Patents by Inventor Jonathan K. Ma

Jonathan K. Ma 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: 5573738
    Abstract: Soil, contaminated with radioactive material such as uranium, is treated to remove the radioactive contaminant. The soil is first pre-processed to remove and clean oversized particles for release back to the environment as recovered soil. Pre-processing also includes removal of metallic uranium from the soil by gravimetric separation for off-site disposal. An aqueous slurry is formed from the pre-processed feed which is fed to a mechanical separation device. Particles greater than 10 mesh are crushed to provide a uniform feed slurry. The slurry is processed in an aqueous leaching solution of sulfuric acid, hydrogen peroxide and iron to remove uranium. Particulate matter is removed from the acidic slurry; the remaining fine particulate matter is then submitted to a second-stage leaching to remove residual uranium. Uranium is recovered from the combined leaching solutions by either a two-stage precipitation process or by passage over an ion-exchange material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 1994
    Date of Patent: November 12, 1996
    Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation
    Inventors: Jonathan K. Ma, Andrea W. Chow, Scott A. Ranger, David W. Peters, Ronald F. May