West Virginia Patent of the Month – October 2021
Coking is a refinery operation that upgrades materials from either atmospheric or vacuum distillation into higher value products. Petroleum coke (petcoke) is a coal-like material produced as a by-product during this process. Hardened petcoke builds up in the refinery drum. This build up is typically removed by boring a hole into the coke and blasting it with high pressure water. This water and petcoke slurry then flows into a dewatering unit to filter the water out. Cogar Manufacturing, Inc. has put their experience in innovative manufacturing to develop a dewatering unit that works effectively with petcoke slurries.
Cogar’s dewatering unit operates even faster than those seen in the industry, removing water from the slurry at a rapid pace. The system is designed as a railcar with a conveyor inside. There are screens located along the bottom and sides, and a grizzly – a different type of screen – along the top and above the conveyor. The slurry is poured over the grizzly which begins the fracturing process and separates the solid material. The conveyor uses a set of drag bars and crushers to further fracture the solid pieces. As the solid pieces are fractured, trapped water and other fluids drain through the screens. The dewatered solid material is lifted out of the unit by the conveyor. Since it is designed as a railcar, their design is also transportable, able to move along a rail track for use in crawler applications. The combination of multiple fracturing tools speeds up the process and more quickly separates solid and water.
Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.
Who We Are:
Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.
Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.