Patents by Inventor Wolfgang Gunkel

Wolfgang Gunkel 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: 10267577
    Abstract: The invention relates to a shell-and-tube apparatus comprising a housing (3) having a bundle (9) of tubes accommodated therein, where the tubes (15) are joined on one side to a first tube plate (11) and on the side opposite the first tube plate (11) to a second tube plate (13), with the first and second tube plates (11, 13) being fastened detachably in the housing (3). The side of the first tube plate (11) opposite the tubes (15) rests against a stop (31) on the housing (3) and is fixed on the stop (31) and the second tube plate (13) is installed with a sealing element (41) in the housing (3). The invention further relates to the use of the shell-and-tube apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2019
    Assignee: BASF SE
    Inventors: Wolfgang Gunkel, Frank-Friedrich Pape, Klaus Fouquet
  • Publication number: 20160047608
    Abstract: The invention relates to a shell-and-tube apparatus comprising a housing (3) having a bundle (9) of tubes accommodated therein, where the tubes (15) are joined on one side to a first tube plate (11) and on the side opposite the first tube plate (11) to a second tube plate (13), with the first and second tube plates (11, 13) being fastened detachably in the housing (3). The side of the first tube plate (11) opposite the tubes (15) rests against a stop (31) on the housing (3) and is fixed on the stop (31) and the second tube plate (13) is installed with a sealing element (41) in the housing (3). The invention further relates to the use of the shell-and-tube apparatus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 9, 2014
    Publication date: February 18, 2016
    Inventors: Wolfgang GUNKEL, Frank-Friedrich PAPE, Klaus FOUQUET
  • Patent number: 8217198
    Abstract: A process for purifying removal of a chemical target compound from a suspension of crystals thereof in mother liquor in a wash column with forced transport of the crystal bed from the top downward, in which crystals are removed from the lower end of the crystal bed with a rotating removal device and melted, and a portion of the crystal melt is conducted back toward the crystal bed as wash melt, the removal device being secured with a drive shaft conducted into the wash column from the bottom through an inlet having a seal, said drive shaft being driven about its longitudinal axis by a drive unit for rotation and being mounted so as to be rotatable about its longitudinal axis in more than one bearing, such that the mounting in one of the bearings absorbs the downward force acting on the drive shaft, the mounting in two or more bearings absorbs forces acting radially outward from the drive shaft, and the mounting in one bearing is additionally capable of absorbing an upward force acting on the drive shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2012
    Assignee: BASF SE
    Inventors: Joerg Heilek, Wolfgang Schneider, Wolfgang Gunkel, Volker Schliephake, Klaus Joachim Mueller-Engel
  • Publication number: 20110009627
    Abstract: The invention relates to a reactor for performing high-pressure reactions, comprising at least one tube (31) whose ends are each conducted through a tube plate (33) and which is bonded to the tube plate (33). The tube plates (33) and the at least one tube (31) are surrounded by an outer jacket, such that an outer space (39) is formed between the tube (31) and the outer jacket. The tube plates (33) each have at least one surface composed of a nickel-base alloy and the at least one tube (31) is in each case welded on to the surface composed of the nickel-base alloy. The surface composed of the nickel-base alloy points in each case in the direction of the particular reactor end. The outer jacket has a thickness which is sufficient to absorb tensile forces which occur between tube (31) and outer jacket owing to a temperature difference in the event of different expansion. The invention further relates to a process for starting up the reactor and for performing an exothermic reaction in the reactor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 21, 2009
    Publication date: January 13, 2011
    Applicant: BASF SE
    Inventors: Helmut Schmidtke, Wilhelm Ruppel, Helmut Berrsche, Johann-Peter Melder, Udo Rheude, Petr Kubanek, Gerhard Ruf, Wolfgang Gunkel, Wolfgang Mägerlein, Karl-Heinz Ross
  • Publication number: 20100206821
    Abstract: A process for purifying removal of a chemical target compound from a suspension of crystals thereof in mother liquor in a wash column with forced transport of the crystal bed from the top downward, in which crystals are removed from the lower end of the crystal bed with a rotating removal device and melted, and a portion of the crystal melt is conducted back toward the crystal bed as wash melt, the removal device being secured with a drive shaft conducted into the wash column from the bottom through an inlet having a seal, said drive shaft being driven about its longitudinal axis by a drive unit for rotation and being mounted so as to be rotatable about its longitudinal axis in more than one bearing, such that the mounting in one of the bearings absorbs the downward force acting on the drive shaft, the mounting in two or more bearings absorbs forces acting radially outward from the drive shaft, and the mounting in one bearing is additionally capable of absorbing an upward force acting on the drive shaft.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 16, 2010
    Publication date: August 19, 2010
    Applicant: BASF SE
    Inventors: Jörg HEILEK, Wolfgang Schneider, Wolfgang Gunkel, Volker Schliephake, Klaus Joachim Müller-Engel