Patents by Inventor Clay Robert Sutton

Clay Robert Sutton 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).

  • Publication number: 20130140249
    Abstract: A method of delivering feed, for example a paraffinic solvent treated bitumen froth, to a separation vessel, for example a froth separation unit (FSU). The feed is delivered from one or more inlets into the side of a series of parallel plates that form a series of channels which may be either vertical or inclined at an intermediate angle. This feed inlet flow conditioning system is characterized by a Channel Reynolds number of less than 3000. Such inlet flow conditioning is particularly useful where the feed has particles with a bi-modal size distribution to be separated from an overflow stream. The low Reynolds number combined with the influence of the walls serves to mitigate the upward flux of the smaller particles, for example mineral solids, by trapping the smaller particles within a matrix of larger particles, for example precipitated asphaltene aggregates.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 17, 2011
    Publication date: June 6, 2013
    Inventors: Ken N. Sury, Clay Robert Sutton, John Diep, Darwin Edward Kiel