Patents Represented by Attorney Joseph K. Hemby, Sr.
  • Patent number: 7699519
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method and apparatus to carry out the method for extracting petroleum distillate products from alcohol. The inventive method capitalizes on the discovered property that petroleum distillates, such as xylene and limonene, can be dissociated from their tight molecular interaction with alcohol by their higher affinity for water. The method also capitalizes on the discovered property that limonene, in the presence of water, forms terpin hydrate, forming particles that can be removed by filtration. Other, non-limonene petroleum distillates, once dissociated from alcohol, can be removed by distillation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2010
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventor: Mark H. Potts