Patents Represented by Attorney June M. Bostich
  • Patent number: 4551206
    Abstract: A dry sealing leg apparatus is comprised of four chambers through which a moving bed of retorted shale particulates from an oil shale retort is passed serially: a surge chamber, a gas injection chamber, a seal leg chamber, and a gas disengaging chamber. In the gas injection chamber, a sealing gas penetrates the moving bed of shale and divides into two portions. One portion travels countercurrently to the shale through the surge chamber and enters the retort at a positive pressure to seal product gases therein. A second portion travels co-currently with the shale through the seal leg chamber and gas disengaging chamber and exits at a pressure less than that of the retort, having been reduced in pressure by resistance to its passage through the shale.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 1984
    Date of Patent: November 5, 1985
    Assignee: Union Oil Company of California
    Inventors: Roland F. Deering, John H. Duir
  • Patent number: 4544699
    Abstract: An adhesive composition, particularly useful for laminating carboxylate-containing films, comprises an aqueous dispersion of a film-forming vinylidene chloride copolymer wherein the vinylidene chloride copolymer includes on a comonomer weight basis:(a) from about 45 to about 90 percent vinylidene chloride,(b) from about 5 to about 25 percent of a polar comonomer having one or more hydroxyl groups, and(c) from about 0 to about 30 percent of a plasticizing monomer for vinylidene chloridein combination with:(d) a cross-linking agent dissolved in the continuous aqueous phase of the vinylidene chloride copolymer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 1983
    Date of Patent: October 1, 1985
    Assignee: Union Oil Company of California
    Inventor: John Biale
  • Patent number: 4543894
    Abstract: A two-stage process for staged combustion of crushed retorted particles, especially sulfur and nitrogen-bearing shale, provides maximum heat from combustible materials in shale while emissions of carbon monoxide and oxides of sulfur and nitrogen are minimized. In the first stage, combustion is maintained under fluidizing conditions with a substoichiometric amount of oxygen. Off-gases from the first stage are burned in a second-stage combustion zone utilizing an oxygen-containing gas stream controlled to limit emission of carbon monoxide in the flue gas. To minimize production of sulfur oxides, combustion temperature is concurrently maintained below a peak value of 1700.degree. F. by introducing inert gas or recycled decarbonized fines to the first-stage combustion zone to reduce temperature therein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 1983
    Date of Patent: October 1, 1985
    Assignee: Union Oil Company of California
    Inventors: Charles F. Griswold, Ben A. Christolini, Jr.
  • Patent number: 4537684
    Abstract: A method is disclosed for controlling the deposition of metal-containing scales, such as iron silicate scale, from a hot, aqueous, geothermal brine or the like, without substantial corrosion of brine handling equipment. The brine is contacted with (1) an amount of an acid sufficient to reduce the pH of the brine between 0.1 and 0.5 unit and (2) a greater than stoichiometric amount of a reducing agent for reducing trivalent iron and manganese cations in a high temperature brine solution to divalent ions. An overall decrease in scale deposition, especially of iron silicate scale, is achieved while a silver-rich scale can be recovered from silver-containing brines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 1983
    Date of Patent: August 27, 1985
    Assignee: Union Oil Company of California
    Inventors: Darrell L. Gallup, John W. Jost
  • Patent number: 4534412
    Abstract: A method for selectively reducing the permeability of the higher permeability zones of a subterranean reservoir having heterogeneous permeability, such permeability reduction extending continuously from nearby the well as far into the reservoir as is desired. There is injected into the reservoir an aqueous solution or solutions of a water-soluble polymer, a material capable under certain conditions of at least partially cross-linking the polymer to form a gelatinous precipitate, a water-soluble alkaline material in an amount sufficient to maintain the pH of the polymer-containing composition above the pH at which cross-linking occurs until the composition has passed a desired distance through the reservoir, and a temperature-activated water-soluble acidic material dissolved in the aqueous solution in an amount sufficient to lower the pH of the overall solution to the pH at which cross-linking occurs when said solution is subjected to an elevated temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 1983
    Date of Patent: August 13, 1985
    Assignee: Union Oil Company of California
    Inventors: Hoai T. Dovan, Richard D. Hutchins
  • Patent number: 4523979
    Abstract: Retorted shale particles are recovered from a retort and delivered to a gas lift for transport to a fluidized combustor by passage, serially, through a sealing vessel, a crusher preferably operating at retort pressure, and a surge vessel. In the sealing vessel, a sealing gas is introduced, and after commingling with the shale, the gas passes countercurrently to the shale and enters the retort, thus sealing the retort gases in the retort while separating the retorted shale from the retort gases. Retorted shale from the sealing vessel is transported to a crusher, wherein the shale is reduced in size to that suitable for combustion under fluidized conditions. To prevent the crushed shale from packing, the shale is passed to a surge vessel, wherein the crushed shale is held as a fluidized bed, from which the crushed shale is continuously withdrawn at a regulated rate and introduced into the gas lift leading to the fluidized combustor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 1984
    Date of Patent: June 18, 1985
    Assignee: Union Oil Company of California
    Inventors: Roland F. Deering, John H. Duir
  • Patent number: 4519874
    Abstract: A sealing system primarily for use with a superatmospheric upflow oil shale retort is comprised of a first and second vertical vessel, with a first sealing screw being employed to transport the particles as a continuous bed from the first to the second vessel, and with a second sealing screw to transport the particles from the second vessel to discharge. In the first vessel, shale particles are cooled by contact with water, which usually generates noxious gases, such as hydrogen sulfide. These noxious gases are removed from the sealing system by the purging action of two sealing gas streams, the first sealing gas removing the bulk of the noxious gases from the first vessel, and the second sealing gas removing residual noxious gases from the second vessel.The shale particles are discharged to the environment from the second sealing screw in a dry condition, with a minimum emission of noxious gases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 1983
    Date of Patent: May 28, 1985
    Assignee: Union Oil Company of California
    Inventor: Rick V. Bertram
  • Patent number: 4515679
    Abstract: Hot particles removed from a retort, preferably retort-sized particles of oil shale removed from a retort operating at superatmospheric pressure, are crushed and fed to a fluidized surge zone maintained under non-oxidizing conditions at substantially the pressure of the retort to forestall escape of retort gases. Raw fines are introduced into the surge zone and retorted without agglomeration by heat transferred from the hot retorted particles and/or a heated fluidizing gas stream to educe hydrocarbonaceous vapors. Educed vapors are scrubbed, condensed and separated into liquid and gaseous product streams, a portion of the latter being recycled to provide fluidizing process gas streams.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 1983
    Date of Patent: May 7, 1985
    Assignee: Union Oil Company of California
    Inventor: Roland F. Deering