Patents by Inventor Laura Shannon Eddy

Laura Shannon Eddy 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: 7753969
    Abstract: A method of creating a multi-phase fuel wherein said fuel comprises a gas, a solid, a liquid solvent phase and an aqueous phase from animal waste comprising the combination of the animal waste, a solvent, and a water/alcohol solution into a fluid mixture, placing the mixture into a closed reactor, heating said reactor between about 245° C. and 385° C. for between about 5 and 70 minutes and cooling said resulting multi-phase fuel. The animal waste may be manure, mortalities, municipal waste, or chicken litter. The preferred solvent is petroleum with the preferred petroleum being diesel fuel. The final multi-phase fuel can be separated into four separate fuels: a solid fuel, an emulsified solid in the liquid solvent phase by blending the solid, the solvent and a surfactant, an aqueous phase, and the recovered liquid solvent phase. Petroleum is the preferred solvent and the separation may be any conventional means. The mixture preferably consists of 1 part by weight animal waste, about 1.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2010
    Assignee: West Virginia University
    Inventors: Alfred Herman Stiller, Laura Shannon Eddy
  • Publication number: 20080271363
    Abstract: A method of creating a multi-phase fuel wherein said fuel comprises a gas, a solid, a liquid solvent phase and an aqueous phase from animal waste comprising the combination of the animal waste, a solvent, and a water/alcohol solution into a fluid mixture, placing the mixture into a closed reactor, heating said reactor between about 245° C. and 385° C. for between about 5 and 70 minutes and cooling said resulting multi-phase fuel. The animal waste may be manure, mortalities, municipal waste, or chicken litter. The preferred solvent is petroleum with the preferred petroleum being diesel fuel. The final multi-phase fuel can be separated into four separate fuels: a solid fuel, an emulsified solid in the liquid solvent phase by blending the solid, the solvent and a surfactant, an aqueous phase, and the recovered liquid solvent phase. Petroleum is the preferred solvent and the separation may be any conventional means. The mixture preferably consists of 1 part by weight animal waste, about 1.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 2, 2008
    Publication date: November 6, 2008
    Inventors: Alfred Herman Stiller, Laura Shannon Eddy
  • Publication number: 20080209796
    Abstract: A method of converting agricultural waste to a fuel comprising adding about 5% to about 90% agricultural waste to about 10% to about 95% reaction solution of water and alcohol. The reaction solution ranges from about 100% alcohol to about 100% water. The reactants are subjected to a heat of about 230° C. to about 370° C. under a pressure of about atmospheric to about 3000 psig for three minutes or more. Another embodiment of the method of converting agricultural waste to a fuel further adds about 0.5% to about 15% of an oxidizing agent to the reactants. A further embodiment of the method of converting agricultural waste to a fuel adds about 10% to about 50% by weight of diesel fuel to the reactants.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 4, 2008
    Publication date: September 4, 2008
    Inventors: Alfred H. Stiller, Laura Shannon Eddy