Patents Examined by Jonathan Luke Pilcher
  • Patent number: 12377366
    Abstract: A system and devices for treating and purifying fluids such as water. The system includes multiple devices and moves water through the devices. The system may include a steam boiler. The steam boiler may be connected to a steam stripper. Fluids may flow through the steam boiler and fed into the bottom of the steam stripper. The system may have salt treatment modules and carbon compound modules. The system may include desalination modules. The system may provide outputs of purified water, salt, and/or concentrated salt brine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2024
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2025
    Assignee: Undesert Corporation
    Inventors: Hillery Thomas Kemp, John S. Manford
  • Patent number: 12364965
    Abstract: Systems and methods for industrial tower packing using a high-energy laser surface processing technique are disclosed. The system includes a tower, a high-energy laser, a plurality of packing materials, and micro-sized or nano-sized structures on a packing material. The high-energy laser surface processing technique creates microscale structures that allow for high surface wettability. The high-energy laser creates micro-sized or nano-sized structures on a plurality of packing materials surfaces. The packing materials may be provided in industrial columns. The packing materials may be various shapes and sizes comprising various structures ablated into a surface of the packing materials to generate high surface area contact between a downward-flowing liquid and an upward-flowing gas. The use of a high-energy laser surface processing results in favorable super-wettable column packing material and geometry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2024
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2025
    Assignee: Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Dakota Even, Connor Daniel Pearson
  • Patent number: 12357923
    Abstract: An interconnected open-pore 2.5D Cu/CuO foam-based photothermal evaporator capable of achieving a high evaporation rate of 4.1 kg m?2 h?1 under one sun illumination by exposing one end of the planar structure to air is disclosed. The micro-sized open-pore structure of Cu/CuO foam allows it to trap incident sunlight, and the densely distributed blade-like CuO nanostructures effectively scatter sunlight inside pores simultaneously. The inherent hydrophilicity of CuO and capillarity forces from the porous structure of Cu foam continuously supply sufficient water. Moreover, the doubled working sides of Cu/CuO foam enlarge the exposure area enabling efficient vapor diffusion. The feasible fabrication process and the combined structural features of Cu/CuO foam offer new insight into the future development of solar-driven evaporators in large-scale applications with practical durability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2025
    Assignees: Northeastern University, Soleeva Energy, Inc.
    Inventors: Yi Zheng, Ralph Ahlgren, Mohamed Sonbaty, Khushnood Ahmad Qazi
  • Patent number: 12343718
    Abstract: A biochar production system includes a reactor body, a central rod disposed within the reactor body, a leveling arm extending from the central rod and configured to rotate about the central rod, and a bed level sensor system. The bed level sensor system includes a float configured to move from a resting position on a biomass in the reactor to an ending position upon contact with the leveling arm, and a level sensor coupled to the float via a connector. The level sensor is configured to correspondingly move with the float. A controller is configured to detect bed levels of the biomass within the reactor body, and determine a plurality of sample readings based on the detected bed levels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2025
    Assignee: Cummins Inc.
    Inventors: John Robert Pendray, Gregory J. Mitchum, Kevin James Keene
  • Patent number: 12338394
    Abstract: The present technology is generally directed to providing beds of coking material to charge a coking oven. In various embodiments, a quantity of first particulate material, having a first particulate size and bulk density, is combined with a second particulate material, having a second particulate size and bulk density, to define a multi-modal bed of coking material. The multi-modal bed of coking material exhibits an optimized bulk density that is greater than an ideal bulk density predicted by a linear combination of the bulk densities of the individual materials.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2025
    Assignee: SUNCOKE TECHNOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT LLC
    Inventors: John Francis Quanci, Syed Ahmed, Jake Sarpen, Jonathan Perkins, Jeff Wozek
  • Patent number: 12338393
    Abstract: A method for pyrolysis of a mass of waste material, includes: providing a screw arrangement adapted to supply heat to the mass by mechanical shear; providing a reactor after the screw arrangement, adapted to supply heat to the mass in the absence of oxygen by heating the reactor wall; heating the mass to an exit temperature and increasing the pressure to an exit pressure in the screw arrangement; thermally degrading the mass in the reactor. The mass is brought into an extreme condition at the exit temperature and exit pressure by the screw arrangement, such that during the pressure drop pyrolysis occurs, thereby forming gaseous hydrocarbons within the connecting element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2025
    Assignee: CCT INTERNATIONAL
    Inventors: Rik Van Meirhaeghe, Johannes Dingenis Van Der Endt, Dries Parmentier
  • Patent number: 12324994
    Abstract: A bottom chamber of a stripper (or bottom liquid holder) including a vortex breaker, a blocking plate and a guiding plate. A stripper, a urea HP stripper, a urea plant, a method for operating a stripper and a method for producing a solid, particulate urea-based composition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2025
    Assignee: Yara International ASA
    Inventors: Lino Giovanni Porro, Adrian Bynes
  • Patent number: 12324993
    Abstract: There is disclosed a portable direct solar desalination system, comprising a solar receiver and evaporator unit comprising inlet and outlet ports for incoming and outgoing water and air; an ultrasonic atomizer unit positioned within the solar receiver and evaporator unit for generating atomized droplets inside the solar receiver and evaporator unit; wherein air flows into the solar receiver and evaporator unit via the inlet port, thereby carrying the atomized droplets through the solar receiver and evaporator unit, wherein entrained droplets of the air-droplet mixture are exposed to solar radiations falling on the solar receiver and evaporator unit, which enables the atomized droplets to directly capture the incident solar radiations, leading to droplets evaporation, thereby producing freshwater. Also disclosed is a process of solar desalination comprising directly capturing solar energy by atomized water droplets in a solar evaporator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2024
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2025
    Assignee: UNITED ARAB EMIRATES UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Fadi Alnaimat, Bobby Mathew, Mohammed Ziauddin
  • Patent number: 12318717
    Abstract: A direct-contact, spray-assisted, evaporation and condensation, DCSEC system includes a heating block configured to receive and heat up seawater; plural evaporation and condensation stages, wherein n is a natural number, each stage being configured to generate water vapors through flash evaporation; an evaporation only stage connected to a last stage of the plural evaporation and condensation stages, the evaporation only stage configured to receive a brine from the last stage n of the plural evaporation and condensation stages; an input/output block configured to receive the brine from the evaporation only stage and to discharge it outside the system, and also to receive cooling water; and a pressure-swing regeneration block fluidly connected to the evaporation only stage to receive the water vapors and to generate a hot vapor, which is provided to the heating block for heating the seawater.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2025
    Assignee: KING ABDULLAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
    Inventors: Qian Chen, Raid Alrowais, Muhammad Burhan, Muhammad Wakil Shahzad, Doskhan Ybyraiymkul, Faheem Hassan Akhtar, Kim Choon Ng
  • Patent number: 12312539
    Abstract: An improved reactor vessel for processing (recycling and upcycling) of plastics includes a shear plate assembly disposed on a rotatable shaft concentrically disposed within a cylindrical reactor vessel. The shear plates are spaced from the vessel wall to generate a predetermined strain rate between the shear plate and the inner wall via Couette flow, enhancing efficiency of the reaction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2025
    Inventor: Vance E. McClure
  • Patent number: 12312254
    Abstract: A heating system for use in the solar powered heating of water. In one embodiment, the heating system is used in conjunction with a solar water farm to desalinate water. The water farm can be utilized on a variety of scales and can be applied to agricultural farms for large scale reclamation of deserts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2025
    Assignees: Research Foundation of the City University of New York, Sun Fresh Water, LLC
    Inventors: Ali M. Sadegh, Jorge E. Gonzalez-Cruz, Joseph James D'Alba, George Victor St. Pierre, George Farinick
  • Patent number: 12312312
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a process for treating an effluent obtained from an oligomerization step in a vaporization step. In particular, the oligomerization step is a step for dimerization of ethylene to 1-butene with a nickel-based catalytic system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2025
    Assignee: IFP Energies Nouvelles
    Inventors: Pierre-Alain Breuil, Nicolas Aribert, Olivier Cotte
  • Patent number: 12297389
    Abstract: A system for converting waste plastic material to petrochemicals. The system including a feed inlet and distributor zone, a raked film reaction section located below the feed inlet and distributor zone, and a stirred tank reaction section located below the raked film reaction section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2023
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2025
    Assignee: Lummus Technology LLC
    Inventors: David Lee Guymon, Daniel T. Fernald, Ron Herbanek, Richard John Jibb, Sudipto Chakraborty, Johnny Doyle Combs, Boddie Lynn Lindsey, Zachary Alan Mays
  • Patent number: 12296288
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a multi-component mixture separation system including a distillation column including a first section and a second section separated by a partition wall, and a phase separator receiving a lower discharge stream of the second section and separating the stream into an aqueous phase and an oil phase, and refluxing a portion of the separated aqueous phase or oil phase to the first section, in which the first section includes a chimney tray provided on an upper portion, and the first section is fed with a feed stream containing three or more components to separate high-boiling point component to a lower portion, and a gaseous component moves to the second section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2025
    Assignee: LG Chem, Ltd.
    Inventors: Sung Kyun Kim, Sung Kyu Lee, Tae Woo Kim
  • Patent number: 12291676
    Abstract: Process for feeding plastic material, e.g. a plastic waste, to a processor such as a thermochemical reactor, e.g. a pyrolysis reactor. The process comprises an optional shredder or disintegrator (1), a conveying system (2), a feed hopper (3) with a lock hopper or rotary valve, a melting tank (6) with an agitator (5) followed by a melt pump (7) for the delivery of molten plastic to the processor. The advantage of the current process includes the ability to supply a consistent, metered flow to the processor, independent of the recycled plastic's melt properties, or the form or particle size and distribution of the plastic material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2025
    Assignee: ExxonMobil Chemical Patents Inc.
    Inventor: Jay L. Reimers
  • Patent number: 12290767
    Abstract: The invention relates to an apparatus for the continuous concentration of corrosive liquids, the apparatus comprising a fluid system with a regenerative heat exchanger for preheating the dilute liquid and a vapour line to supply solvent vapour, which has been separated from the heated liquid in a main separator, to the hot side of the regenerative heat exchanger as a heat source. The invention further relates to a method for continuously concentrating corrosive liquids, wherein the system pressure is greater than 1 bar.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2025
    Inventor: Andreas Wilk
  • Patent number: 12286591
    Abstract: Methods and systems for coking coal blends to produce foundry coke products are disclosed herein. Methods for producing coke products can include charging a coal blend into a coke oven; and heating the charged coal blend such that a crown temperature of the coke oven is greater than a lower bound coking temperature. The pyrolysis duration begins when the crown temperature of the oven is greater than the lower bound coking temperature, and ends when the crown temperature of the oven is less than the lower bound coking temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2025
    Assignee: SUNCOKE TECHNOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT LLC
    Inventors: John Francis Quanci, John Michael Richardson, Jonathan Hale Perkins
  • Patent number: 12281261
    Abstract: Described herein is a method of carbonizing organic waste to produce a stable form of biocarbon for the purposes of carbon sequestration. In some embodiments, the method is a continuous method wherein organic waste is added at a top of a carbonization system and biocarbon is recovered from a bottom thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2025
    Assignee: Carbon Lock Technologies Inc.
    Inventors: Kevin Wayne Danner, Terrance Darrell Gray
  • Patent number: 12263418
    Abstract: A rotary evaporator for evaporating a substance contained in an initial substance comprises an evaporation flask (2) for receiving the initial substance, a device (3) for heating the substance, a condenser (4) for condensing the vaporized substance, a collection container (6) for receiving the re-liquefied substance and at least one device (5) for generating a low pressure and/or an excess pressure. In order to remove the re-liquefied substance an excess pressure can be generated at least within the collection container (6) and/or in order to remove residues of the initial substance an excess pressure can be generated at least within the evaporation flask (2).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2025
    Assignee: Hans Heidolph GmbH
    Inventors: Sven Heuberger, Robert Loschel
  • Patent number: 12258520
    Abstract: The pyrolysis apparatus includes a fluid bed furnace (1), a first partition wall (11) dividing inside of the fluid bed furnace (1) into a pyrolysis chamber (4) and a combustion chamber (5), a second partition wall (12) dividing the combustion chamber (5) into a main combustion chamber (6) and a settling combustion chamber (7), a first gas diffuser (15), a second gas diffuser (25), and a third gas diffuser (35) configured to supply a first fluidizing gas, a second fluidizing gas, and a third fluidizing gas to the pyrolysis chamber (4), the main combustion chamber (6), and the settling combustion chamber (7), respectively, a first raw-material supply device (71) configured to supply a first raw material to the pyrolysis chamber (4) with a first supply amount, a second raw-material supply device (72) configured to supply a second raw material to the pyrolysis chamber (4) with a second supply amount, and an operation controller (200) configured to independently control operations of the first raw-material supply
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2025
    Assignee: EBARA ENVIRONMENTAL PLANT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takashi Fujiwara, Takayuki Ihara