Patents
US 9776105 B2: Method for conditioning and processing whole or thin stillage to aid in the separation and recovery of protein and oil fractions
- Granted
- 2017-10-03
- Filed
- 2010-11-19 application 12949850
- Type
- Utility · 23 claims
- Elsewhere
- Google Patents ↗ · USPTO patent document ↗ · USPTO Patent Center record ↗
Abstract
A method of processing thin stillage in an ethanol refining operation is provided. The method comprises treating thin stillage upstream of a concentration or evaporation step with an inverse emulsion comprising at least one anionic flocculant and an emulsifying agent selected from a sorbitan ester of a fatty acid, an ethoxylated sorbitan ester of a fatty acid, and combinations thereof, thereby forming treated thin stillage; clarifying the treated thin stillage via at least one of dissolved air flotation and induced air flotation, thereby forming clarified thin stillage and a float layer comprising oil and solids; separating the oil from the solids of the float layer; and recovering the oil.
Source: PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 (ipg171003.xml).
Assignees
| Assignee | Type | Place | Also on furp.org | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nalco Company LLC 271 patents | US company or organization | Naperville, IL | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Inventors
| Inventor | Place | Patents | Person page | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John H. Collins | Bloomingdale, IL | 3 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| David W. Scheimann | Joliet, IL | 10 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Jason Van't Hul | Harrisburg, SD | 6 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Philip M. Eastin | Saint Louis, MO | 5 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
CPC categories
| Subclass | Category | First group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| B01D | Separation | B01D17/0217 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| C02F | Treatment of water, waste water, sewage, or sludge | C02F9/00 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| Y02E | Reduction of greenhouse gas [ghg] emissions, related to energy generation, transmission or distribution | Y02E50/10 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| Y02W | Climate change mitigation technologies related to wastewater treatment or waste management | Y02W10/30 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Cooperative Patent Classification, as currently assigned (one row per subclass).
Assignments and security interests
| Recorded | What | From | To | Reel/frame | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-11-01 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | NALCO COMPANY LLC signed 2017-02-27 | ECOLAB USA INC. ST. PAUL, MN | 44347/104 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
| 2017-09-20 | Name change Change of name | NALCO COMPANY signed 2015-12-29 | NALCO COMPANY LLC NAPERVILLE, IL | 43924/587 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
| 2011-01-24 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | COLLINS, JOHN H. signed 2011-01-04 EASTIN, PHILIP M. signed 2011-01-05 VAN'T HUL, JASON S. signed 2011-01-05 SCHEIMANN, DAVID W. signed 2011-01-21 | NALCO COMPANY NAPERVILLE, IL | 25682/752 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
Documents recorded with the USPTO Assignment Recordation Branch that list this patent. A security interest is a lender’s claim on the patent as collateral; a release ends it.
USPTO bulk data: PatentsView granted patents, disambiguated (PVGPATDIS) for patents, assignees, inventors, places and CPC categories; the USPTO Patent Assignment Dataset (ECORSEXC) for assignments and security interests. Patents filed in the last 20 years. No claims or full text. Links to other records are by name (and state): EXACT means the identical full name and state; FUZZY means a looser name match, with the confidence shown.