Patents Assigned to Missing Link Technology, LLC
  • Patent number: 10364426
    Abstract: A process for reducing cell death in eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms includes the steps of mixing the organisms with water in a first reactor, strobing light onto the mixture of organisms and water for a period of time, passing the strobed mixture into another reactor, and discharging the mixture from the another reactor. The step of strobing light includes strobing light to the mixture of organisms and water at a frequency of between 10 Hz and 40 Hz. The strobing of the light is between twenty flashes per second and eighty flashes per second. The first reactor is a continuously stirred reactor. The another reactor is a plug flow reactor. The organisms are in an algal culture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2019
    Assignee: MISSING LINK TECHNOLOGY, LLC
    Inventor: Samuel L. Shepherd
  • Patent number: 9758413
    Abstract: A process for treating contaminated water has the steps of filtering the contaminated water through a filter so as to produce a filtrate therefrom, introducing nutrients and a biomass into an interior volume of the of a light reactor, passing the filtrate into the light reactor, reacting light with the nutrients and the biomass so as to produce a light-reacted biomass, transferring the light-reacted biomass to a dark reactor, reacting the transferred light-reacted biomass with carbon dioxide in the dark reactor, and filtering the reacted biomass from the dark reactor so as to remove the biomass therefrom. The nutrients in the biomass are continuously stirred within the light reactor in a toroidal circulation pattern.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2017
    Assignee: MISSING LINK TECHNOLOGY, LLC
    Inventor: Samuel L. Shepherd
  • Patent number: 8735139
    Abstract: The present invention is a method for fermentation of algae or algaefaction method. The method includes feeding a hydrocarbon composition into a gasifier and pre-heating a biomass stream from a fermentation reactor. The biomass stream includes a liquid portion, a catalyst, and a biomass solids portion ranging between 15-92% by weight of the biomass stream. The biomass solids portion is algae or algal solids. The biomass stream is pre-heated to a temperature range between 200° F. and 500° F. Both the syngas and the pre-heated biomass stream are injected as a mixture into a reactor, where the mixture is separated into a gas component, liquid component, and solids component. The solids component is algal crude, which can be collected for processing as transportation fuels. The gas component is a lower temperature syngas, which can also be collected for processing as electricity or transportation fuels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2014
    Assignee: Missing Link Technology, LLC
    Inventors: Tommie Merimon, Jerry McCall
  • Patent number: 8377687
    Abstract: The present invention is a system for harvesting algae in continuous fermentation. There is a harvester including a main moving belt, a plurality of rollers, and a motor for driving the main motor belt. There is a reactor tank and a vacuum extractor for applying a vacuum over a width of the main moving belt to extract biomass and to dry the main moving belt. The main moving belt has one end in the reactor tanks and another end extended into the vacuum extractor. The algae contained in the reactor tank is collected for further processing, including oil extraction. With algae harvested in the large-scale manner of the present invention, a more efficient oil extraction method can be used because of the concentration, temperature, and pressure can be more easily controlled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2013
    Assignee: Missing Link Technology, LLC
    Inventor: Samuel L. Shepherd
  • Patent number: 8372631
    Abstract: The present invention is a system for harvesting algae in continuous fermentation. There is a harvester including a main moving belt, a plurality of rollers, and a motor for driving the main moving belt. There is a reactor tank and a vacuum extractor for applying a vacuum over a width of the main moving belt to extract biomass and to dry the main moving belt. The main moving belt has one end in the reactor tanks and another end extended into the vacuum extractor. The algae contained in the reactor tank is collected for further processing, including oil extraction. With algae harvested in the large-scale manner of the present invention, a more efficient oil extraction method can be used because the concentration, temperature, and pressure can be more easily controlled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2013
    Assignee: Missing Link Technology, LLC
    Inventor: Samuel L. Shepherd