| Patent application number | Description | Published |
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| 20100081014 | Microbial Fuel Cell Power Systems - The present invention provides a microbial fuel cell power system based on a microbe-based fuel cell such as a benthic microbial fuel cell (BMFCs). In accordance with the present invention, one or more BMFCs can be connected to one or more batteries such as a nickel metal hybrid (NiMH) or sealed lead acid (SLA) battery and can be used to charge the batteries for long-term persistent underwater use. At any time, some of the connected batteries are being charged by the BMFC, while the others are being used to power a connected device. By using electrically isolated fuel cell converters, the batteries can be charged while in circuit. With non-isolated converters, pairs of batteries can be switched between offline charging and online discharging. The battery system can be controlled by a control system that comprises a microcontroller that periodically measures system voltages and currents, swaps the batteries being charged, and records the system results for post-mission analysis. The batteries can be connected to an underwater monitoring system such as the Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) or Shallow-Water Environmental Profiler in Trawl-Safe Real-Time Configuration (SEPTR) systems used by the U.S. Navy and can provide long-term persistent power supplies to such systems. | 04-01-2010 |
| 20100224246 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR GENERATING ELECTRICAL POWER USING SUNLIGHT AND MICROORGANISMS - Systems and methods are presented for generating and storing electric power in which a microbial solar cell is provided in a sealed container with photosynthetic organisms that generate reactants of the microbial fuel cell and the products of the microbial fuel cell from sunlight received through the container. | 09-09-2010 |
| 20110104518 | Advanced Apparatus for Generating Electrical Power from Aquatic Sediment/Water Interfaces - An improved benthic microbial fuel cell for generating energy at the interface of aquatic sediment and seawater includes an anode electrode embedded within the aquatic sediment, a cathode electrode positioned within the seawater and above the aquatic sediment, a rig for maintaining the relative positions of the anode and cathode electrodes, electrical leads extending from the anode and cathode electrodes to a load, wherein the anode electrode comprises a bottlebrush electrode residing within a permeable tube. The apparatus is easier to deploy than previously-described fuel cells, while being lighter, more durable, and generating greater power density. Also disclosed are methods of generating power from such an apparatus. | 05-05-2011 |
| Patent application number | Description | Published |
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| 20100099807 | METHOD OF CONTROLLING GAS HYDRATES IN FLUID SYSTEMS - A method of inhibiting hydrates in a fluid comprising water and gas comprising adding to the fluid an effective hydrate-inhibiting amount of a composition comprising one or more homo- or co-polymers of N-alkyl(alkyl)acrylamide synthesized by polymerizing one or more N-alkyl(alkyl)acrylamide monomers in a solvent comprising a glycol ether of formula CH | 04-22-2010 |
| 20100298594 | PRODUCTION OF N,N-DIALKLYLAMINOETHYL (METH)ACRYLATES - A method and apparatus for preparing a N,N-dialkylaminoalkyl acrytate in a continuous transesterification reaction. The reaction involves adding alkyl acrylates such as methacrylate or ethacrylate to a reboiler mechanism and efficiently removing alcohol co-products. Because the reaction is continuous, the alkyl acrylates can be added as needed to increase output, decrease output, or fine-tune the reaction dynamics. An entrainer is used to form a volatile azeotrope which contains both alcohol and entrainer and which is easily removed from the reboiler mechanism. This method reduces the amount of entrainer needed per unit of alkyl acrylate used and eliminates any need to purify the end product from entrainer contamination of the resulting N,N-dialkylaminoalkyl acrylate product. | 11-25-2010 |
| 20110178327 | CONTINUOUS PRODUCTION OF DMAEA QUATERNARY SALTS - The invention provides a method of continuously producing high quality quaternized N,N-dialkylaminoethyl (meth)acrylates (DMAEA.MCQ) that has a long shelf life and which is stable in water. The method involves placing starting materials into a continuously stirred tank reactor in the presence of less than 6% water. This low amount of water causes two liquid phases to form and prevents unwanted side reactions. The denser liquid phase contains DMAEA.MCQ and the lighter phase contains the starting materials. Liquid from the denser phase is removed from a position where little of the lighter phase has been mixed in. The removed liquid then has any last traces of the starting materials reacted into DMAEA.MCQ and strips away any starting materials with a gas flow. The resulting liquid is high purity DMAEA.MCQ. Water can then safely be added to ease in the transport and use of the produced DMAEA.MCQ. | 07-21-2011 |
