Patents Examined by Marian C. Knode
  • Patent number: 6165420
    Abstract: Disclosed is an apparatus for supplying hydrogen chloride gas from a hydrogen chloride gas generator to an absorbing reactor through a gas supply pipe, and a method for producing hydrochloric acid by allowing the gas absorbed in water in an absorbing reactor. The apparatus obtains a large amount of high purity hydrochloric acid having extremely low impurity concentration with a simple system. The inner wall of the gas supply pipe is constructed with such materials from which impurities are not eluted by hydrochloric acid at least to the position of the wall which is reached by the backward flow or splash of produced hydrochloric acid, vapor of the hydrochloric acid or water in an absorbing reactor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2000
    Assignees: Tsurumi Soda Co., Ltd., Kanto Kagaku Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masanori Inoko, Kazunori Akiyama, Kenji Hayashi, Kouichi Tomisawa, Tadashi Koganei, Tatsuharu Obara, Suehiro Oshima, Mitsuru Kageyama, Kazuyuki Suzuki
  • Patent number: 6165421
    Abstract: An incinerator fumes processing plant has a first reactor (1) with fumes and injected absorbent flowing longitudinally through it. The flow from the first reactor enters a second reactor tangentially. The second reactor (2) is constructed so that the flow is driven by a rotating motion so as to separate progressively, and by centrifugal effect, the solid particles from the gases. The second reactor includes means (2a, 2b) for recirculating in the plant part of the solid particles separated in the second reactor. The dedusted fumes are then discharged from the plant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 1998
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2000
    Assignee: Institut Francais du Petrole
    Inventors: Gerard Martin, Jean-Christophe Dolignier, Patrick Flament
  • Patent number: 6166282
    Abstract: An oxygenate conversion process and fast-fluidized bed reactor are disclosed having an upper disengaging zone and a lower reaction zone. The process is carried out in a reaction zone having a dense phase zone in the lower reaction zone and a transition zone which extends into the disengaging zone. The feedstock in the presence of a diluent is passed to the dense phase zone containing a non-zeolitic catalyst to effect at least a partial conversion to light olefins and then passed to the transition zone above the dense phase zone to achieve essentially complete conversion. A portion of the catalyst is withdrawn from above the transition zone in the disengaging zone, at least partially regenerated, and returned to a point above the dense phase zone, while catalyst is continuously circulated from the disengaging zone to the lower reaction zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2000
    Assignee: UOP LLC
    Inventor: Lawrence W. Miller
  • Patent number: 6166283
    Abstract: An on-line method of synthesizing or regenerating catalysts for autothermal oxidation processes, specifically, the oxidation of paraffinic hydrocarbons, for example, ethane, propane, and naphtha, to olefins, for example, ethylene and propylene. The catalyst comprises a Group 8B metal, for example, a platinum group metal and, optionally, a promoter, such as tin, antimony, or copper, on a support, preferably a monolith support. On-line synthesis or regeneration involves co-feeding a volatile Group 8B metal compound and/or a volatile promoter compound with the paraffinic hydrocarbon and oxygen into the oxidation reactor under ignition or autothermal conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2000
    Assignee: The Dow Chemical Company
    Inventors: Sameer S. Bharadwaj, Joseph J. Maj, Jonathan H. Siddall
  • Patent number: 6165350
    Abstract: Processes and apparatus for providing improved catalytic reforming, specifically improved recovery of reformate and hydrogen from catalytic reformers. The improvement is achieved by passing portions of the reactor effluent or streams derived from the reactor effluent across membranes selective in favor of light hydrocarbons over hydrogen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 1998
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2000
    Assignee: Membrane Technology and Research, Inc.
    Inventors: Kaaeid A. Lokhandwala, Richard W. Baker
  • Patent number: 6165424
    Abstract: A singlet-delta oxygen generator 10 comprises a chamber 14 in which a gas stream 22 of singlet-delta oxygen, O.sub.2 (.sup.1 .DELTA.), is generated; a water vapor trap 40 to remove water vapor from the gas stream, and a liquid separator 60 downstream of the water vapor trap to separate liquid from the gas stream subsequent to removal of the water vapor. The water vapor trap comprises a liquid droplet dispersing device 42 which forms a droplet field 44 of cold liquid droplets in the chamber. The cold liquid droplets interact with and condense water vapor in the gas stream. The cold liquid is preferably hydrogen peroxide. The liquid separator comprises a baffle 62 arrangement which forms a tortuous flow path for the gas stream. Liquid in the gas stream is unable to traverse the baffles and is separated from the liquid, to produce an essentially dry gas stream for introduction into a gain generator 34 downstream of the singlet-delta oxygen generator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2000
    Assignee: TRW Inc.
    Inventors: Charles W. Clendening, Jr., Jeffrey S. Hartlove, Robert J. Day
  • Patent number: 6162402
    Abstract: An FCC arrangement uses a regenerator stripper vessel for removing CO and light hydrocarbons upstream of the regeneration zone that can operate with backmix addition of regenerated catalyst directly from the regeneration zone. The regenerator stripping vessel can also serve as a blending vessel for the transfer of spent and regenerated catalyst back to the reaction zone for increasing the catalyst to oil ratio of the process. This invention makes the recycle of spent catalyst in large proportions possible for an FCC operation that cracks a heavy feed by eliminating light combustibles such as CO and light hydrocarbons from the regeneration zone. Elimination of light gases permits spent catalyst to be recycled to the riser despite the high delta coke produced by the heavy feed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 1998
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2000
    Assignee: UOP LLC
    Inventor: David A. Lomas
  • Patent number: 6162416
    Abstract: There is disclosed a new form of zeolite beta which shows substantially greater stability and greater catalyst lifetime when used in the alkylation and transalkylation of aromatic compounds. The new, surface-modified zeolite beta is characterized by having surface aluminum 2p binding energies, as measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, of at least 74.8 electron volts. This surface-modified zeolite beta is prepared by treating an as synthesized and templated zeolite beta with an acid at a pH between about 0 and about 2 at a temperature up to about 125.degree. C. for a time sufficient to modify the chemical environment of the surface aluminum atom without bringing about dealumination of the zeolite beta, then calcining the acid-treated templated material at 550-700.degree. C. to remove the template.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2000
    Assignee: UOP LLC
    Inventors: Gregory J. Gajda, Richard T. Gajek
  • Patent number: 6162266
    Abstract: An apparatus and a process for cooling a feed injector of a gasification reactor that produces synthesis gas is described. Cooling fluid is injected into a channel in the feed injector adapted for circulating the fluid. The injection pressure is maintained near or above the gasification reactor pressure. The fluid is withdrawn from the channel through an outlet at an outlet pressure between about 515 KPa above to about 1030 KPa below the gasification reactor pressure. The fluid is cooled, degassed, and injected back into the channel in the feed injector. The pressure on the cooling system is variable and tracks the gasification reactor pressure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 1998
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2000
    Assignee: Texaco Inc.
    Inventors: Paul S. Wallace, Kay A. Johnson, DeLome D. Fair, Fred C. Jahnke
  • Patent number: 6159428
    Abstract: A structure of a gasified and melting furnace comprising a freeboard portion whose center axis is shifted from a center axis of a lower furnace portion by 50% or more of an inner furnace diameter, to load waste and additives and to measure a height of a deposition layer formed in the lower furnace portion, without passing through the freeboard.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2000
    Assignee: NKK Corporation
    Inventors: Yuichi Yamakawa, Tsuneo Matsudaira, Sunao Nakamura, Tomohiro Yoshida, Yasuo Suzuki
  • Patent number: 6159256
    Abstract: A fuel processing system is operable to remove substantially all of the sulfur present in an undiluted hydrocarbon fuel stock supply used to power a fuel cell power plant in a mobile environment, such as an automobile, bus, truck, boat, or the like, or in a stationary environment. The power plant hydrogen fuel source can be gasoline, diesel fuel, naphtha, light hydrocarbon fuels such as butane, propane, natural gas, or other like fuels which contain relatively high levels of organic sulfur compounds such as mercaptans, sulfides, disulfides, and the like. The undiluted hydrocarbon fuel supply is passed through a nickel desulfurizer bed wherein essentially all of the sulfur in the organic sulfur compounds react with the nickel reactant, and are converted to nickel sulfide while the desulfurized organic remnants continue through the remainder of the fuel processing system. The system does not require the addition of steam or a hydrogen source to the fuel stream prior to the desulfurizing step.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2000
    Assignee: International Fuel Cells, LLC
    Inventors: Leonard J. Bonville, Jr., Charles L. DeGeorge, Peter F. Foley, Jay Garow, Roger R. Lesieur, John L. Preston, Jr., Donald F. Szydlowski
  • Patent number: 6158120
    Abstract: An intumescent catalyst mounting mat is provided by cutting a single piece of mat into a desired profile and cutting a slit about 1/2 way through the thickness of the mat at a selected fold line. The mat is then easily folded upon itself to create a double thickness mat that is already secured to the next layer and may have any desired profile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 1998
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2000
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventors: Michael Ralph Foster, Robert Anthony Lawrence, Stephen Joe Myers, Alan Gerard Turek
  • Patent number: 6159433
    Abstract: The present invention concerns a plant for the conversion of an olefinic C.sub.4 or C.sub.5 cut to an alkyl-tertiobutylether or alkyl-tertioamylether and to propylene, by metathesis. The plant comprises four successive stages: (1) selective hydrogenation of the diolefins with simultaneous isomerisation of the alpha olefins to internal olefins; (2) etherification of the isoolefins; (3) elimination of oxygen-containing impurities; (4) metathesis of internal olefins with ethylene. Application to C.sub.4 and C.sub.5 steam cracking units.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 1998
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2000
    Assignee: Institut Francais du Petrole
    Inventors: Jean-Alain Chodorge, Dominique Commereuc, Jean Cosyns, Didier Duee, Bernard Torck
  • Patent number: 6156084
    Abstract: A fuel processing system is operable to remove substantially all of the sulfur present in an undiluted hydrocarbon fuel stock supply used to power a fuel cell power plant in a mobile environment, such as an automobile, bus, truck, boat, or the like, or in a stationary environment. The power plant hydrogen fuel source can be gasoline, diesel fuel, naphtha, light hydrocarbon fuels such as butane, propane, natural gas, or other like fuels which contain relatively high levels of organic sulfur compounds such as mercaptans, sulfides, disulfides, and the like. The undiluted hydrocarbon fuel supply is passed through a nickel desulfurizer bed wherein essentially all of the sulfur in the organic sulfur compounds react with the nickel reactant, and are converted to nickel sulfide while the desulfurized organic remnants continue through the remainder of the fuel processing system. The system does not require the addition of steam or a hydrogen source to the fuel stream prior to the desulfurizing step.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 1998
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2000
    Assignee: International Fuel Cells, LLC
    Inventors: Leonard J. Bonville, Jr., Charles L. DeGeorge, Peter F. Foley, Jay Garow, Roger R. Lesieur, John L. Preston, Jr., Donald F. Szydlowski
  • Patent number: 6156948
    Abstract: This invention relates to a method for the selective preparation of a styrene of formula (1) ##STR1## by reacting an acetophenone of formula (1) ##STR2## with hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst containing one of several oxides, in particular metal oxides, wherein the oxide contains an element form the groups Ia, IIa, IIIa, IVa, VIa, Ib, IIb, IVb, Vb, VIb, and/or VIII or an element from the lanthanide group. The catalyst contains preferably on or several oxides of the formula ZnM.sup.1.sub.b M.sup.2.sub.c O.sub.x, where M.sup.1 stands for at least one element from the Al, Zr, Ti and Si group, M.sup.2 stands for at least one element from the Cd, Cu, Ag, Ni, Co, Fe, Mn, Cr, Mo, Ta, Sc, W, V, Nb, Hf, Yt, B, In, Zn, Pb, Bi Se, Ga, Ge, Sb, As, Te group, or an element from the lanthanides, b=0-20, c=0-3, x corresponds to the number of oxygen atoms required for stoechiometric compensation, which results in accordance with the oxidation states of Zn, M.sup.1 and M.sup.2 or oxides of formula M.sup.3.sub.2 M.sup.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2000
    Assignee: Aventis Research & Technologies GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Rainer Roesky, Holger Borchert, Uwe Dingerdissen
  • Patent number: 6153807
    Abstract: A copolymer of ethylene and an alpha-olefin having an ethylene content of from 30 to 90 mole %, a number average molecular weight of from 300 to 30,000 and a molecular weight distribution defined by a Q value (the ratio of the weight average molecular weight to the number average molecular weight of not more than 3 and a Z value (the ratio of the maximum value of the molecular weight to the minimum value of the molecular weight when the molecular weight is measured by gel permeation chromatography) of from 15 to 200. The said copolymer can be produced by a process comprising copolymerizing ethylene with an alpha-olefin in the liquid phase in the presence of a polymerization catalyst composed of a combination of a soluble vanadium compound and an organoaluminum compound in the co-presence of hydrogen, characterized in that(a) the copolymerization is carried out in a continuous manner,(b) the concentration of the vanadium compound in the polymerization system is maintained at 0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 1993
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2000
    Assignee: Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.
    Inventors: Hidekuni Oda, Tatuo Kinoshita, Akiyoshi Shimizu
  • Patent number: 6153149
    Abstract: A flow reactor providing a high degree of selectivity in the reaction of a feedstock to produce one or more end product compounds, which includes: side walls defining an elongated reactor unit having a length dimension along which the feedstock is reacted under varying conditions of energy and chemical flux effective to produce the one or more end product compounds; a plurality of devices for supplying energy or chemical flux through the side walls and positioned to distribute the energy and chemical flux along the length of the reactor unit so as to optimize a property of the one or more end product compounds; devices for measuring a property of the end product compounds; and an adaptive feedback control system to determine, establish and maintain the optimum energy and chemical flux distribution along the length of the reactor based on the end product property measurement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2000
    Assignee: The Trustees of Princeton University
    Inventors: Herschel A. Rabitz, Christodoulos A. Floudas, Richard A. Yetter
  • Patent number: 6149876
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for reclamation of glycol based liquids used in gas dehydration. A first step involves providing an thermal oxidizer and a reboiler. A second step involves providing a dual stream valve having a first outlet, a second outlet and means for adjusting the relative flow through the first outlet and the second outlet. A third step involves placing the dual stream valve on an exhaust gas outlet of the thermal oxidizer and coupling the first outlet to an exhaust stack and the second outlet to the reboiler. The fourth step involves diverting through the second outlet of the dual stream valve such exhaust gases flowing through the exhaust gas outlet of the thermal oxidizer as may be required to provide heat necessary to operate the reboiler.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2000
    Assignee: Presson Manufacturing Ltd.
    Inventor: Anthony John Galloway
  • Patent number: 6149880
    Abstract: A hydrothermal reaction is performed on an aqueous medium without adding an oxidizing agent, and then another hydrothermal reaction is performed in the presence of an oxidizing agent, thereby reducing a chemical oxygen demand of the aqueous medium. An apparatus for performing a hydrothermal reaction has a fluid inlet being capable of introducing an oxidizing agent in a fluid form during a hydrothermal reaction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2000
    Assignee: Ebara Corporation
    Inventors: Tsutomu Higo, Roberto Masahiro Serikawa, Kazuhiro Kondo
  • Patent number: 6149761
    Abstract: A method for detecting an etching endpoint and a plasma etching apparatus and a plasma etching system using such a device are disclosed, in which time series data of a signal corresponding to the amount of light of the plasma light generated during the plasma etching process are arithmetically processed, so that the change of light amount is corrected and an etching endpoint is detected from the time series data after the correction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2000
    Assignee: Sumitomo Metal Industries Limited
    Inventors: Toshiya Miyazaki, Toshihiro Hayami, Tadao Nakatsuka, Hiroyuki Tanaka, Toshiyuki Nakamura