...that the video game, Pong, was invented by a guy who graduated at the bottom of his engineering class? Nolan Bushnell spent more time running the games at a local amusement park than he did on his studies at the University of Utah. His dreams of working for Disney's amusement empire were dashed when the company wouldn't hire him. Taking a boring job, Nolan daydreamed about electronic versions of popular games. He invented Pong, the first video game, and went on to found Atari Co.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8101024 | Removal of minerals from cellulosic biomass Disclosed is a method for removing minerals from a cellulosic biomass. For example, the biomass may be prewashed with an acid solution and rinsed with water to remove minerals prior to acid saccharification. The removal of minerals may reduce overall acid requiremen... | 01/24/2012 |
| 8062428 | Solid acid catalyzed hydrolysis of cellulosic materials Provided are methods for the solubilization of cellulose into soluble sugars without the need for high temperatures, high pressures, strong acid solutions, and/or added water. The produced sugars can be fermented into ethanol. In one embodiment, the method comprises... | 11/22/2011 |
| 7993463 | Method of processing lignocellulosic feedstock for enhanced xylose and ethanol production The present invention provides a method of producing xylose from lignocellulosic feedstock. The method comprises disrupting lignocellulosic feedstock; leaching the lignocellulosic feedstock by contacting the feedstock with at least one aqueous solution for a period ... | 08/09/2011 |
| 7988788 | Process for rapid acid hydrolysis of lignocellulosic material and in a hydrolysis reactor Improvements in a process for rapid acid hydrolysis of lignocellulosic material and in a hydrolysis reactor, said lignocellulosic material being fed in different levels of a reactor and contacted with flows of lignin organic solvent, water and an extremely dilute so... | 08/02/2011 |
| 7901511 | Method of processing lignocellulosic feedstock for enhanced xylose and ethanol production The present invention provides a method of producing xylose from lignocellulosic feedstock. The method comprises disrupting lignocellulosic feedstock; leaching the lignocellulosic feedstock by contacting the feedstock with at least one aqueous solution for a period ... | 03/08/2011 |
| 7503981 | Removal of minerals from cellulosic biomass Disclosed is a method for removing minerals from a cellulosic biomass. For example, the biomass may be prewashed with an acid solution and rinsed with water to remove minerals prior to acid saccharification. The removal of minerals may reduce overall acid requiremen... | 03/17/2009 |
| 7501025 | Process and apparatus for the conversion of biomass The invention is directed to a process for the conversion of cellulosic biomass, in particular lignocellulose-containing biomass into fermentable sugars. The invention is further directed to apparatus suitable for carrying out such processes. According to the invent... | 03/10/2009 |
| 7442359 | Recovery of sulphuric acid The invention is directed to a process for the recovery of sulphuric acid from a mixture comprising sulphuric acid and hydrocarbons, in particular carbohydrates. In accordance with the present invention the mixture comprising sulphuric acid and carbohydrates, is con... | 10/28/2008 |
| 7320561 | System and method for handling bulk materials A bulk material handling system generally consisting of means for holding the material; means for conveying the material including a first conduit formed of a permeable material having an inlet communicating with an outlet of the material holding means and an outlet... | 01/22/2008 |
| 7303707 | Processing of ligno-cellulose materials A method of processing lignocellulosic material includes the steps of comminuting the material to a size that it can be processed in a hydrothermal pressure vessel, drying the material in moving air to obtain a specific moisture content, packing the material into th... | 12/04/2007 |
| 7238242 | Process for carrying out pre-hydrolysis of a biomass A process wherein biomass is compacted at 300 kg/m3 by a helical feeder, degassed, flooded, heated, stirred, and pre-hydrolyzed. The sugar being recovered at a first washing within the reactor with values higher than 90%. The control of the process enable... | 07/03/2007 |
| 7229558 | Chromatographic separation method A method for fractionating a solution into two or more fractions. More particularly the invention relates to a method for fractionating a solution by a chromatographic simulated moving bed (SMB) process in which the dissolved substances present in the feedstock are ... | 06/12/2007 |
| 7226761 | Manufacture of five-carbon sugars and sugar alcohols The invention relates to the methods of manufacturing five-carbon sugars and sugar alcohols as well as other compounds derived from pentose-phosphate pathway from readily available substrates such a hexoses using metabolically engineered microbial hosts. ... | 06/05/2007 |
| 7211194 | Gravity pressure vessel and related apparatus and methods A gravity pressure vessel (GPV) for processing a fluid stream containing organic materials provides several improvements to the art. In one embodiment, a GPV of the present invention sustains the heat energy requirements of a hydrolysis GPV by including therein, a f... | 05/01/2007 |
| 7198695 | Method for separating hemicelluloses from a biomass containing hemicelluloses and biomass and hemicelluloses obtained by said method The invention relates to a method for separating hemicelluloses from a biomass containing hemicelluloses. The method includes the steps of: a) extracting the hemicelluloses from the biomass containing hemicelluloses by treating them with a complex compound in an aqu... | 04/03/2007 |
| 7198925 | Pre-treatment of bales of feedstock The present invention is directed to a method of pre-treating a lignocellulosic feedstock. The lignocellulosic feedstock comprises cereal straw, stover, or grass. One or more than one bale of lignocellulosic feedstock is conveyed into a pre-treatment reactor. Steam ... | 04/03/2007 |
| 7189328 | Method for extraction of dissolved trace materials from solution A method for separating dissolved materials, including organic and inorganic solids and volatile constituents, from a liquid or aqueous solvent is disclosed. The method first extracts water from the flow stream being treated using a crystallization apparatus which f... | 03/13/2007 |
| 7189306 | Process of treating lignocellulosic material to produce bio-ethanol This invention relates to a process of treating a lignocellulosic material to produce bio-ethanol. The process includes the steps of: (a) exposing the lignocellulosic material to conditions including a pH not less than about 8, and steam at a first pressure, to prod... | 03/13/2007 |
| 7183339 | Method for making dimensionally stable composite products from lignocelluloses This invention relates to a process for making dimensionally stable reconstituted composite products from lignocellulosic material. By treating lignocellulose with high pressure steam to decompose and hydrolyze the hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin fractions of th... | 02/27/2007 |
| 7150793 | Method of reducing materials contained in juice A process system that uses a reduced amount of lime or other base to clarify or purify juice obtained from plant material such as sugar cane, sugar beets, or sweet sorghum. Specifically, apparatus and methods to reduce volatile materials in juice providing a product... | 12/19/2006 |
| 7137759 | System and method for handling bulk materials A bulk material handling system generally consisting of means for holding the material; means for conveying the material including a first conduit formed of a permeable material having an inlet communicating with an outlet of the material holding means and an outlet... | 11/21/2006 |
| 7125498 | Oxygen-absorbing compositions and method An oxygen-absorbing composition including iron and a soluble tartrate. A method of absorbing oxygen from a closed environment including the steps of providing an oxygen-absorbing composition containing iron and a tartrate, injecting water into the composition, and p... | 10/24/2006 |
| 7109005 | Process for the simultaneous production of xylitol and ethanol Effective processes are provided for the production of xylitol and ethanol and other products from solutions derived from lignocellulose-containing material in biomass. The solutions can be hydrolyzed or partially hydrolyzed before being fermented with microbes. The... | 09/19/2006 |
| 7086405 | Screenings washer A screenings washer having a hopper, a grinder downstream of the hopper, and a washer downstream of the grinder. The washer includes an auger rotor that receives the screenings ground by the grinder, a spray wash system that sprays a wash fluid directly onto a porti... | 08/08/2006 |
| 7077953 | Nanofilter system and method of use An acid recovery system used in a hydrolysis operation includes a chromatographic unit to provide initial separation of sugar and acid. The sugar product provided by the chromatographic unit is processed to produce higher value products, such as ethanol. The remaini... | 07/18/2006 |
| 6916369 | Beneficiated water reducing compositions Exemplary compositions comprise at least one aldopentonic acid, such as xylonic acid; and further comprise a lignin, a lignosulfonic acid or its salt, an additional sugar acid such as a aldohexonic acid or salt, a conventional admixture (such as a polyacrylate super... | 07/12/2005 |
| 6902649 | Enhanced fiber additive; and use The disclosure provides a process of modifying a seed based fiber (SBF) to form an enhanced fiber additive (EFA). The process includes an acid treatment step and optionally at least one fiber modification step. Preferred EFA products and uses are described. ... | 06/07/2005 |
| 6830613 | Method of manufacturing a sugar-inorganic hybrid composite A biodegradable sugar-inorganic hybrid composite comprising a sugar or a sugar derivative uniformly dispersed in a matrix of an inorganic oxide, of which degradation products are suitable for recycling use. ... | 12/14/2004 |
| 6692578 | Hydrolysis of biomass material A method for selective hydrolysis of the hemicellulose component of a biomass material. The selective hydrolysis produces water-soluble small molecules, particularly monosaccharides. One embodiment includes solubilizing at least a portion of the hemicellu... | 02/17/2004 |
| 6660506 | Ethanol production with dilute acid hydrolysis using partially dried lignocellulosics A process of converting lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol, comprising hydrolyzing lignocellulosic materials by subjecting dried lignocellulosic material in a reactor to a catalyst comprised of a dilute solution of a strong acid and a metal salt to lower ... | 12/09/2003 |
| 6632286 | Cross-flow process for the production of decomposable soluble products from a slurry of solids A process is described for the production of decomposable soluble products from a slurry of solids in which the slurry is convey axially through the reactor and excess liquid is removed radially through the walls of the reactor. The primary example is the... | 10/14/2003 |
| 6620292 | Cellulose production from lignocellulosic biomass A multi-function process is described for the separation of cellulose fibers from the other constituents of lignocellulosic biomass such as found in trees, grasses, agricultural waste, and waste paper with application in the preparation of feedstocks for ... | 09/16/2003 |
| 6512110 | Process for the production of xylose from a paper-grade hardwood pulp The invention relates to a process for the production of xylose from a paper-grade hardwood pulp comprising the steps of extracting xylan contained in said pulp into a liquid phase, subjecting the xylan contained in the obtained liquid phase to conditions... | 01/28/2003 |
| 6423145 | Dilute acid/metal salt hydrolysis of lignocellulosics A modified dilute acid method of hydrolyzing the cellulose and hemicellulose in lignocellulosic material under conditions to obtain higher overall fermentable sugar yields than is obtainable using dilute acid alone, comprising: impregnating a lignocellulo... | 07/23/2002 |
| 6419788 | Method of treating lignocellulosic biomass to produce cellulose A multi-function process is described for the separation of cellulose fibers from the other constituents of lignocellulosic biomass such as found in trees, grasses, agricultural waste, and waste paper with application in the preparation of feedstocks for ... | 07/16/2002 |
| 6419828 | Method for the separation of acid from sugars A method for separating acid and sugars obtained from liquids resulting from the acid hydrolysis of a material containing at least one of cellulose and hemicellulose is disclosed, comprising adding the liquids to a separation unit comprising a bed of anio... | 07/16/2002 |
| 6409841 | Process for the production of organic products from diverse biomass sources Disclosed are processes and systems for the production of useful organic product from diverse lignocellulose-containing biomass having increased yield and efficiency over existing processes. In particular, the present invention integrates dilute acid hydr... | 06/25/2002 |
| 6391204 | Method for the separation of acid from sugars A method for separating acid and sugars obtained from liquids resulting from the acid hydrolysis of a material containing at least one of cellulose and hemicellulose is disclosed, comprising adding the liquids to a separation unit comprising a bed of anio... | 05/21/2002 |
| 6280526 | Process for production of water-soluble vegetable fibers, biodegradable film, paste, chewing gum and low calorie food products There is disclosed a process for production of water-soluble vegetable fibers in a high yield with minimizing contamination of protein or amino acids resulting from degradation of protein by degrading water-insoluble vegetable fibers containing protein un... | 08/28/2001 |
| 6258175 | Method to produce fermentable sugars from a lignocellulose material A method is presented that will produce fermentable sugars from a lignocellulose material employing concentrated sulfuric acid to dissolve cellulose and hemicellulose in a lignocellulose material followed by hydrolysis in place to depolymerize the cellulo... | 07/10/2001 |