Edwin S Johanson

Title: Innovations of Edwin S. Johanson

Introduction

Edwin S. Johanson is a notable inventor based in Princeton, NJ, with a significant contribution to the field of hydrogenation processes. He holds a total of seven patents, showcasing his expertise and innovative spirit in developing methods for converting solid carbonaceous materials into valuable hydrocarbon products.

Latest Patents

Johanson's latest patents include a hydrogenation process for solid carbonaceous feed materials. This process involves thermal hydrogenation of solids-containing carbonaceous feed materials to produce hydrocarbon gaseous and liquid products. The method is performed in a thermal reaction zone, where the feed material flows downwardly countercurrent to upflowing hydrogen and recycled hydrocarbon liquid. The recycled hydrocarbon liquid is utilized at a rate sufficient to control the settling of solids-containing feed through the reactor. This liquid is obtained from the upper end of the reaction zone by phase separation from the gaseous effluent. The gaseous effluent is removed from the upper end, while heavy liquid material containing less than about 40 W % solids is withdrawn from the bottom end. Both streams are then passed to further phase separation and distillation steps for the recovery of hydrocarbon gas and liquid products. This process is particularly useful for the hydroconversion of solids-containing tar sand bitumen, shale oil, and coal, with coal being fed into the thermal reaction zone as a coal-oil slurry.

Another significant patent involves coal hydrogenation and deashing in an ebullated bed catalytic reactor. This improved process focuses on hydrogenating coal containing ash while agglomerating and removing ash from the ebullated bed catalytic reactor. The method produces deashed hydrocarbon liquid and gas products. In this process, a flowable coal-oil slurry is reacted with hydrogen in an ebullated catalyst bed reaction zone under elevated temperature and pressure conditions. The upward velocity and viscosity of the reactor liquid are controlled to agglomerate a substantial portion of the ash released from the coal, forming larger particles that can be separately withdrawn along with adhering reaction zone liquid. The resulting hydrogenated hydrocarbon effluent material is then phase separated to remove vapor fractions, ensuring the production of substantially ash-free coal-derived liquid products.

Career Highlights

Throughout his career, Edwin S. Johanson has worked with various companies, including Hydrocarbon Research, Inc. and HRI, Inc. His innovative approaches and dedication to advancing hydrogenation processes have made