Abstract: Extracting lipids from a feedstock includes contacting a feedstock including water, lipids, and solid organic matter with an organic solvent to yield a mixture; separating the mixture to yield a solid and a liquid; and desolventizing the solid to yield a solid product and a fluid product. The organic solvent may include a polar organic solvent, a non-polar organic solvent, or a combination thereof. The lipids in the mixture are in the liquid state. The solid product has a lipids content of 20 wt % or less. In some cases, the number-weighted particle size distribution of the solid organic matter has a mean dimension of 1 mm or less, the lipids content of the feedstock is at least 20 wt %, the water content of the feedstock is 10 wt % or less or 5 wt % or less, or a combination thereof.

Abstract: Extracting lipids from a feedstock includes contacting a feedstock including water, lipids, and solid organic matter with an organic solvent to yield a mixture; separating the mixture to yield a solid and a liquid; and desolventizing the solid to yield a solid product and a fluid product. The lipids in the mixture are in the liquid state. The solid product has a lipids content of 20 wt % or less. In some cases, the number-weighted particle size distribution of the solid organic matter has a mean dimension of 1 mm or less, the lipids content of the feedstock is at least 20 wt %, the water content of the feedstock is 10 wt % or less, or a combination thereof.

Abstract: Extracting lipids from a feedstock includes contacting a feedstock including water, lipids, and solid organic matter with an organic solvent to yield a mixture; separating the mixture to yield a solid and a liquid; and desolventizing the solid to yield a solid product and a fluid product. The organic solvent may include a polar organic solvent, a non-polar organic solvent, or a combination thereof. The lipids in the mixture are in the liquid state. The solid product has a lipids content of 20 wt % or less. In some cases, the number-weighted particle size distribution of the solid organic matter has a mean dimension of 1 mm or less, the lipids content of the feedstock is at least 20 wt %, the water content of the feedstock is 10 wt % or less or 5 wt % or less, or a combination thereof.

Abstract: Extracting lipids from a feedstock includes contacting a feedstock including water, lipids, and solid organic matter with an organic solvent to yield a mixture; separating the mixture to yield a solid and a liquid; and desolventizing the solid to yield a solid product and a fluid product. The lipids in the mixture are in the liquid state. The solid product has a lipids content of 20 wt % or less. In some cases, the number-weighted particle size distribution of the solid organic matter has a mean dimension of 1 mm or less, the lipids content of the feedstock is at least 20 wt %, the water content of the feedstock is 10 wt % or less, or a combination thereof.

Abstract: Large, high quality diffraction gratings having carefully formed blazing angles and defect free reflective surfaces can be fabricated on specially oriented substrates using photolithographic or micromachining techniques. By selecting a single crystal substrate whose surface is at a known angle with respect to certain crystallographic planes of the substrate, anisotropic etching of the substrate can achieve diffraction grating grooves with reflective surfaces corresponding to the to specific crystallographic planes. The angle between the surface of the substrate and the specific crystallographic planes determines the blazing angle of the diffraction grating. Thus, large, high quality diffraction gratings can be fabricated for use in, for example, laser systems, or for use as master gratings in the manufacture of replica gratings.

Abstract: A process for preparing a nutritional supplement includes the steps of mixing animal blood solids, hydrolized poultry feathers and animal offal to create a mixture, adding protease enzyme to the mixture (20), digesting the mixture with protease enzyme (28) and drying the digested mixture (38) in order to reduce the moisture content thereof down to 5-8 weight percent. During processing, the digested mixture is never exposed to temperatures above approximately 83° C. so that the blood and offal are not degraded or denatured and remain intact so as to provide full nutritional benefit.

Abstract: A combined spray and rotary drying apparatus includes a spray dryer having a housing defining a spray drying chamber, an annular inlet and an outlet. A burner and atomizer sprayer are provided in the spray drying chamber. The outlet of the spray drying chamber feeds into a rotary drying drum. A raw material feed chute is also provided for feeding raw material of relatively low moisture content directly to the rotary dryer. Methods of drying a raw material and of processing raw animal parts are also disclosed.

Abstract: A combined spray and rotary drying apparatus includes a spray dryer having a housing defining a spray drying chamber, an annular inlet and an outlet. A burner and atomizer sprayer are provided in the spray drying chamber. The outlet of the spray drying chamber feeds into a rotary drying drum. A raw material feed chute is also provided for feeding raw material of relatively low moisture content directly to the rotary dryer. Methods of drying a raw material and of processing raw animal parts are also disclosed.

Abstract: The present invention is an apparatus for calibrating a temperature feedback value in a water processing chamber to automatically compensate for variations in infrared emissions from a heated semiconductor wafer due to variations in composition and coatings from wafer to wafer. A calibration wafer with an imbedded thermocouple is used to generate a table relating actual wafer temperatures to power supplied to the heating chamber and infrared emissions detected by a pyrometer. A sample wafer of a batch to be processed is subsequently placed in the chamber at a known power level, and any difference between the detected infrared emission value and the value in the table is used to adjust the entire table according to a first predetermined formula or table. Before each wafer is processed, a known source of infrared light is reflected off the wafer and detected. The reflected light value is compared to a reflection measurement for the sample wafer.

Abstract: The present invention is a method and apparatus for calibrating a temperature feedback value in a wafer processing chamber to automatically compensate for variations in infrared emissions from a heated semiconductor wafer due to variations in composition and coatings from wafer to wafer. A calibration wafer with an imbedded thermocouple is used to generate a table relating actual wafer temperatures to power supplied to the heating chamber and infrared emissions detected by a pyrometer. A sample wafer of a batch to be processed is subsequently placed in the chamber at a known power level, and any difference between the detected infrared emission value and the value in the table is used to adjust the entire table according to a first predetermined formula or table. Before each wafer is processed, a known source of infrared light is reflected off the wafer and detected. The reflected light value is compared to a reflection measurement for the sample wafer.

Abstract: A semiconductor wafer heating chamber has an optical element between a light source and a wafer for redistributing the light from the light source. The optical element is constructed in such a manner as to produce the desired illumination (and thus heating) pattern on the semiconductor wafer from the light source. Preferably, the light source is a long-arc lamp mounted above a base plate of a heating chamber. A primary reflector is mounted above the long-arc lamp and is shaped to produce a substantially uniform light distribution on the base plate. A quartz window is mounted between the arc lamp and the base plate. The quartz window acts as a lens to redistribute the light from the lamp and the reflector on a wafer. The window can be constructed as a diffraction grating with a series of lines formed by etching into the window or depositing material on the window to produce a diffraction pattern which gives the desired illumination pattern on the wafer.

Abstract: A transparent, electrically conductive film of tin oxide is formed on the inner surface of tubing or blown glassware by dispensing therein a solution containing tin chloride and hydrofluoric acid. The solution is dispensed while the glassware is being formed and while the glass is in a softened state.