is a method and apparatus for conversion of LPG hydrocarbons into distillate fuels by integrating LPG dehydrogenation with catalytic oligomerization and recovering the distillates produced. The described method and apparatus may comprise an H.sub.2 separation zone, wherein a lean oil stream contacts a dehydrogenation effluent stream to produce a C.sub.3.sup.+ rich liquid stream to feed oligomerization. An energy efficient separation zone comprising dual debutanizers is disclosed. In addition, a method and apparatus is disclosed for a fluid bed dehydrogenation reactor zone using an FCC catalyst contaminated with a metal, such as nickel and/or vanadium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 1986
    Date of Patent: June 23, 1987
    Assignee: Mobil Oil Corporation
    Inventors: Hartley Owen, John C. Zahner
  • Patent number: 4673487
    Abstract: An improved nickel-tin hydrogenation catalyst additionally comprising palladium provides a highly active catalyst more easily activated than conventional nickel hydrogenation catalysts, and a process employing the improved catalyst to stabilize lubricating oils to ultraviolet radiation is disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 1986
    Date of Patent: June 16, 1987
    Assignee: Chevron Research Company
    Inventor: Stephen J. Miller
  • Patent number: 4673440
    Abstract: Methods of an apparatus for cleaning an electro-mechanical transducer such as a "mouse" used for moving cursors on a computer display terminal comprise a scrubbing ball having a "hook" VELCRO surface and a pad having a "loop" VELCRO surface. The VELCRO covered ball is lightly coated with solvent, inserted into the recess of the "mouse" and rolled over the "loop" VELCRO surface. This rolling action scrubbs the interior of the "mouse" and transfers dust, debris and suspended oil from the recess of the mouse to the pad.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 1985
    Date of Patent: June 16, 1987
    Inventor: Stephen R. Chapin, Jr.
  • Patent number: 4673485
    Abstract: A process in fuels production for increasing the yield of deasphalted oil production from upgraded residua and improving deasphalter operability involving mixing the upgraded residua with an aromatics solubilizing aid to prevent the formation of an immiscible third phase during deasphalting.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 1984
    Date of Patent: June 16, 1987
    Assignee: Exxon Research and Engineering Company
    Inventors: Duncan J. Bristow, Biddanda U. Achia, Lawrence J. Evers