Patents by Inventor Ronald Sheppard

Ronald Sheppard 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: 20070292320
    Abstract: Disclosed is an optimized process and apparatus for more efficiently and economically carrying out the liquid-phase oxidation of an oxidizable compound. Such liquid-phase oxidation is carried out in a bubble column reactor that provides for a highly efficient reaction at relatively low temperatures. When the oxidized compound is para-xylene and the product from the oxidation reaction is crude terephthalic acid (CTA), such CTA product can be purified and separated by more economical techniques than could be employed if the CTA were formed by a conventional high-temperature oxidation process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 29, 2007
    Publication date: December 20, 2007
    Applicant: EASTMAN CHEMICAL COMPANY
    Inventors: Alan Wonders, Thomas Woodruff, Ronald Sheppard, Wayne Strasser
  • Publication number: 20070208193
    Abstract: Disclosed is an optimized system for more efficiently and economically producing terephthalic acid. A solvent purification system is employed to remove of at least one aromatic impurity present in a solvent purification feed. At least about 20 weight percent of the solvent purification feed originates from a cooled, post-digestion, TPA-containing slurry.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2006
    Publication date: September 6, 2007
    Inventors: Alan Wonders, Ronald Sheppard, Martin De Boer, Lee Partin, Raymond Fogle
  • Publication number: 20070208192
    Abstract: Disclosed is an optimized system for more efficiently and economically producing terephthalic acid. The system includes an optimized post-digestion cooling stage that provides a TPA product having enhanced purity, while minimizing costs associated with removing impurities from recycled solvent.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2006
    Publication date: September 6, 2007
    Inventors: Alan Wonders, Ronald Sheppard, Martin De Boer
  • Publication number: 20070208191
    Abstract: Disclosed is an optimized system for more efficiently and economically producing terephthalic acid. The system includes a multi-stage oxidative digestion system for processing an improved initial slurry from primary oxidation. The multi-stage digestion system is capable of adequately purifying the improved initial slurry without requiring significant liquor exchange between primary oxidation and oxidative digestion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2006
    Publication date: September 6, 2007
    Inventors: Alan Wonders, Ronald Sheppard, Thomas Woodruff, Martin De Boer, Raymond Fogle
  • Publication number: 20070208190
    Abstract: Disclosed is an optimized system for more efficiently and economically producing terephthalic acid. The system minimizes or eliminates the need for liquor exchange upstream of oxidative digestion and/or upstream of substantial cooling of the TPA-containing slurry.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2006
    Publication date: September 6, 2007
    Inventors: Alan Wonders, Ronald Sheppard, Martin De Boer, Raymond Fogle, Marcel de Vreede
  • Publication number: 20070155986
    Abstract: Disclosed is an optimized process and apparatus for more efficiently and economically carrying out the liquid-phase oxidation of an oxidizable compound. Such liquid-phase oxidation is carried out in a bubble column reactor that provides for a highly efficient reaction at relatively low temperatures. When the oxidized compound is para-xylene and the product from the oxidation reaction is crude terephthalic acid (CTA), such CTA product can be purified and separated by more economical techniques than could be employed if the CTA were formed by a conventional high-temperature oxidation process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2006
    Publication date: July 5, 2007
    Inventors: Alan Wonders, Thomas Woodruff, Ronald Sheppard, Wayne Strasser
  • Publication number: 20070155985
    Abstract: Disclosed is an optimized process and apparatus for more efficiently and economically carrying out the liquid-phase oxidation of an oxidizable compound. Such liquid-phase oxidation is carried out in a bubble column reactor that provides for a highly efficient reaction at relatively low temperatures. When the oxidized compound is para-xylene and the product from the oxidation reaction is crude terephthalic acid (CTA), such CTA product can be purified and separated by more economical techniques than could be employed if the CTA were formed by a conventional high-temperature oxidation process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2006
    Publication date: July 5, 2007
    Inventors: Alan Wonders, Thomas Woodruff, Ronald Sheppard, Wayne Strasser
  • Publication number: 20060264666
    Abstract: A process is provided for producing an enriched carboxylic acid compositions produced by contacting composition comprising a carboxylic acid with an enrichment feed in an enrichment zone to form an enriched carboxylic acid composition. This invention also relates to a process and the resulting compositions for removing catalyst from a carboxylic acid composition to produce a post catalyst removal composition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2006
    Publication date: November 23, 2006
    Inventors: Philip Gibson, Kenny Parker, Ronald Sheppard
  • Publication number: 20060264663
    Abstract: A process is provided for producing an enriched carboxylic acid compositions produced by contacting composition comprising a carboxylic acid with an enrichment feed in an enrichment zone to form an enriched carboxylic acid composition. This invention also relates to a process and the resulting compositions for removing catalyst from a carboxylic acid composition to produce a post catalyst removal composition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2006
    Publication date: November 23, 2006
    Inventors: Philip Gibson, Kenny Parker, Ronald Sheppard
  • Publication number: 20060128987
    Abstract: Disclosed is a process to produce a purified carboxylic acid slurry. The process comprises removing impurities from a crystallized product in a solid liquid displacement zone to form the purified carboxylic acid slurry. The process produces purified carboxylic acid slurry having good color and low impurity levels without the use of purification steps like hydrogenation or an impurity removal process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 2, 2006
    Publication date: June 15, 2006
    Inventors: Ronald Sheppard, Brent Tennant, Thomas Woodruff, Robert Lin, Ruairi O'Meadhra
  • Publication number: 20050283022
    Abstract: A process for the production of terephthalic acid comprising: a. discharging from an oxidation reactor a crude stream comprising crude terephthalic acid solids, catalyst, impurities, and solvent, and b. without adding a fresh feed of solvent to said crude stream, separating a portion of solvent, catalyst, and at least one impurity from said crude stream to form: bi) a mother liquor composition comprising said separated solvent, catalyst, and said at least one impurity and bii) a dewatered crude terephthalic acid composition comprising a remaining portion of solvent, catalyst, impurities, and an enriched concentration of crude terephthalic acid solids relative to the solids content in the crude stream. The process has the advantage of removing a higher concentration of impurities and/or catalyst in the mother liquor stream, and/or feeding a mother liquor stream to an impurity removal and/or catalyst recovery process at a reduced flow rate, thereby reducing the size of equipment needed in such processes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 18, 2004
    Publication date: December 22, 2005
    Inventor: Ronald Sheppard