Patents by Inventor Donald F. McMillen

Donald F. McMillen has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 5420371
    Abstract: A process is described for carrying out the dehydrogenation or hydrogenation, including hydrogenolysis, of a hydrocarbon in the presence of one or more soluble fullerene catalysts which have been dissolved in the hydrocarbon (when the hydrocarbon is a liquid capable of dissolving the fullerene catalyst) or dissolved in a solvent which is also a solvent for the hydrocarbon (when the hydrocarbon either is not a liquid or is not a liquid which is a solvent for the fullerene catalyst). The use of a liquid catalyst, i.e., a dissolved fullerene catalyst, inhibits coking reactions to thereby inhibit formation of coke on a solid catalyst or catalyst support by elimination of nucleation points or growth regions for such coke formation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 1994
    Date of Patent: May 30, 1995
    Assignee: SRI International
    Inventors: Ripudaman Malhotra, Doris S. Tse, Donald F. McMillen
  • Patent number: 5336828
    Abstract: A process is described for carrying out the dehydrogenation or hydrogenation, including hydrogenolysis, of a hydrocarbon in the presence of one or more soluble fullerene catalysts which have been dissolved in the hydrocarbon (when the hydrocarbon is a liquid capable of dissolving the fullerene catalyst) or dissolved in a solvent which is also a solvent for the hydrocarbon (when the hydrocarbon either is not a liquid or is not a liquid which is a solvent for the fullerene catalyst). The use of a liquid catalyst, i.e., a dissolved fullerene catalyst, inhibits coking reactions to thereby inhibit formation of coke on a solid catalyst or catalyst support by elimination of nucleation points or growth regions for such coke formation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 1993
    Date of Patent: August 9, 1994
    Assignee: SRI International
    Inventors: Ripudaman Malhotra, Doris S. Tse, Donald F. McMillen
  • Patent number: 3970474
    Abstract: Method and apparatus for the pollution-free generation of electrical power from carbonaceous fuels in which molten lead is electrochemically oxidized to produce lead oxide and electricity in a single integrated cell in which the resulting lead oxide is simultaneously converted back to lead metal by carbothermic reduction with a carbonaceous fuel, the entire process being carried out in a single cell using a molten carbonate as electrolyte in a temperature range of 500.degree. to 900.degree. C. The entire cycle thus consumes only carbon and oxygen and produces electricity. It is found that by thus coupling the electrochemical cell and the thermochemical regeneration system, the resulting integrated carbon-lead-air cell will maintain a voltage well above that provided by a simple lead-air cell approaching that of a hypothetical carbon-air cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 1975
    Date of Patent: July 20, 1976
    Assignee: Stanford Research Institute
    Inventors: Michael Anbar, Donald F. McMillen, Robert D. Weaver, Paul J. Jorgensen