Patents by Inventor Gregory D. Botsaris

Gregory D. Botsaris 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: 5966966
    Abstract: A freeze concentration method separates the nucleation and the growth processes at least to the extent necessary to enable nucleation and crystal growth to occur at different temperatures. Nucleation, however, is triggered by a sonicator, i.e., ultrasonic radiation. This provides excellent control of the process since the variables of the input sonic energy are adjusted easily. Most importantly, the use of ultrasound permits nucleation at low supercooling. The consequences of this are: an inexpensive plain--as opposed to the more complex and expensive scraped-surface--heat exchanger can be used since the coolant temperature is only slightly lower than that of the solution, preventing ice scaling in the heat exchanger; the higher coolant temperature leads to savings also in the operation costs. In addition ultrasonic nucleators are easily scaled-up to treating the large-volume effluents from industrial plants. The only way to scale-up scraped-surface nucleators is by using multiple nucleators in parallel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 19, 1999
    Assignee: Trustees of Tufts College
    Inventors: Gregory D. Botsaris, Ru-Ying Qian