Patents Represented by Attorney Steven A. Owen
  • Patent number: 7196215
    Abstract: Disclosed is a process for the production of terephthalic acid by a plurality of process steps including the catalyst oxidation of a dialkylbenzene compound, a second oxidation, a hydrogenation of the product of the second oxidation, and crystallization of the hydrogenation terephthalic acid using a plurality of series-connected crystallizers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2007
    Assignee: Eastman Chemical Company
    Inventors: Robert Lin, Ruairi Seosamh O'Meadhra, Ronald Buford Sheppard
  • Patent number: 7193109
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a process by which a carboxylic acid/diol mixture is obtained from a carboxylic acid/solvent slurry without isolation of a substantially dry carboxylic acid solid. More specifically, the present invention relates to a process by which a terephthalic acid/ethylene glycol mixture is obtained from a terephthalic acid/solvent slurry without isolation of a substantially dry terephthalic acid solid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2007
    Assignee: Eastman Chemical Company
    Inventors: Robert Lin, Timothy Alan Upshaw, Duane Alan Hall, Kenny Randolph Parker
  • Patent number: 7161027
    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 purified carboxylic acid slurry is further cooled in a cooling zone and subsequently filtered and dried in a filtration and drying zone. The process produces purified carboxylic acid product having good color and low impurity levels without the use of purification steps like hydrogenation or filtrate purge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2007
    Assignee: Eastman Chemical Company
    Inventors: Ronald Buford Sheppard, Brent Alan Tennant, Thomas Earl Woodruff, Robert Lin
  • Patent number: 7135541
    Abstract: There are disclosed polyester processes using a pipe reactor and corresponding apparatuses. In particular, there are disclosed processes and corresponding apparatuses including an esterification pipe reactor operated in an upflow or downflow mode, especially in a regime including stratified flow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2006
    Assignee: Eastman Chemical Company
    Inventors: Bruce Roger DeBruin, Richard Gill Bonner
  • Patent number: 7132566
    Abstract: Disclosed is a process to produce a purified carboxylic acid product. The process comprises removing impurities from a crude carboxylic acid slurry in a solid-liquid displacement zone to form a slurry product. The slurry product if further treated in a staged oxidation zone and a crystallization zone to from a crystallized product. The crystallized product is further cooled in a cooling zone and subsequently filtered and dried in a filtration and drying zone. The process produces purified carboxylic acid product having good color and low impurity levels without the use of purification steps like hydrogenation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2006
    Assignee: Eastman Chemical Company
    Inventors: Charles Edwan Sumner, Jr., Philip Edward Gibson, Robert Lin, Eric Jackson Fugate, Ernest William Arnold
  • Patent number: 7074879
    Abstract: There are disclosed polyester processes using a pipe reactor and corresponding apparatuses. In particular, there are disclosed processes and corresponding apparatuses including an esterification pipe reactor with a recirculating reaction zone (RR zone) and a plug reaction profile reaction zone (PRPR zone), especially when operated with a significant part of the overall conversion taking place in the plug reaction profile reaction zone (PRPR zone).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2006
    Assignee: Eastman Chemical Company
    Inventors: Bruce Roger DeBruin, Daniel Lee Martin
  • Patent number: 7074954
    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: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2006
    Assignee: Eastman Chemical Company
    Inventors: Ronald Buford Sheppard, Brent Alan Tennant, Thomas Earl Woodruff, Robert Lin
  • Patent number: 7049465
    Abstract: This invention relates to a process for the manufacture of aromatic carboxylic acids by exothermic liquid phase oxidation of an aromatic feedstock. More particularly, this invention relates to the efficient energy recovery of the exotherm produced by the liquid phase oxidation of an aromatic feedstock. An apparatus useful in recovery of energy from the preparation of aromatic carboxylic acids by the exothermic liquid phase reaction of an aromatic feedstock is described where the primary means of energy recovery is by raising moderate pressure steam. This is coupled with a process to recovery low temperature energy using a process commonly known as an organic Rankine cycle and/or a heat pump. The combination of energy recovery methods increases the overall energy recovery and enables the recovery of reaction energy as either thermal energy (steam) or work or a combination of both.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2006
    Assignee: Eastman Chemical Company
    Inventor: Robert Lin
  • Patent number: 6906164
    Abstract: The invention is directed to polyester processes that utilizes a pipe reactor in the esterification, polycondensation, or both esterification and polycondensation processes. Pipe reactor processes of the present invention have a multitude of advantages over prior art processes including improved heat transfer, volume control, agitation and disengagement functions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2005
    Assignee: Eastman Chemical Company
    Inventor: Bruce Roger DeBruin
  • Patent number: 6861494
    Abstract: The invention is directed to polyester processes that utilizes a pipe reactor in the esterification, polycondensation, or both esterification and polycondensation processes. Pipe reactor processes of the present invention have a multitude of advantages over prior art processes including improved heat transfer, volume control, agitation and disengagement functions. The pipe reactor processes and apparatus of the present invention are built and operated at a much lower cost than conventional polyester processes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2005
    Assignee: Eastman Chemical Company
    Inventor: Bruce Roger Debruin
  • Patent number: 6827807
    Abstract: There is disclosed a process for producing a multilayer structure, the film of which has particular utility as a masking film for the substrate layer. The process comprises the cast film process producing a monolayer film from a specified blend of ethylene-alpha-olefin and ethylene-alkyl acrylate interpolymers, or a multilayer film, at least one of the layers formed from the blend of interpolymers, and pressing the cast film process produced monolayer or multilayer film onto a polymeric or glass substrate layer that is maintained at a temperature of about 38 to about 80° C. during the pressing of the layers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2004
    Assignee: Eastman Chemical Company
    Inventors: Bradley Scott Westbrook, Guy Glen Luneau
  • Patent number: 6815525
    Abstract: A process for introducing a component into a reaction fluid and/or process fluid comprising the steps of: (a) providing a recirculation loop having an influent and an effluent wherein the influent is in fluid communication with a reaction fluid; (b) recirculating at least a portion of the reaction fluid of step (a) through the recirculation loop wherein the reaction fluid flowing through the recirculation loop is a recirculation fluid; (c) decreasing the pressure of the recirculation fluid of step (b) with at least one pressure decreasing device at at least one point in the recirculation loop; and (d) feeding a component into the recirculation loop adjacent to or at the pressure decreasing device of step (c), to thereby introduce a component into the reaction fluid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2004
    Assignee: Eastamn Chemical Company
    Inventor: Bruce Roger DeBruin
  • Patent number: 6762276
    Abstract: Disclosed is a process of hydrogenating a polyester oligomer containing terephthalic acid residues wherein terephthalic acid residues are converted to residues of 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid. Also disclosed is a process for the preparation of polyesters containing 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid residues by first hydrogenating a polyester oligomer containing terephthalic acid residues and then reacting the resulting oligomer with one or more polyester-forming reactants to produce a higher molecular weight polyester.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2004
    Assignee: Eastman Chemical Company
    Inventors: Charles Edwan Sumner, Jr., Bruce LeRoy Gustafson, Robert Lin
  • Patent number: 6759492
    Abstract: A novel continuous gas phase polymerization process for producing polyethylene and interpolymers of ethylene and at least one other olefin is provided wherein a non-aromatic halogenated hydrocarbon(s) is used in a specified amount such that the activity of the titanium, zirconium and/or hafnium containing Ziegler-Natta catalyst is increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2004
    Assignee: Eastman Chemical Company
    Inventors: Don Kent Farrer, Kenneth Alan Dooley, Glenn Edward Moore, Larry Allen Noble
  • Patent number: 6703454
    Abstract: The present invention provides a process for recovering a dihydroxy compound from a fluid stream that results from the preparation of a polyester by use of an adsorption system to selectively recover the dihydroxy compound.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2004
    Assignee: Eastman Chemical Company
    Inventor: Bruce Roger DeBruin
  • Patent number: 6673892
    Abstract: There is disclosed a process for reducing residual free radical polymerizable monomer content of a polymer comprising contacting the polymer, in molten form, with a free radical initiator, such as di-tert-amylperoxide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2004
    Assignee: Eastman Chemical Company
    Inventors: Jose Pedro Martinez, Jeffrey James Vanderbilt, Kenneth Alan Dooley
  • Patent number: 6660817
    Abstract: A novel continuous gas phase polymerization process for producing polyethylene and interpolymers of ethylene and at least one other olefin is provided wherein a non-aromatic halogenated hydrocarbon is used in a specified amount such that the activity of the titanium, zirconium and/or hafnium containing Ziegler-Natta catalyst is increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2003
    Assignee: Eastman Chemical Company
    Inventors: Don Kent Farrer, Kenneth Alan Dooley, Glenn Edward Moore, Larry Allen Noble
  • Patent number: 6649694
    Abstract: There is disclosed a process for producing films from ethylene-&agr;-olefin interpolymers, which films have, in combination, the properties of improved surface haze, improved stiffness, and improved color. The process involves incorporating from about 0.1 to less than 1% by weight, of a functionalized ethylene homopolymer or functionalized ethylene interpolymer into an ethylene-&agr;-olefin interpolymer-containing composition, and forming a film from the composition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 18, 2003
    Assignee: Eastman Chemical Company
    Inventors: Kurt Joseph Jordens, Stephen Wayne Coe, Scott Arnold Hanson, Jeffrey James Vanderbilt, Bradley Scott Westbrook
  • Patent number: 6646073
    Abstract: A novel continuous gas phase polymerization process for producing polyethylene and interpolymers of ethylene and at least one other olefin is provided wherein a saturated halogenated hydrocarbon is used in a specified amount such that the activity of the titanium containing Ziegler-Natta catalyst is increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2003
    Assignee: Eastman Chemical Company
    Inventors: Don Kent Farrer, Kenneth Alan Dooley, Glenn Edward Moore, Larry Allen Noble
  • Patent number: 6635726
    Abstract: A novel continuous gas phase polymerization process for producing polyethylene and interpolymers of ethylene and at least one other olefin is provided wherein chloroform is used in a specified amount such that the activity of the titanium containing Ziegler-Natta catalyst is increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2003
    Assignee: Eastman Chemical Company
    Inventors: Don Kent Farrer, Kenneth Alan Dooley, Glenn Edward Moore, Larry Allen Noble