Patents Examined by Thomas M. Lithgow
  • Patent number: 10252276
    Abstract: An arrangement for recirculation of flotation gas in a mineral flotation process wherein the flotation gas volume fluctuations are handled by a closed pressure equalization loop including an apparatus for storing gas and adsorbing changes of gas pressure; a flushing line for connecting the pressure side of the primary gas recirculation loop to the apparatus for storing gas and adsorbing changes of gas pressure for allowing expulsion of a fraction of the flotation gas from the primary gas recirculation loop; and a suction line for connecting the suction side of the primary gas recirculation loop to the apparatus for storing gas and adsorbing changes of gas pressure, whereby the suction line comprises a pressure reducer for restricting flotation gas flow through the suction line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2019
    Assignee: OUTOTEC (FINLAND) OY
    Inventor: Jukka Lakanen
  • Patent number: 10239000
    Abstract: A device for filtering oil, including: a tank including an oil inlet and a cover; an at least one removable plate, inside the tank, that can be removed from the tank via the upper opening of the cover. The at least one plate removably receives filtering cartridges. The plate is hollow, forming a collector for the oil filtered by the cartridges of the plate. The plate includes an outlet for filtered oil removably connected to a corresponding outlet of the tank via a connector. The connection includes a first portion rigidly connected to the plate and a second portion rigidly connected to the tank, that are capable of mutually cooperating via a seal in order to provide a sealed connection between the oil outlet of the plate, and the corresponding outlet of the tank, and in order to allow maintenance operations to be performed without intervening in the tank.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2019
    Assignee: FIVES DMS
    Inventors: David Sequeira, Cedric Bassez, Conrad Ernst De La Graete
  • Patent number: 10239768
    Abstract: A method and system for de-oiling a feed comprising oil and water. The feed has an input temperature above the boiling point of water and an input pressure sufficient to maintain the water in a liquid state. In at least one embodiment, the method comprises pumping the feed with a motive pump through a phase separator having a restriction to effect a phase separation of oil and water in the feed and produce an agitated mixture, supplying the agitated mixture from the phase separator into a pressure vessel operating at a pressure sufficient to maintain in a liquid state water that is at a temperature above the boiling point of water, removing an oil phase from the pressure vessel, and removing a water phase from the pressure vessel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2019
    Assignee: 1501367 Alberta Ltd.
    Inventor: Wade R. Bozak
  • Patent number: 10197026
    Abstract: The present invention provides one filter with multiple retention locations integrated into a plastic connector that is attached to the filter for connecting the filter to a pump inlet by means of a retention post. A sock style filter is disclosed that incorporates a channel or a flat tab in the periphery of the plastic outlet port for providing a finite or infinite number of locations for retention of a post on a pump or other connection to allow for multiple alignment positioning of the filter with respect to the mating parts such as the pump body, fuel pump assembly, module can or fuel tank.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2019
    Assignee: Kuss Filtration Inc.
    Inventor: Scott A Salsburey
  • Patent number: 10195614
    Abstract: This invention relates to a collector composition for the direct froth flotation of nonsulfide ores comprising a) 50-99 wt.-% of a mixture of fatty acids and b) 1-50 wt.-% of an N-acyl derivative of sarcosine of the formula (I) wherein R is a saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbon chain with 7 to 21 carbon atoms, wherein the mixture of comprises 10.0-35.0 wt.-% of fatty acid having a saturated C11 hydrocarbon group, 2.5-15.0 wt.-% of fatty acid having a saturated C13 hydrocarbon group, 10.0-25.0 wt.-% fatty acid having a monounsaturated C17 hydrocarbon group and 20.0-45.0 wt.-% fatty acid having a bisunsaturated C17 hydrocarbon group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2019
    Assignee: Clariant International Ltd.
    Inventors: Klaus-Ulrich Pedain, Jesús Pitarch López, Gunter Lipowsky, Jacques Collin Bezuidenhout
  • Patent number: 10188971
    Abstract: A rotary disc filter device includes a rotary drum and one or more disc-shaped filter members secured about the drum. Each disc-shaped filter member includes a filter and a filter support comprising a series of modules. The modules each include a base that is secured to the rotary drum and a support arm projecting outwardly from the base. The modules are interconnected and disposed around the rotary drum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2019
    Assignee: Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies Support
    Inventors: Åke Danielsson, Åke Ralvert, Emil Svensson, Per Larsson
  • Patent number: 10173157
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a filter assembly, and more particularly, to a filter assembly in which an uneven portion is formed on an inner wall of a hollow external housing and a filter fastening unit which includes a pressurized section pressurized by the uneven portion is formed around an inner cap which moves up and down along an inner surface of the external housing to firmly fasten a filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2019
    Assignees: MICROFILTER CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Joung Whi Dong, Jaeik Lee, Pilkang Hwang
  • Patent number: 10166550
    Abstract: A flotation plant includes a tank module which includes a self-supporting framework having an inner space. The tank module includes at least one flotation tank. The flotation tank is disposed in the inner space of the self-supporting framework. The tank module is a self-supporting unit capable of being transferable and hoistable as an integral entity. The flotation plant includes at least two drive units for the rotation of drive shafts, each drive shaft being connected to a rotor for mixing and/or forming bubbles in the flotation tank. An overflow receptacle is disposed at the level of the upper part of the tank module for receiving an overflow from the flotation tanks. The flotation plant includes an overflow channel which is connected to the overflow receptacle for receiving and conducting the overflow from the overflow receptacle to a pumping means. The overflow channel is disposed outside the tank module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2019
    Assignee: OUTOTEC (FINLAND) OY
    Inventors: Pekka Tähkiö, Jukka Lakanen, Matti Luukkonen
  • Patent number: 10159919
    Abstract: A removable device that ensures that the port of a filter cartridge is liquid tightly sealed to the port of the head of a housing even when there is insufficient room beneath the bowl to allow one to physically secure the cartridge port to the head port before securing the head and bowl together. The invention uses one or more removably attached alignment devices to center the cartridge in the bowl and maintain it at a height sufficient to ensure that the two ports are aligned and liquid tightly sealed to each other when the bowl and head are mated together.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2018
    Assignee: EMD Millipore Corporation
    Inventors: Joseph Almasian, Jeremy Perreault, Martin Szyk
  • Patent number: 10155229
    Abstract: Nanobubbles are employed to bridge microbubbles and non-buoyant particles, thereby creating sufficient capillary forces between the particles and microbubbles such that relatively large, heavy particles can be separated from an aqueous slurry. Nanobubbles are formed on hydrophobic particle surfaces. The microbubbles, which function as collecting air bubbles, form attachments with the particles. The nanobubbles create additional capillary attachment forces between the particles and microbubbles, allowing the microbubbles to rise with the attached particles to the top of the slurry for separation and recovery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2018
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Julia S. Baldauf, Alexe Bojovschi, Stephen M. Moore, Priscilla R. Rogers, Christine Schieber
  • Patent number: 10150075
    Abstract: The filter assembly includes a threadless closure system for sealing a filter element of the filter assembly within a bowl of the filter assembly. The bowl is fluidly connectable to opposing fluid transfer passages. The filter element and a cover element connected to the filter element are received into the bowl. The filter element is retained in the bowl via a pin of the filter assembly that engages the cover element. The filter element may be removed and replaced without the unscrewing of threads exposed to an external environment external to the filter assembly during typical use of the filter assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2018
    Assignee: PARKER-HANNIFIN CORPORATION
    Inventors: Evan Marks, Kevin Noe
  • Patent number: 10150839
    Abstract: Amine-aldehyde resins are disclosed for removing a wide variety of solids and/or ionic species from the liquids in which they are suspended and/or dissolved. These resins are especially useful as froth flotation depressants, for example in the beneficiation of value materials (e.g., bitumen, coal, or kaolin clay) to remove impurities such as sand. The resins are also useful for treating aqueous liquid suspensions to remove solid particulates, as well as for removing metallic ions in the purification of water.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2018
    Assignee: INGEVITY SOUTH CAROLINA, LLC
    Inventors: James T. Wright, John B. Hines, Lisa M. Arthur, Carl R. White, Kurt D. Gabrielson, Michael J. Cousin
  • Patent number: 10144012
    Abstract: Methods of increasing the rate of separating hydrophobic and hydrophilic particles by flotation have been developed. They are based on using appropriate reagents to enhance the hydrophobicity of the particles to be floated, so that they can be more readily collected by the air bubbles used in flotation. The hydrophobicity-enhancing reagents include low HLB surfactants, naturally occurring lipids, modified lipids, and hydrophobic polymers. These methods can greatly increase the rate of flotation for the particles that are usually difficult to float, such as ultrafine particles, coarse particles, middlings, and the particles that do not readily float in the water containing large amounts of ions derived from the particles. In addition, new collectos for the flotation of phosphate minerals are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2018
    Assignee: MINERAL AND COAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    Inventor: Roe-Hoan Yoon
  • Patent number: 10137460
    Abstract: A drive module which is a self-supporting structure being transferable and hoistable as an integral entity. The drive module includes a self-supporting framework having a shape of a rectangular parallelepiped. The self-supporting framework defines an inner space within the self-supporting framework. The drive module also includes at least two drive units. The drive units are supported to the self-supporting framework in the inner space of the self-supporting framework. The drive units are connectable to an external rotatable shaft for the rotation of the rotatable shaft located outside the drive module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2018
    Assignee: OUTOTEC (FINLAND) OY
    Inventors: Pekka Tähkiö, Valtteri Vaarna, Matti Luukkonen
  • Patent number: 10130956
    Abstract: Methods of enhancing recovery of value sulfide and/or precious-metal minerals from an ore containing said minerals and a Mg-silicate, slime forming mineral, and/or clay, and which is subjected to a froth flotation process, by adding to one or more stage of the froth flotation process a froth phase modifier having a polymer containing one or more functional groups, and optionally a monovalent ion modifier enhancing agent, thereby enhancing recovery of a value sulfide mineral and/or a precious metal-bearing mineral.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2018
    Assignee: Cytec Technology Corp.
    Inventors: Devarayasamudram Ramachandran Nagaraj, Tarun Bhambhani, Mukund Vasudevan, Puspendu Deo, Haunn-Lin Tony Chen
  • Patent number: 10118183
    Abstract: The invention relates to a process for selective flotation of kainite from crushed crude potash salts or, for example, from crystallized salt mixtures obtained by evaporation processes, which in addition to kainite may contain further minerals such as halite, sylvine and other salt minerals, for example, in order to produce a kainite concentrate fraction and a residues fraction. The separation process is characterized in that the crushed or crystallized salt mixture is intensively mixed as a crystallizate suspension with a combination of conditioning agents consisting of a sulfated fatty acid or its alkali metal salt as collecting reagent and a frothing agent known for flotation (for example, glycol ether, monohydric aliphatic alcohols, terpene alcohols, polyglycol ethers, etc.) and is then separated by agitator-driven or pneumatic flotation into a kainite concentrate fraction and a residues fraction. The resulting fractions may be further processed in downstream processes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2018
    Assignee: K+S AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
    Inventors: Uwe Wachsmuth, Jochen Brod
  • Patent number: 10112137
    Abstract: A strainer assembly for a marine engine has a housing with an internal cavity. The housing has a threaded inlet end, an outlet and a flush port. A removable cover assembly covers the threaded inlet end and may be removed to allow a strainer to be removed from inside the housing and cleaned. The flush port may be closed with a plug and opened to allow a threaded end of a garden hose to be attached to the flush port for cleaning the engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2018
    Assignee: Indmar Products Company Inc.
    Inventors: Kevin J. Kimball, Rachel M. Mashburn, Jason C. Stimmel, Jason Vetzel
  • Patent number: 10105714
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a process for treating an earth contaminated by at least one radionuclide such as cesium 137Cs comprising at least one step of separating said radionuclide by dispersed air flotation foam produced by blowing air bubbles in a suspension comprising said earth and at least one collector. The present invention also relates to the flotation foam obtained by implementing such a process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2018
    Assignee: COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES
    Inventors: Sylvain Faure, Marc Messalier
  • Patent number: 10105713
    Abstract: The instant invention relates to a composition in form of a stable aqueous emulsion comprising a) 1-50 wt.-% of at least one water insoluble thionocarbamate collector selected from the group consisting of dialkyl thionocarbamates, alkyl alkoxycarbonyl thionocarbamates and alkyl allyl thionocarbamates, b) 1-50 wt.-% of one or a mixture of surface active agents of the general formula wherein R1 is a saturated or unsaturated, branched or linear C3 to C30 aliphatic or aromatic hydrocarbon group, R2 and R3 are independently from each other hydrogen or a C1 to C4 alkyl group, R4 is hydrogen or —CH2—COOX where X is hydrogen or sodium salt or potassium salt or ammonium salt, and n and m are independently from each other 0 to 50, c) 0.1-20 wt.-% of a mixture of at least one alcohol and at least one ether and/or ester, e) 1-90 wt.-% of water.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2018
    Assignees: CLARIANT INTERNATIONAL LTD., CLARIANT S.A, CLARIANT (CHILE) LTDA.
    Inventors: Antonio Pedro De Oliveira Filho, Jesus Pitarch López, Wagner Claudio Da Silva, Gunter Lipowsky, Jacques Collin Bezuidenhout, Jaime Osvaldo Gomez Becerra, Rodrigo Alexis Caris Andrade, Franco Aurelio Constanzo Yanez
  • Patent number: 10100146
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a compound obtainable by the condensation of a polyol having 3-4 hydroxyl groups, adicarboxylic acid or a derivative thereof, an alkanolamine and a fatty acid, followed by reaction with an alkylating agent. This compound is useful as a collector in a process for the reverse froth flotation of non-sulfidic ores containing silicate as impurities, especially phosphate ores.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2018
    Assignee: AKZO NOBEL CHEMICALS INTERNATIONAL, B.V.
    Inventors: Natalija Smolko-Schvarzmayr, Anders Klingberg