Patents by Inventor Jacquelyn Gayle Niccum

Jacquelyn Gayle Niccum 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).

  • Patent number: 6241874
    Abstract: The invention is the integration of a process of gasifying asphaltenes in a gasification zone by partial oxidation and the process of asphaltene extraction with a solvent. The integration allows low level heat from the gasification reaction to be utilized in the recovery of solvent that was used to extract asphaltenes from an asphaltene-containing hydrocarbon material. Asphaltenes are extracted from an asphaltene-containing hydrocarbon material by mixing a solvent in quantities sufficient to precipitate at least a fraction of the asphaltenes. The precipitated asphaltenes are then gasified in a gasification zone to synthesis gas. The gasification process is very exothermic. The low level heat in the synthesis gas, either directly, or via an intermediate step of low pressure steam, is used to remove and recover the solvent from the deasphalted hydrocarbon material and from the asphaltenes prior to gasification.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2001
    Assignee: Texaco Inc.
    Inventors: Paul S. Wallace, Kay A. Johnson, Pradeep S. Thacker, Janice L. Kasbaum, R. Walter Barkley, Jacquelyn Gayle Niccum