Patents by Inventor Thomas Erik Loop

Thomas Erik Loop 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: 20240157316
    Abstract: The machinery and methods disclosed herein are based on the use of a specialized extruder configured to continuously convey and plasticize/moltenize selected lignocellulosic biomass and/or waste plastic materials into a novel variable volume tubular reactor, wherein the plasticized/moltenized material undergoes reaction with circumferentially injected supercritical water—thereby yielding valuable simple sugar solutions and/or liquid hydrocarbon mixtures (e.g., “neodiesel”), both of which are key chemical commodity products. The reaction time may be adjusted by changing the reactor volume. The machinery includes four zones: (1) a feedstock conveyance and plasticization/moltenization zone; (2) a steam generation and manifold distribution zone; (3) a central supercritical water reaction zone; and (4) a pressure let-down and reaction product separation zone.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 14, 2022
    Publication date: May 16, 2024
    Inventors: Thomas Erik Loop, James D. Flynn, G. Graham Allan
  • Patent number: 11498040
    Abstract: The machinery and methods disclosed herein are based on the use of a specialized extruder configured to continuously convey and plasticize/moltenize selected lignocellulosic biomass and/or waste plastic materials into a novel variable volume tubular reactor, wherein the plasticized/moltenized material undergoes reaction with circumferentially injected supercritical water—thereby yielding valuable simple sugar solutions and/or liquid hydrocarbon mixtures (e.g., “neodiesel”), both of which are key chemical commodity products. The reaction time may be adjusted by changing the reactor volume. The machinery includes four zones: (1) a feedstock conveyance and plasticization/moltenization zone; (2) a steam generation and manifold distribution zone; (3) a central supercritical water reaction zone; and (4) a pressure let-down and reaction product separation zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Inventors: Thomas Erik Loop, James D. Flynn, G. Graham Allan
  • Publication number: 20220023814
    Abstract: The machinery and methods disclosed herein are based on the use of a specialized extruder configured to continuously convey and plasticize/moltenize selected lignocellulosic biomass and/or waste plastic materials into a novel variable volume tubular reactor, wherein the plasticized/moltenized material undergoes reaction with circumferentially injected supercritical water—thereby yielding valuable simple sugar solutions and/or liquid hydrocarbon mixtures (e.g., “neodiesel”), both of which are key chemical commodity products. The reaction time may be adjusted by changing the reactor volume. The machinery includes four zones: (1) a feedstock conveyance and plasticization/moltenization zone; (2) a steam generation and manifold distribution zone; (3) a central supercritical water reaction zone; and (4) a pressure let-down and reaction product separation zone.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 5, 2021
    Publication date: January 27, 2022
    Applicant: Xtrudx Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas Erik Loop, James D. Flynn, G. Graham Allan
  • Patent number: 10967349
    Abstract: The machinery and methods disclosed herein are based on the use of a specialized extruder configured to continuously convey and plasticize/moltenize selected lignocellulosic biomass and/or waste plastic materials into a novel variable volume tubular reactor, wherein the plasticized/moltenized material undergoes reaction with circumferentially injected supercritical water—thereby yielding valuable simple sugar solutions and/or liquid hydrocarbon mixtures (e.g., “neodiesel”), both of which are key chemical commodity products. The reaction time may be adjusted by changing the reactor volume. The machinery includes four zones: (1) a feedstock conveyance and plasticization/moltenization zone; (2) a steam generation and manifold distribution zone; (3) a central supercritical water reaction zone; and (4) a pressure let-down and reaction product separation zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2021
    Inventors: Thomas Erik Loop, James D Flynn, G. Graham Allan
  • Publication number: 20210069732
    Abstract: A supercritical hydrocyclotron for transforming one or more selected polymeric materials into a plurality of reaction products via supercritical or near-supercritical water reaction that enable the rapid and economic conversion of solid biomass and/or waste plastic materials (i.e., organic materials) into smaller liquid and gaseous hydrocarbon molecules—smaller hydrocarbon molecules that, in turn, are useful as chemical feedstock materials including, for example, liquid transportation fuels and bio-adhesives. The innovative supercritical hydrocyclonic systems and related mobile units disclosed herein comprise, in combination, (1) a supercritical water (or near-supercritical water) treatment system for converting organic materials into smaller hydrocarbon molecules, and (2) a hydrocyclonic separation system for recovering the smaller hydrocarbon molecules from the combined water/hydrocarbon effluent.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 9, 2019
    Publication date: March 11, 2021
    Applicant: Xtrudx Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas Erik Loop, James D. Flynn, G. Graham Allan
  • Publication number: 20200078755
    Abstract: The machinery and methods disclosed herein are based on the use of a specialized extruder configured to continuously convey and plasticize/moltenize selected lignocellulosic biomass and/or waste plastic materials into a novel variable volume tubular reactor, wherein the plasticized/moltenized material undergoes reaction with circumferentially injected supercritical water—thereby yielding valuable simple sugar solutions and/or liquid hydrocarbon mixtures (e.g., “neodiesel”), both of which are key chemical commodity products. The reaction time may be adjusted by changing the reactor volume. The machinery includes four zones: (1) a feedstock conveyance and plasticization/moltenization zone; (2) a steam generation and manifold distribution zone; (3) a central supercritical water reaction zone; and (4) a pressure let-down and reaction product separation zone.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 25, 2019
    Publication date: March 12, 2020
    Applicant: Xtrustx Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas Erik Loop, James D. Flynn, G. Graham Allan