Patents by Inventor Hans J. Woerner

Hans J. Woerner 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: 9926206
    Abstract: An improved method for treating manganese-containing materials, such as seafloor manganese nodules, by leaching with aqueous HNO3 and NO gas, and more particularly to methods for recovering valuable constituents from such nodules, especially manganese, cobalt, nickel, iron, and copper. It also provides a method to leach manganese material to release the titanium, vanadium, cerium, molybdenum and other metals from the manganese oxides and to make them available to be recovered.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2018
    Assignee: DEEPGREEN ENGINEERING, PTE. LTD.
    Inventors: William F. Drinkard, Hans J. Woerner, William M. Nixon
  • Publication number: 20160280561
    Abstract: An improved method for treating manganese-containing materials, such as seafloor manganese nodules, by leaching with aqueous HNO3 and NO gas, and more particularly to methods for recovering valuable constituents from such nodules, especially manganese, cobalt, nickel, iron, and copper. It also provides a method to leach manganese material to release the titanium, vanadium, cerium, molybdenum and other metals from the manganese oxides and to make them available to be recovered.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 24, 2014
    Publication date: September 29, 2016
    Inventors: William F. Drinkard, Hans J. Woerner, William M. Nixon
  • Patent number: 9328400
    Abstract: An improved method for treating manganese-containing materials, such as seafloor manganese nodules, by leaching such materials with aqueous HNO3 and polymerized nitric oxide (N2O3)x, and more particularly to methods for recovering valuable constituents from such nodules, especially manganese, cobalt, nickel, iron, and copper. It also provides a method to leach manganese-containing material to release any titanium, vanadium, cerium, molybdenum and other metals from the manganese oxides and to make them available to be recovered, as well as providing a method of producing a fertilizer grade nitrate product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2016
    Assignee: DEEPGREEN ENGINEERING, PTE. LTD.
    Inventors: William F. Drinkard, Hans J. Woerner, William M. Nixon
  • Patent number: 9284627
    Abstract: An improved method for treating manganese-containing materials, such as nodules recovered by undersea mining, including reacting the materials with ammonia, and leaching with a mineral acid, and to methods for recovering valuable constituents from such nodules, especially manganese, cobalt, nickel, iron, copper, titanium, vanadium, cerium, and molybdenum. A method for the production of nitrate products is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2016
    Assignee: DEEPGREEN ENGINEERING, PTE. LTD.
    Inventors: William F. Drinkard, Hans J. Woerner, William M. Nixon
  • Publication number: 20150368120
    Abstract: An improved method for treating manganese-containing materials, such as seafloor manganese nodules, by leaching with aqueous HNO3 and NO gas, and more particularly to methods for recovering valuable constituents from such nodules, especially manganese, cobalt, nickel, iron, and copper. It also provides a method to leach manganese material to release the titanium, vanadium, cerium, molybdenum and other metals from the manganese oxides and to make them available to be recovered.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 24, 2014
    Publication date: December 24, 2015
    Inventors: William F. Drinkard, Hans J. Woerner, William M. Nixon
  • Publication number: 20150218672
    Abstract: An improved method for treating manganese-containing materials, such as nodules recovered by undersea mining, including reacting the materials with ammonia, and leaching with a mineral acid, and to methods for recovering valuable constituents from such nodules, especially manganese, cobalt, nickel, iron, copper, titanium, vanadium, cerium, and molybdenum. A method for the production of nitrate products is also disclosed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 18, 2013
    Publication date: August 6, 2015
    Inventors: William F. Drinkard, Hans J. Woerner, William M. Nixon
  • Publication number: 20150152524
    Abstract: An improved method for treating manganese-containing materials, such as seafloor manganese nodules, by leaching such materials with aqueous HNO3 and polymerized nitric oxide (N2O3)x, and more particularly to methods for recovering valuable constituents from such nodules, especially manganese, cobalt, nickel, iron, and copper. It also provides a method to leach manganese-containing material to release any titanium, vanadium, cerium, molybdenum and other metals from the manganese oxides and to make them available to be recovered, as well as providing a method of producing a fertilizer grade nitrate product.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 6, 2013
    Publication date: June 4, 2015
    Applicant: DEEPGREEN ENGINEERING PTE. LTD.
    Inventors: William F. Drinkard, Hans J, Woerner, William M. Nixon
  • Patent number: 8814980
    Abstract: An improved method for processing of nickel-bearing ores, particularly saprolite and limonite, to recover the valuable minerals contained therein, comprising leaching the ore with nitric acid to form a slurry; separating the iron values by precipitation, removing the iron values; forming a liquid/solid residue in which nickel, cobalt and magnesium are in solution, and manganese and aluminum, when present, are solid residues in oxide form; conducting a liquid-solid separation and removing the solids; and recovering the nickel, cobalt, and manganese from the liquid-metal concentrate. The leachate is recovered and nitric acid from the leachate is recycled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2014
    Assignee: Drinkard Metalox, Inc
    Inventors: William F. Drinkard, Jr., Hans J. Woerner
  • Publication number: 20120073407
    Abstract: An improved method for processing of nickel-bearing ores, particularly saprolite and limonite, to recover the valuable minerals contained therein, comprising leaching the ore with nitric acid to form a slurry; separating the iron values by precipitation, removing the iron values; forming a liquid/solid residue in which nickel, cobalt and magnesium are in solution, and manganese and aluminum, when present, are solid residues in oxide form; conducting a liquid-solid separation and removing the solids; and recovering the nickel, cobalt, and manganese from the liquid-metal concentrate. The leachate is recovered and nitric acid from the leachate is recycled.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2011
    Publication date: March 29, 2012
    Inventors: William F. Drinkard, JR., Hans J. Woerner
  • Patent number: 8038767
    Abstract: An improved method for processing of nickel bearing saprolite and limonite ores to recover the valuable minerals contained therein, comprising leaching the ore with nitric acid to form a slurry; separating the iron values by precipitation, removing the iron values; forming a liquid/solid residue in which nickel, cobalt and magnesium are in solution, and manganese and aluminum are solid residues in oxide form; conducting a liquid-solid separation and removing the solids; and recovering the nickel, cobalt, and manganese from the liquid-metal concentrate. The leachate is recovered and nitric acid from the leachate is recycled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2011
    Assignee: Drinkard Metalox, Inc.
    Inventors: William F. Drinkard, Jr., Hans J. Woerner
  • Publication number: 20100126313
    Abstract: An improved method for processing of nickel bearing saprolite and limonite ores to recover the valuable minerals contained therein, comprising leaching the ore with nitric acid to form a slurry; separating the iron values by precipitation, removing the iron values; forming a liquid/solid residue in which nickel, cobalt and magnesium are in solution, and manganese and aluminum are solid residues in oxide form; conducting a liquid-solid separation and removing the solids; and recovering the nickel, cobalt, and manganese from the liquid-metal concentrate. The leachate is recovered and nitric acid from the leachate is recycled.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 1, 2008
    Publication date: May 27, 2010
    Inventors: William F. Drinkarc, JR., Hans J. Woerner
  • Patent number: 5980842
    Abstract: A method of separating calcium from mixtures of metal oxides, sulfides, nitrates and carbonates. Particulate calcium containing mixtures are leached with nitric acid to form calcium nitrate and metal nitrates, which are heated to dryness and to form metal oxides, while not affecting the calcium nitrate. The resulting mixture is then leached with water to obtain a calcium nitrate containing leachate and a residue of low solubility metal oxides and insoluble metal oxides. If desired, the calcium nitrate can be decomposed to form a lime product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 9, 1999
    Assignee: Drinkard Metalox, Inc.
    Inventors: William F. Drinkard, Jr., Hans J. Woerner
  • Patent number: 5912402
    Abstract: A treatment of metallurgical dust and recovery of valuable chemical commodities, comprising the steps of: leaching salts from the dust with water to create a washed EAF dust; reacting the washed EAF dust in a nitric acid solution resulting in a nearly complete dissolution of the zinc, cadmium, copper, magnesium, calcium, manganese and lead from a filtrate; removing iron from the filtrate by raising pH in the system with basic zinc carbonate; removing cadmium, copper and lead in an electrolytic cell, where copper and cadmium are collected at the cathode, and lead is collected at the anode; evaporating and decomposing the filtrate to obtain metal oxides and anhydrous calcium nitrate; leaching the solid residue with water to separate calcium nitrate in a marketable form; removing the zinc from the magnesium and manganese by leaching the residue with an amine solution; stripping the filtrate of ammonium carbonate to yield zinc precipitated as a zinc oxycarbonate; dividing the zinc oxycarbonate into a first stream
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 29, 1996
    Date of Patent: June 15, 1999
    Assignee: Drinkard Metalox, Inc.
    Inventors: William F. Drinkard, Jr., Hans J. Woerner
  • Patent number: 5026530
    Abstract: A method of preparing copper arsenate compositions having unique advantges in lower cost and higher performance for use in preparing chromated copper arsenate wood preserving formulations. These copper arsenate compositions are insoluble copper arsenate in water or as a dry reactive powder, have a mol ratio of As.sub.2 O.sub.5 to CuO of 1:4, and is readily soluble in chromic acid to form CCA wood preservatives. This copper arsenate is prepared by reacting suitable copper-bearing materials with arsenic trioxide and air or oxygen in ammoniacal solutions. Either or both of the starting raw materials, i.e., the copper and the arsenic, may be very impure, which impure materials were heretofore unsuitable for the production of copper arsenate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 1990
    Date of Patent: June 25, 1991
    Assignee: Drinkard Developments
    Inventors: William F. Drinkard, Jr., Hans J. Woerner