Patents Examined by Douglas B Call
  • Patent number: 10780425
    Abstract: The invention provides a method for the production of a supported nickel catalyst, in which an aqueous mixture comprising an alkali metal salt plus other metal salts is sintered to form a support material. A supported nickel catalyst comprising potassium ?-alumina is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2020
    Assignee: Haldor Topsoe A/S
    Inventors: Joachim Harteg Jacobsen, Charlotte Vinding Ovesen, Christian Daugaard
  • Patent number: 10766024
    Abstract: A multicomponent photocatalyst includes a reactive component optically, electronically, or thermally coupled to a plasmonic material. A method of performing a catalytic reaction includes loading a multicomponent photocatalyst including a reactive component optically, electronically, or thermally coupled to a plasmonic material into a reaction chamber, introducing molecular reactants into the reaction chamber, and illuminating the reaction chamber with a light source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2020
    Assignee: William Marsh Rice University
    Inventors: Nancy Jean Halas, Peter Nordlander, Hossein Robatjazi, Dayne Francis Swearer, Chao Zhang, Hangqi Zhao, Linan Zhou
  • Patent number: 10767236
    Abstract: A method of producing a sugar liquid includes a step of filtering a saccharified liquid derived from cellulose-containing biomass, through a nanofiltration membrane and/or reverse osmosis membrane; and a two-step washing step of washing the nanofiltration membrane and/or reverse osmosis membrane after the filtration, with an acid washing liquid and then with an alkali washing liquid; is provided. The method of producing a sugar liquid in which a cellulose-derived sugar liquid is processed through a nanofiltration membrane and/or reverse osmosis membrane is/are effectively washed in a contaminated separation membrane(s).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2020
    Assignee: Toray Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Yuka Asahi, Atsushi Minamino, Jumpei Kishimoto, Masashi Higasa
  • Patent number: 10745276
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of improving the efficiency of an integrated hydrogen generation system by the introduction of a means to heat the PSA tail gas within the PSA surge tank.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2020
    Assignee: PRAXAIR TECHNOLOGY, INC.
    Inventors: Andrew Warta, Bryan S Kalp, Troy M Raybold, Raymond F Dmevich
  • Patent number: 10745275
    Abstract: A furnace for performing an endothermic process, comprising tubes containing a catalyst for converting a gaseous feed, wherein tubes are positioned in rows inside the furnace, wherein burners are mounted between the tubes and between the tubes and the furnace walls parallel to the tubes rows, and wherein the burners rows and the tubes rows are ended by end walls and are divided into sections with, on each row of tubes, the distance from a wall end tube to the end wall being T2W, the distance between two adjacent inner tubes in a section being T2T, and the distance between two symmetry end tubes of two adjacent sections being T2S, wherein the tubes in the rows are arranged in such a way that the ratios T2T/T2W and T2T/T2S are greater than 0.5 and smaller than 2 thus limiting the differences in the heat transfer to the outer tubes (wall end tubes and symmetry end tubes) with respect to the inner tubes and reducing the temperature difference between outer tubes and inner tubes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2020
    Assignee: L'Air Liquide Societe Anonyme Pour L'Etude Et L'Exploitation Des Procedes Georges Claude
    Inventor: Diana Tudorache
  • Patent number: 10731229
    Abstract: Methods and systems for pretreating lignocellulosic biomass are disclosed. An acid solution between 1% to 1.6% sulfuric acid is applied to the biomass. The biomass is subjected to an elevated temperature to cause the production of xylose, glucose, and furfural. Adjustments to temperature, acid concentration, and time can generate at least 80% or 90% of theoretical xylose, 45% or 50% of the theoretical glucose, and less than 4000 ppm of furfural in the xylose liquor. A portion of the resulting xylose liquor may be separated from the glucan solids. The xylose liquor, still highly acidic, can be recycled to reduce subsequent acid loading requirements. Makeup acid solution is added to the xylose liquor and subsequent biomass to ensure a proper solids to liquids ratio. The biomass is again treated to higher temperatures to yield sugars. The process may be repeated for each subsequent cycle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2020
    Assignee: POET Research, Inc.
    Inventors: William F. McDonald, Shannon Scott Urban, Jason L. Martin
  • Patent number: 10722836
    Abstract: Provided is a hydrogen recovery method such that highly concentrated hydrogen gas can be obtained efficiently by adsorbing and removing hydrocarbon gas such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and methane, using a relatively low pressure, from pyrolysis gas obtained by heat treating biomass. The present invention is the method for recovering hydrogen from pyrolysis gas obtained by heat treating biomass, characterized by including: a first purifying step of adsorbing and removing gas that mainly includes carbon dioxide under pressure from the pyrolysis gas to purify the pyrolysis gas; and a second purifying step of further adsorbing and removing gas that includes carbon dioxide under pressure from purified gas obtained by the first purifying step at a pressure lower than the pressure in the first purifying step to purify the purified gas in order to recover hydrogen from the purified gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2020
    Assignees: Japan Blue Energy Co., Ltd., Tokyo University of Science Foundation
    Inventors: Naoki Dowaki, Mitsuo Kameyama, Kiyoshi Dowaki
  • Patent number: 10710877
    Abstract: The present invention provides a hydrogen generating apparatus and a hydrogen generating method, wherein the hydrogen generating apparatus generates hydrogen by dehydrating formic acid, and comprises: a reactor for containing water and a heterogeneous catalyst; a formic acid feeder for feeding formic acid into the reactor; and a moisture remover for removing moisture generated from the reactor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: KOREA INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
    Inventors: Chang Won Yoon, Suk Woo Nam, Yeong Cheon Kim, Jonghee Han, Sung Pil Yoon, Hyoung-Juhn Kim, Taekhyun Oh, Tae Hoon Lim, Jin Young Kim, Sun-Hee Choi, Hyung Chul Ham
  • Patent number: 10711996
    Abstract: A furnace for performing an endothermic process comprising tubes containing a catalyst for converting a gaseous feed, wherein tubes are positioned in rows inside the furnace, wherein burners are mounted between the tubes and between the tubes and the furnace walls parallel to the tubes row and wherein the burners rows and the tubes rows are ended by end walls and are divided into sections with the distance from the end burner to the end wall being B2W, the distance between two adjacent burners in the section being B2B, and half the distance in-between two sections being B2S, wherein the burners in the rows are arranged in such a way that the ratios B2B/B2W and B2B/B2S are greater than 1.3 thus limiting the occurrence of the flame merging phenomenon and reducing significantly the quadratic mean of the tube temperature profile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: L'Air Liquide Societe Anonyme Pour L'Etude Et L'Exploitation Des Procedes Georges Claude
    Inventors: Frederic Camy-Peyret, Julien Cances, Diana Tudorache
  • Patent number: 10632437
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a shell-and-tube type reactor for reforming natural gas and a method for manufacturing syngas or hydrogen gas by using the same. According to the present invention, a shell-and-tube type reactor for reforming natural gas comprises a reaction catalyst for reforming natural gas, which is filled in a reactor shell; at least one tube for separating hydrogen; and a tube for an exothermic reaction or a tube type heat-exchanger for heating, which is disposed at the center of the reactor so as to have excellent operating efficiency and enable production of high-purity hydrogen and collection of carbon dioxide simultaneously along with a reaction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2020
    Assignee: KOREA INSTITUTE OF ENERGY RESEARCH
    Inventors: Shin Kun Ryi, Jae Yun Han, Yong Seog Seo, Jung Hyun Lee
  • Patent number: 10626014
    Abstract: The present invention relates to reactor tubes packed with a catalyst system employed to deliberately bias process gas flow toward the hot tube segment and away from the cold segment in order to reduce the circumferential tube temperature variation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2020
    Assignee: PRAXIAR TECHNOLOGY, INC.
    Inventors: Kelly Nicholson, Troy M Raybold, Bo Jin
  • Patent number: 10611635
    Abstract: A hydrogen gas recovery system according to the present ingestion is configured by a condensation and separation apparatus (A) that condenses and separates chlorosilanes from a hydrogen-containing reaction exhaust gas exhausted from a polycrystalline silicon production step, a compression apparatus (B) that compresses the hydrogen-containing reaction exhaust gas, an absorption apparatus (C) that absorbs and separates hydrogen chloride by contacting the hydrogen-containing reaction exhaust gas with an absorption liquid, a first adsorption apparatus (D) comprising an adsorption column filled with activated carbon for adsorbing and removing methane, hydrogen chloride, and part of the chlorosilanes each contained in the hydrogen-containing reaction exhaust gas, a second adsorption apparatus (E) comprising an adsorption column filled with synthetic zeolite that adsorbs and removes methane contained in the hydrogen-containing reaction exhaust gas, and a gas line (F) that recovers a purified hydrogen gas having a re
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2020
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masahiko Ishida, Shigeyoshi Netsu, Hiroshi Saito, Shuji Tanaka
  • Patent number: 10604679
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a ski wax composition including superhydrophobic carbon nano particles (CNPs) and a preparation method thereof, and more particularly, to a ski wax composition including a wax and superhydrophobic CNPs and a preparation method thereof. According to the present invention, since the hydrophobicity and retention capacity of the wax can be increased, friction reducing performance of a ski wax can be increased on an ice surface or a snow surface. In addition, since the superhydrophobic CNPs, which can be easily prepared, are used, the productivity of the ski wax composition can be improved and superb friction reducing performance can be exhibited. Further, since the superhydrophobic CNPs are dispersed into the wax by a simple sonication process, a problem caused by adding a surfactant can be solved. Therefore, the ski wax composition according to the present disclosure can be widely applied to industrial fields associated with the winter sports, including skiing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2020
    Assignee: SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY R&DB FOUNDATION
    Inventors: Ho-Young Kim, Changho Yun, Dongjo Kim
  • Patent number: 10597293
    Abstract: A hydrogen production apparatus including a desulfurizer, a reformer, a CO transformer a gas flow path, and a purge gas supply path which is provided where a purge gas is supplied to an upstream side of a pressure feeding apparatus in the gas flow path, prior to a stopping operation, a purging step of replacing gas within the gas flow path with the purge gas and filling the purge gas into the gas flow path is performed, and in a start-up operation in which a heating means is operated to increase the temperature of the gas within the gas flow path, which is performed prior to a hydrogen purification operation, a pressure increasing step of supplying the purge gas from the purge gas supply path to the closed circulation circuit and increasing the pressure within the closed circulation circuit is performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2020
    Assignee: Osaka Gas Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuhiko Murata, Tsubasa Shimizu, Satoshi Takagi
  • Patent number: 10589259
    Abstract: A composition useful in oxidative desulphurization of gaseous hydrocarbons is described. It comprises a CuZnAlā€”O mixed oxide, and an H form of a zeolite. The mixed oxide can contain one or more metal oxide promoters. The H form of the zeolite can be desilicated, and can also contain one or more transition metals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2020
    Assignees: Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Boreskov Institute of Catalysis
    Inventors: Omer Refa Koseoglu, Yaming Jin, Zinfer Ismagilov, Svetlana Yashnik, Mikhail Kerzhentsev, Valentin Parmon
  • Patent number: 10577243
    Abstract: A reforming catalyst with improved surface area is provided by using high surface area alumina doped with a stabilizer metal as a catalyst support. The surface area of the catalyst can be higher than a typical reforming catalyst, and the surface area can also be maintained under high temperature operation. This can allow use of the catalyst for reforming in a higher temperature environment while maintaining a higher surface area, which can allow for improved dispersion and/or activity of an active metal such as rhodium on the catalyst support. The catalyst can be suitable for production of syngas from natural gas or other hydrocarbon-containing feeds.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2020
    Assignee: EXXONMOBIL RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING COMPANY
    Inventors: Matthew S. Ide, John F. Brody, Jianxin Wu, Joshua W. Allen, Frank Hershkowitz, Arsam Behkish, Anastasios I. Skoulidas
  • Patent number: 10562769
    Abstract: Process and apparatus for producing a H2-containing product and a CO-containing product with CO-containing product turndown capability. The H2-containing product is produced in a process train with a shift reactor and pressure swing adsorption unit. The CO-containing product is produced in a process train with a CO2 removal unit and a cryogenic separation unit. During the CO-containing product turndown mode, a portion or all of the CO-containing product is passed to the shift reactor in the H2-containing product train to form additional H2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2020
    Assignee: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
    Inventors: Eugene S. Genkin, Kelly Ann Forester
  • Patent number: 10544375
    Abstract: A gasification system for the partial oxidation of a carbonaceous feedstock to at least provide a synthesis gas, the system comprising a reactor chamber and a quench section below the reactor chamber. An intermediate section connecting the reactor chamber to the quench section comprises at least one layer of refractory bricks arranged on and supported by the reactor chamber floor, the refractory bricks enclosing a reactor outlet opening. A membrane wall extends downwardly from the reactor outlet opening of the reactor chamber floor. A pump system is provided communicating with a source of a liquid coolant for circulating the liquid coolant through the tubes of the membrane wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2020
    Assignee: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
    Inventors: Sijing Liu, Manfred Heinrich Schmitz-Goeb, Anthony Wolfert, Unai Jauregi, Joachim Ottomar Wolff
  • Patent number: 10501319
    Abstract: A hydrogen production apparatus including a desulfurizer, a reformer, a CO transformer a gas flow path, and a purge gas supply path which is provided where a purge gas is supplied to an upstream side of a pressure feeding apparatus in the gas flow path, prior to a stopping operation, a purging step of replacing gas within the gas flow path with the purge gas and filling the purge gas into the gas flow path is performed, and in a start-up operation in which a heating means is operated to increase the temperature of the gas within the gas flow path, which is performed prior to a hydrogen purification operation, a pressure increasing step of supplying the purge gas from the purge gas supply path to the closed circulation circuit and increasing the pressure within the closed circulation circuit is performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2019
    Assignee: Osaka Gas Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuhiko Murata, Tsubasa Shimizu, Satoshi Takagi
  • Patent number: 10500561
    Abstract: Methods and systems are described for processing cellulosic and lignocellulosic materials into useful intermediates and products, such as energy and fuels. For example, conveying systems and methods, such as highly efficient vibratory conveyors, are described for the processing of the cellulosic and lignocellulosic materials.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2019
    Assignee: XYLECO, INC.
    Inventors: Marshall Medoff, Thomas Craig Masterman, Robert Paradis