ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 15 -- United States Patent no. 12,600,894, issued on April 14, was assigned to LignoSol IP Ltd. (San Gwann, Malta).
"Lignin-based drilling fluids and related methods" was invented by Desmond Alexander Somerville (San Gwann, Malta) and Patrick Dieter Waibel (San Gwann, Malta).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Drilling fluids or muds are provided for the drilling of a borehole into an earth formation. The drilling fluid or mud may be used for drilling oil and/or natural gas wells in subterranean reservoirs. In some embodiments, the fluid is formed from an additive comprising lignin and at least one biosurfactant produced by at least one strain of bacteria capable of biosurfac...