Patents by Inventor Travis A Liggett

Travis A Liggett 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).

  • Algae bioreactor using submerged enclosures with semi-permeable membranes
    Patent number: 8409845
    Abstract: Methods for producing hydrocarbons, including oil, by processing algae and/or other micro-organisms in an aquatic environment. Flexible bags (e.g., plastic) with CO2/O2 exchange membranes, suspended at a controllable depth in a first liquid (e.g., seawater), receive a second liquid (e.g., liquid effluent from a “dead zone”) containing seeds for algae growth. The algae are cultivated and harvested in the bags, after most of the second liquid is removed by forward osmosis through liquid exchange membranes. The algae are removed and processed, and the bags are cleaned and reused.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2013
    Assignee: The United States of America as Represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA)
    Inventors: Jonathan D Trent, Sherwin J Gormly, Tsegereda N Embaye, Lance D Delzeit, Michael T Flynn, Travis A Liggett, Patrick W Buckwalter, Robert Baertsch