Patents by Inventor Akalanka TENNAKOON

Akalanka TENNAKOON has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • PORE-ENCAPSULATED CATALYSTS FOR SELECTIVE HYDROGENOLYSIS OF PLASTIC WASTE
    Publication number: 20240157338
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a catalyst which comprises a silica core having an outer surface and a mesoporous silica shell having an outer surface and an inner surface with the inner surface being inside the outer surface of said mesoporous silica shell proximate to and surrounding the outer surface of said silica core. Wherein the outer surface of the mesoporous silica shell has openings leading to pores within the mesoporous silica shell which extend toward the outer surface of said silica core. The catalyst also includes catalytically active metal nanoparticles positioned within the pores proximate to said core, wherein the catalytic metal nanoparticles comprise about 0.0001 wt % to about 1.0 wt % of the catalyst. Also disclosed are methods of making the catalyst and using it to carry out a process for catalytically hydrogenolysizing a polyolefinic polymer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 13, 2023
    Publication date: May 16, 2024
    Inventors: Aaron D. SADOW, Wenyu HUANG, Frédéric A. PERRAS, Marek PRUSKI, Akalanka TENNAKOON, Xun WU, Anne M. LAPOINTE
  • Pore-encapsulated catalysts for selective hydrogenolysis of plastic waste
    Patent number: 11857951
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a catalyst which comprises a silica core having an outer surface and a mesoporous silica shell having an outer surface and an inner surface with the inner surface being inside the outer surface of said mesoporous silica shell proximate to and surrounding the outer surface of said silica core. Wherein the outer surface of the mesoporous silica shell has openings leading to pores within the mesoporous silica shell which extend toward the outer surface of said silica core. The catalyst also includes catalytically active metal nanoparticles positioned within the pores proximate to said core, wherein the catalytic metal nanoparticles comprise about 0.0001 wt % to about 1.0 wt % of the catalyst. Also disclosed are methods of making the catalyst and using it to carry out a process for catalytically hydrogenolysizing a polyolefinic polymer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2024
    Assignees: IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC., CORNELL UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Aaron D. Sadow, Wenyu Huang, Frédéric A. Perras, Marek Pruski, Akalanka Tennakoon, Xun Wu, Anne M. Lapointe
  • PORE-ENCAPSULATED CATALYSTS FOR SELECTIVE HYDROGENOLYSIS OF PLASTIC WASTE
    Publication number: 20220111356
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a catalyst which comprises a silica core having an outer surface and a mesoporous silica shell having an outer surface and an inner surface with the inner surface being inside the outer surface of said mesoporous silica shell proximate to and surrounding the outer surface of said silica core. Wherein the outer surface of the mesoporous silica shell has openings leading to pores within the mesoporous silica shell which extend toward the outer surface of said silica core. The catalyst also includes catalytically active metal nanoparticles positioned within the pores proximate to said core, wherein the catalytic metal nanoparticles comprise about 0.0001 wt % to about 1.0 wt % of the catalyst. Also disclosed are methods of making the catalyst and using it to carry out a process for catalytically hydrogenolysizing a polyolefinic polymer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 8, 2021
    Publication date: April 14, 2022
    Inventors: Aaron D. SADOW, Wenyu HUANG, Frédéric A. PERRAS, Marek PRUSKI, Akalanka TENNAKOON, Xun WU, Anne M. LAPOINTE