Patents by Inventor Michael L. Swanson

Michael L. Swanson 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).

  • Publication number: 20230151286
    Abstract: An ASG system for polygeneration with CC includes a devolatilizer that pyrolyzes solid fuel to produce char and gases. A burner adds exothermic heat by high-pressure sub-stoichiometric combustion, a mixing pot causes turbulent flow of the gases to heat received solid fuel, and a riser micronizes resulting friable char. A devolatilizer cyclone separates the micronized char by weight providing micronized char, steam and gases to a gasifier feed and oversized char to the mixing pot. An indirect fluid bed gasifier combustion loop includes a gasifier coupled to the gasifier feed, a steam input to provide oxygen for gasification and to facilitate sand-char separation, and an output for providing syngas. A burner provides POC to a mixing pot which provides hot sand with POC to a POC cyclone via a riser, where the POC cyclone separates sand and POC by weight and provides POC and sand for steam-carbon reaction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 16, 2023
    Publication date: May 18, 2023
    Applicants: Wormser Energy Solutions, Inc., Energy & Environmental Research Center Foundation
    Inventors: Douglas M. Todd, John Parkes, Scott G. Tolbert, Michael L. Swanson, Surya B. Reddy Karri, Teddy M. Knowlton
  • Patent number: 11572518
    Abstract: An ASG system for polygeneration with CC includes a devolatilizer that pyrolyzes solid fuel to produce char and gases. A burner adds exothermic heat by high-pressure sub-stoichiometric combustion, a mixing pot causes turbulent flow of the gases to heat received solid fuel, and a riser micronizes resulting friable char. A devolatilizer cyclone separates the micronized char by weight providing micronized char, steam and gases to a gasifier feed and oversized char to the mixing pot. An indirect fluid bed gasifier combustion loop includes a gasifier coupled to the gasifier feed, a steam input to provide oxygen for gasification and to facilitate sand-char separation, and an output for providing syngas. A burner provides POC to a mixing pot which provides hot sand with POC to a POC cyclone via a riser, where the POC cyclone separates sand and POC by weight and provides POC and sand for steam-carbon reaction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2023
    Assignees: Wormser Energy Solutions, Inc., Energy & Environmental Research Center Foundation
    Inventors: Douglas M. Todd, John Parkes, Scott G. Tolbert, Michael L. Swanson, Surya B. Reddy Karri, Teddy M. Knowlton
  • Publication number: 20210155860
    Abstract: An ASG system for polygeneration with CC includes a devolatilizer that pyrolyzes solid fuel to produce char and gases. A burner adds exothermic heat by high-pressure sub-stoichiometric combustion, a mixing pot causes turbulent flow of the gases to heat received solid fuel, and a riser micronizes resulting friable char. A devolatilizer cyclone separates the micronized char by weight providing micronized char, steam and gases to a gasifier feed and oversized char to the mixing pot. An indirect fluid bed gasifier combustion loop includes a gasifier coupled to the gasifier feed, a steam input to provide oxygen for gasification and to facilitate sand-char separation, and an output for providing syngas. A burner provides POC to a mixing pot which provides hot sand with POC to a POC cyclone via a riser, where the POC cyclone separates sand and POC by weight and provides POC and sand for steam-carbon reaction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 24, 2020
    Publication date: May 27, 2021
    Applicants: Wormser Energy Solutions, Inc., Energy & Environmental Research Center Foundation
    Inventors: Douglas M. Todd, John Parkes, Scott G. Tolbert, Michael L. Swanson, Surya B. Reddy Karri, Teddy M. Knowlton
  • Patent number: 9630840
    Abstract: Various embodiments disclosed relate to cooling shale gas via reaction of methane, light hydrocarbons, or a combination thereof, with water. In various embodiments, the present invention provides a method of cooling syngas. The method includes contacting the hot syngas with methane or light hydrocarbons. The hot syngas includes water and has a temperature of about 800° C. to about 3000° C. The contacting is effective to endothermically react the methane or light hydrocarbons with the water in the hot syngas to form carbon monoxide and hydrogen and to provide a cooled syngas having a lower temperature than the hot syngas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2017
    Assignee: Energy & Environmental Research Center Foundation
    Inventors: Joshua J. Stanislowski, Michael J. Holmes, Michael L. Swanson
  • Publication number: 20160368766
    Abstract: Various embodiments disclosed relate to cooling shale gas via reaction of methane, light hydrocarbons, or a combination thereof, with water. In various embodiments, the present invention provides a method of cooling syngas. The method includes contacting the hot syngas with methane or light hydrocarbons. The hot syngas includes water and has a temperature of about 800° C. to about 3000° C. The contacting is effective to endothermically react the methane or light hydrocarbons with the water in the hot syngas to form carbon monoxide and hydrogen and to provide a cooled syngas having a lower temperature than the hot syngas.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 17, 2016
    Publication date: December 22, 2016
    Inventors: Joshua J. Stanislowski, Michael J. Holmes, Michael L. Swanson
  • Publication number: 20100038325
    Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for improving water quality using a gasification system. Whereas water is normally a deterrent to the combustion process, water is beneficial to the gasification of carbonaceous materials. The method and apparatus uses this, and other aspects, to utilize several processes to improve water quality by means of gasification in new and beneficial ways.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 19, 2007
    Publication date: February 18, 2010
    Inventors: Steven Benson, Daniel J. Stepan, Richard Shockey, Nikhil Patel, Michael L. Swanson, Michael J. Holmes, Jaroslav Solc, Carsten Heide
  • Patent number: 6112183
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for processing health care transactions through a common interface in a distributed computing environment using specialized remote procedure calls. The distributed computing environment includes a user interface tier for collecting user inputs and presenting transaction outputs, a data access tier for data storage and retrieval of health care transaction information, a transaction logic tier for applying a predetermined set of transaction procedures to user inputs and health care transaction information resulting in transaction output, an electronic network connecting the user interface tier, data access tier and transaction logic tier to each other and a communication interface for exchanging health care transaction information among the tiers. The communication interface includes an interface definition language generating transaction-specific communication codes whereby data is exchanged through a common interface structure regardless of the origin of the data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2000
    Assignee: United Healthcare Corporation
    Inventors: Michael L. Swanson, Denise Probst, Paul M. Roberts, Lori A. Katainen, Roberta J. Pett, Mark W. Gladding