Patents by Inventor Ken N. Brewer

Ken N. Brewer 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).

  • Solvent for the simultaneous recovery of radionuclides from liquid radioactive wastes
    Patent number: 6468445
    Abstract: The present invention relates to solvents, and methods, for selectively extracting and recovering radionuclides, especially cesium and strontium, rare earths and actinides from liquid radioactive wastes. More specifically, the invention relates to extracting agent solvent compositions comprising complex organoboron compounds, substituted polyethylene glycols, and neutral organophosphorus compounds in a diluent. The preferred solvent comprises a chlorinated cobalt dicarbollide, diphenyl-dibutylmethylenecarbamoylphosphine oxide, PEG-400, and a diluent of phenylpolyfluoroalkyl sulfone. The invention also provides a method of using the invention extracting agents to recover cesium, strontium, rare earths and actinides from liquid radioactive waste.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2002
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
    Inventors: Valeriy Nicholiavich Romanovskiy, Igor V. Smirnov, Vasiliy A. Babain, Terry A. Todd, Ken N. Brewer
  • Novel solvent for the simultaneous recovery of radionuclides from liquid radioactive wastes
    Publication number: 20010033814
    Abstract: The present invention relates to solvents, and methods, for selectively extracting and recovering radionuclides, especially cesium and strontium, rare earths and actinides from liquid radioactive wastes. More specifically, the invention relates to extracting agent solvent compositions comprising complex organoboron compounds, substituted polyethylene glycols, and neutral organophosphorus compounds in a diluent. The preferred solvent comprises a chlorinated cobalt dicarbollide, diphenyl-dibutylmethylenecarbamoylphosphine oxide, PEG-400, and a diluent of phenylpolyfluoroalkyl sulfone. The invention also provides a method of using the invention extracting agents to recover cesium, strontium, rare earths and actinides from liquid radioactive waste.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 27, 2001
    Publication date: October 25, 2001
    Inventors: Valeriy Nicholiavich Romanovskiy, Igor V. Smirnov, Vasiliy A. Babain, Terry A. Todd, Ken N. Brewer
  • Extraction processes and solvents for recovery of cesium, strontium, rare earth elements, technetium and actinides from liquid radioactive waste
    Patent number: 6270737
    Abstract: Cesium and strontium are extracted from aqueous acidic radioactive waste containing rare earth elements, technetium and actinides, by contacting the waste with a composition of a complex organoboron compound and polyethylene glycol in an organofluorine diluent mixture. In a preferred embodiment the complex organoboron compound is chlorinated cobalt dicarbollide, the polyethylene glycol has the formula RC6H4(OCH2CH2)nOH, and the organofluorine diluent is a mixture of bis-tetrafluoropropyl ether of diethylene glycol with at least one of bis-tetrafluoropropyl ether of ethylene glycol and bis-tetrafluoropropyl formal. The rare earths, technetium and the actinides (especially uranium, plutonium and americium), are extracted from the aqueous phase using a phosphine oxide in a hydrocarbon diluent, and reextracted from the resulting organic phase into an aqueous phase by using a suitable strip reagent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2001
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
    Inventors: Boris N. Zaitsev, Vyacheslav M. Esimantovskiy, Leonard N. Lazarev, Evgeniy G. Dzekun, Valeriy N. Romanovskiy, Terry A. Todd, Ken N. Brewer, Ronald S. Herbst, Jack D. Law
  • Method for the simultaneous recovery of radionuclides from liquid radioactive wastes using a solvent
    Patent number: 6258333
    Abstract: The present invention relates to solvents, and methods, for selectively extracting and recovering radionuclides, especially cesium and strontium, rare earths and actinides from liquid radioactive wastes. More specifically, the invention relates to extracting agent solvent compositions comprising complex organoboron compounds, substituted polyethylene glycols, and neutral organophosphorus compounds in a diluent. The preferred solvent comprises a chlorinated cobalt dicarbollide, diphenyl-dibutylmethylenecarbamoylphosphine oxide, PEG-400, and a diluent of phenylpolyfluoroalkyl sulfone. The invention also provides a method of using the invention extracting agents to recover cesium, strontium, rare earths and actinides from liquid radioactive waste.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2001
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
    Inventors: Valeriy Nicholiavich Romanovskiy, Igor V. Smirnov, Vasiliy A. Babain, Terry A. Todd, Ken N. Brewer
  • Hepa filter dissolution process
    Patent number: 5288434
    Abstract: A process for dissolution of spent high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters and then combining the complexed filter solution with other radioactive wastes prior to calcining the mixed and blended waste feed. The process is an alternate to a prior method of acid leaching the spent filters which is an inefficient method of treating spent HEPA filters for disposal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 1992
    Date of Patent: February 22, 1994
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
    Inventors: Ken N. Brewer, James A. Murphy