Patents by Inventor Gary D. Focht

Gary D. Focht 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: 6352725
    Abstract: The process involves (a) continuously forming bromine chloride from separate feed streams of bromine and chlorine by maintaining said streams under automatic feed rate control whereby the streams are continuously proportioned to come together in equimolar amounts to form bromine chloride; (b) continuously forming an aqueous product having an active bromine content of at least 100,000 ppm (wt/wt), a pH of at least 7, and an atom ratio of nitrogen to active bromine greater than 0.93:1 by continuously feeding into mixing apparatus separate feed streams of (1) bromine chloride formed in (a), and (2) an aqueous solution of alkali metal salt of sulfamic acid, under automatic feed rate control whereby the feed streams are continuously proportioned to come together in amounts that produce an aqueous product having an active bromine content of at least 100,000 ppm (wt/wt), a pH of at least 7, and an atom ratio of nitrogen to active bromine from (1) and (2) greater than 0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2002
    Assignee: Albemarle Corporation
    Inventors: James E. Torres, Robert M. Moore, Jr., R. Woodrow Wilson, Jr., Gary D. Focht
  • Patent number: 6348219
    Abstract: The process involves (a) continuously forming bromine chloride from separate feed streams of bromine and chlorine by maintaining said streams under automatic feed rate control whereby the streams are continuously proportioned to come together to form bromine chloride; (b) continuously forming an aqueous product having an active bromine content of at least 100,000 ppm (wt/wt), a pH of at least 7, and an atom ratio of nitrogen to active bromine greater than 0.93:1 by continuously or intermittently feeding into mixing apparatus separate feed streams of (1) bromine chloride formed in (a), and (2) an aqueous solution of alkali metal salt of sulfamic acid, under automatic feed rate control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2002
    Assignee: Albemarle Corporation
    Inventors: James E. Torres, Robert M. Moore, Jr., R. Woodrow Wilson, Jr., Gary D. Focht
  • Patent number: 6271417
    Abstract: Meta-bromination with suppression of para-bromination is achieved by forming a reaction mixture comprised of (i) bromine chloride, (ii) a bromination catalyst, and (iii) a benzoyl halide, and maintaining the temperature of the resultant reaction mixture at one or more temperatures above 0° C., but not greater than 30° C. The bromine chloride is preferably formed in situ, most preferably by sparging gaseous chlorine into a mixture of bromine, finely-divided iron, and benzoyl chloride.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2001
    Assignee: Albemarble Corporation
    Inventors: Gary D. Focht, W. Dirk Klobucar
  • Patent number: 6096920
    Abstract: Palladium-catalyzed arylation of an olefin (e.g., ethylene) with an aromatic halide (e.g., 2-bromo-6-methoxynaphthalene, m-bromobenzophenone, or 4-isobutyl-1-bromobenzene) is conducted in specified media. After a special acid or base phase separation procedure, palladium-catalyzed carbonylation of the olefinically-substituted aromatic intermediate is conducted in specified media using CO and water or an alcohol to form arylalkylcarboxylic acid or ester or substituted arylalkylcarboxylic acid or ester (e.g., racemic 2-(6-methoxy-2-naphthyl)propionic acid, 2-(3-benzoylphenyl)propionic acid, or 2-(4-isobutylphenyl)propionic acid). Catalyst recovery procedures enabling recycle of catalyst residues and efficient recovery of amine hydrogen halide scavenger and solvent used in the arylation reaction are described, as well as novel, highly efficient methods of conducting the carbonylation reaction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2000
    Assignee: Albemarle Corporation
    Inventors: Robert H. Allen, R. Carl Herndon, Jr., Kannappan C. Chockalingam, W. Dirk Klobucar, Gary D. Focht, Tse-Chong Wu, Gary D. Heidebrecht, Joseph D. McLean, Yaping Zhong, Thorsten W. Brockmann, Ronny W. Lin, William J. Layman, Jr., Ranjit K. Roy
  • Patent number: 6080888
    Abstract: Arylolefinic compounds are prepared by reacting aryl halide with an olefinic compound in the presence of a polar liquid reaction medium containing (a) secondary or tertiary amine as a hydrogen halide acceptor (b) a catalyst system formed from (i) Pd or Pd(0) compound, and/or Pd(I) salt or Pd(II) salt, and (ii) a tertiary phosphine ligand, and (c) a reaction accelerating amount of water in the range of about 0.5 to about 5 weight percent of the total weight of the reaction mixture. The arylolefinic compounds can be converted to an arylcarboxylic acid by hydrocarboxylation with CO in a reaction medium freed of amine and containing water and a Pd catalyst system as above in which a copper component may be included, and which preferably includes an ether such as THF.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 1997
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2000
    Assignee: Albemarle Corporation
    Inventors: Tse-Chong Wu, Kannappan C. Chockalingham, W. Dirk Klobucar, Gary D. Focht
  • Patent number: 5420369
    Abstract: The co-formation of diarylalkane by-product in the chloroalkylation of an aromatic compound with an aldehyde is minimized by conducting the reaction in a continuous manner in a concentration with agitation and in the presence of both hydrogen sulfate and hydrogen chloride.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 1994
    Date of Patent: May 30, 1995
    Assignee: Albemarle Corporation
    Inventors: R. Carl Herndon, Jr., Gary D. Focht, Karl R. Jones
  • Patent number: 5278331
    Abstract: An improvement in the process for making a dialkyl phosphorochloridothioate from P.sub.2 S.sub.5, alkyl alcohol and chlorine in which the desired product is separated from the reaction mixture by distillation, leaving an unstable, acidic residue, wherein the residue is stabilized and neutralized by reaction with an organic base, thereby enhancing the value of the residue while avoiding potential environmental damage caused by disposal of the residue.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 1990
    Date of Patent: January 11, 1994
    Assignee: Ethyl Corporation
    Inventors: Charles T. Bounds, Gary D. Focht, W. Brian Harrod