Patents by Inventor Timothy Charles R. Brennan

Timothy Charles R. Brennan 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).

  • Recovery of sugars from ionic liquid biomass liquor by solvent extraction
    Patent number: 9157130
    Abstract: The present invention provides for a composition comprising a solution comprising (a) an ionic liquid (IL) or ionic liquid-aqueous (ILA) phase and (b) an organic phase, wherein the solution comprises a sugar and a boronic acid. The present invention also provides for a method of removing a sugar from a solution, comprising: (a) providing a solution comprising (i) an IL or ILA phase and (ii) an organic phase, wherein the solution comprises an IL, a sugar and a boronic acid; (b) contacting the sugar with the boronic acid to form a sugar-boronic acid complex, (c) separating the organic phase and the aqueous phase, wherein the organic phase contains the sugar-boronic acid complex, and optionally (d) separating the sugar from the organic phase.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2015
    Assignees: Sandia Corporation, The Regents of the University of California
    Inventors: Timothy Charles R. Brennan, Bradley M. Holmes, Blake A. Simmons, Harvey W. Blanch
  • Recovery of sugars from ionic liquid biomass liquor by solvent extraction
    Publication number: 20120315695
    Abstract: The present invention provides for a composition comprising a solution comprising (a) an ionic liquid (IL) or ionic liquid-aqueous (ILA) phase and (b) an organic phase, wherein the solution comprises a sugar and a boronic acid. The present invention also provides for a method of removing a sugar from a solution, comprising: (a) providing a solution comprising (i) an IL or ILA phase and (ii) an organic phase, wherein the solution comprises an IL, a sugar and a boronic acid; (b) contacting the sugar with the boronic acid to form a sugar-boronic acid complex, (c) separating the organic phase and the aqueous phase, wherein the organic phase contains the sugar-boronic acid complex, and optionally (d) separating the sugar from the organic phase.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2012
    Publication date: December 13, 2012
    Applicants: SANDIA CORPORATION, THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
    Inventors: Timothy Charles R. Brennan, Bradley M. Holmes, Blake A. Simmons, Harvey W. Blanch
  • Novel method of acid hydrolysis of biomass and the recovery of sugars thereof by solvent extraction
    Publication number: 20120301948
    Abstract: The present invention provides for a method of hydrolyzing a cellulose, hemicellulose, or ligno-cellulose comprising: (a) contacting (i) an ionic liquid (IL) or ionic liquid-aqueous (ILA) phase comprising cellulose, hemicellulose, or ligno-cellulose, or a mixture thereof, and (ii) an acid, such that the cellulose, hemicellulose, or ligno-cellulose is hydrolyzed into sugar, and (b) optionally adding water to the IL or ILA phase wherein the proportion of water in the IL or ILA phase does not exceed about 60% by weight. The present invention also provides for a method of recovering a sugar comprising contacting an IL or ILA phase and an organic phase comprising an organic acid.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2012
    Publication date: November 29, 2012
    Applicants: SANDIA CORPORATION, THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
    Inventors: Timothy Charles R. Brennan, Bradley M. Holmes, Blake A. Simmons, Harvey W. Blanch