ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 24 -- United States Patent no. 12,582,978, issued on March 24, was assigned to PRAXAIR TECHNOLOGY INC. (Danbury, Conn.).
"Catalyst decontamination process" was invented by Richard M. Kelly (East Amherst, N.Y.), Ashley Zachariah (Lewiston, N.Y.) and Perry R. Pacouloute (Lockport, N.Y.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Catalyst beds in refinery reactors require periodic change out due to build-up of contamination and loss of activity. The instant invention mists a liquid chemical solvent in nitrogen carrier gas to solubilize oils and heavy hydrocarbons and to further desorb light hydrocarbons and remove hydrogen sulfide (H2S), to effect decontamination. This process can be a...