Advanced Minerals Corporation

Ep Minerals, LLC

Visual Physics, LLC

Crane Company

Crane Ab

U.S. Silica Company

Active Minerals International, LLC

Advanced Minerals Coroporation

Scott Kevin Palm

Gregory R Jordan

Jonathan D Gosnell

Samuel M Cape

John S Roulston

Timothy R Smith

Jerome C Shiuh

Peter Edward Lenz

George A Nyamekye

Qun Wang

Bo Wang

Kara Linn Evanoff

Giles D Prett

Jeffrey D Taniguchi

Kaj Markkus Helminen

Christopher Hayward

Anthony J Zucchero

Timothy W Schneider

Bradley S Humphreys

Paul F Cote

Dennis Clay Parker

Benjamin E Bleiman

Chongjun Jiang

Caroline B Kennedy

Thomas E Sulpizio

Wilson Kamau Wanene

Andrew R Welford

Vishal Gupta

Sean Spencer Crow

Pragati Galhotra

Staci M Richard

Shashi B Dave

Fangfu Zhang

This invention concerns highly effective functional additive products that comprise diatomite. More particularly, it concerns such functional additive products possessing particle size distributions which make them more effective as functional additives in filled systems. Higher effectiveness is demonstrated through lower Standard Sheen and/or reduced unit consumption relative to diatomite functional additives already in the public domain. Such products may also possess high brightness, low tint and/or an absence of detectable crystalline silica.

Highly effective functional additive products

A bleaching clay product, a method of producing and a method of decolorizing an oil are disclosed. The bleaching clay product comprises attapulgite that has been thermally activated. The bleaching clay product may have a permeability in oil in the range of 0.04-3 darcy and may have a surface area of 45-140 m/g. The method of producing such bleaching clay product may comprise thermally activating a material that includes attapulgite by heating the material at a temperature in the range of 300 to 900° C. The method of decolorizing may include contacting for a contact time an oil with the bleaching clay product that comprises attapulgite that has been thermally activated, and separating the bleaching clay product from the oil to recover a decolorized oil that has a lower red color than the oil had prior to the contacting.

Thermally activated bleaching clay product for oil bleaching

This disclosure relates to ultra-high performance diatomite products possessing very high silica specific volume, a characteristic which provides for high filtration performance, in terms of low unit consumption and long filtration cycle times. These novel products of this disclosure also show very low extractable metals for both the non-acid washed and the high purity (acid washed) grades. These characteristics are of particular value in the separation of solids from high purity liquids in electronic chemical, specialty beverage and life science applications. In addition to outstanding physical and chemical characteristics, these products also contain no detectable levels of cristobalite and have a wide range of permeabilities, and are produced from mineralogically impure ores containing high levels of alumina and iron oxide.

Ultra-high performance and high purify biogenic silica filtration media

This disclosure concerns flux-calcined products manufactured from filtration waste streams, and methods for manufacturing the same. In particular, it concerns functional additives produced from spent cake comprising diatomite filtration media which are suitable for use in paints, plastic films and elastomers for control of optical and surface properties, and processes which are suitable for manufacture of such products. It further concerns the recovery of energy from spent cakes during the regeneration process.

White functional additives derived from filtration spent cake containing diatomite

This invention concerns ultra-high purity, ultra-high performance biogenic silica filtration products comprising diatomaceous earth. In particular, it relates to products comprising diatomaceous earth which is derived from ores that have been specifically selected for their naturally low centrifuged wet density and which have been intensively beneficiated to reduce extractable impurities to near or below detection limits. The low centrifuged wet density of the selected natural ore is either maintained or further reduced through the beneficiation process, which provides for filtration product/media with high particulate holding capacities able to provide for extended filtration cycle times.

Ultra-high purity, ultra-high performance diatomite filtration media

An optical device that produces flicker-like optical effects is provided. The optical device employs directionally cured image icons. Specifically, the optical device is made up of at least one arrangement of image icons formed from one or more cured pigmented materials, and at least one arrangement of optionally embedded focusing elements positioned to form one or more synthetic images of at least a portion of the arrangement(s) of image icons. Some or all of the pigmented material(s) is cured using collimated light directed through the focusing elements toward the arrangement(s) of image icons at one or more angles relative to a surface of the optical device to form directionally cured image icons. The synthetic image(s) of the directionally cured image icons is viewable at the cure angle(s) and therefore visually appears and disappears, or turns on and off, as the viewing angle of the device moves through the cure angle(s).

Optical device that produces flicker-like optical effects

A diatomite product and method of using such is disclosed. The diatomite product may comprise sodium flux-calcined diatomite, wherein the diatomite product has a crystalline silica content of less than about 1 wt %, and the diatomite product has a permeability between 0.8 darcy and about 30 darcy. In some embodiments, the diatomite product may be in particulate or powdered form. This disclosure also concerns flux-calcined silica products containing low or non-detectable levels of crystalline silica. Some of these products can be further characterized by high permeabilities and a measurable content of opal-C, a hydrated form of silicon dioxide.

Opaline flux-calcined diatomite products

An optical device that produces flicker-like optical effects is provided. The inventive device employs directionally cured image icons. Specifically, the optical device is made up of at least one arrangement of image icons formed from one or more cured pigmented materials, and at least one arrangement of optionally embedded focusing elements positioned to form one or more synthetic images of at least a portion of the arrangement(s) of image icons. Some or all of the pigmented material(s) is cured using collimated light directed through the focusing elements toward the arrangement(s) of image icons at one or more angles relative to a surface of the optical device to form directionally cured image icons. The synthetic image(s) of the directionally cured image icons is viewable at the cure angle(s) and therefore visually appears and disappears, or turns on and off, as the viewing angle of the device moves through the cure angle(s).

A method of determining opal-C and cristobalite contents of a product that comprises diatomite is disclosed. The method may comprise performing thermal processing to determine a loss on ignition for a representative first portion of a sample of the product; identifying and quantifying primary and secondary peaks present in a first diffraction pattern that results from bulk powder X-ray Diffraction on a representative second portion of the sample; and using a known standard sample of cristobalite to determine whether the primary and secondary peaks present in the first diffraction pattern indicate the presence of opal-C or cristobalite in the product.

Methods of determining the mineralogy of calcined and flux-calcined diatomite

An optionally transferable optical system with a reduced thickness is provided. The inventive optical system is basically made up of a synthetic image presentation system in which one or more arrangements of structured image icons are substantially in contact with, but not completely embedded within, one or more arrangements of focusing elements. The focusing element and image icon arrangements cooperate to form at least one synthetic image. By way of the subject invention, the requirement for an optical spacer to provide the necessary focal distance between the focusing elements and their associated image icon(s) is removed. As a result, overall system thicknesses are reduced, suitability as a surface-applied authentication system is enabled, and tamper resistance is improved.

Optionally transferable optical system with a reduced thickness

An optical security device suitable for securing or authenticating high security or high value articles of manufacture when affixed thereto, is provided. The inventive security device produces optically variable effects when viewed from varying points of view and is made up of a microstructured layer having image icon elements that have at least one pigmented material. The microstructured layer is arranged relative to an arrangement of focusing elements such that at least portions of the image icon elements are observable through at least portions of the arrangement of focusing elements, thereby providing at least one synthetic image that demonstrates a color-transition effect as points of view from which the optical security device is viewed are changed. In one particular embodiment, the optical security device comprises (i) an arrangement of image icon elements having a first contrasting material pattern and a second contrasting material pattern; (ii) a fixed arrangement of focusing elements disposed relative to the arrangement of image icon elements such that the image icon elements project a synthetic image when viewed through the focusing elements, and having a first fixed org-pattern (as defined herein) that is mismatched from the at least one of the patterns of the first and second contrasting materials; where the synthetic image is a projection of both the first and second contrasting material when viewed from at least one angle.

Optical device that provides flicker-like optical effects

A composition comprising a physical blend of discrete particulates such that the liquid absorbency is greater than the individual components and is greater than the expected absorbency based on the rule of mixtures. A composition comprising diatomaceous earth which may have a clump strength greater than 75% and in which the dry density may be less than 880 kg/m(55 lb/ft). The compositions exhibit synergistic absorbance, light density, high clump strength, low dustiness, and are suitable for industrial and household absorption and solidification, animal litter, and soil amendment.

Low density compositions with synergistic absorbance properties

An optical device that produces flicker-like optical effects is provided. The inventive device employs directionally cured image icons. Specifically, the optical device is made up of at least one arrangement of image icons formed from one or more cured pigmented materials, and at least one arrangement of optionally embedded focusing elements positioned to form one or more synthetic images of at least a portion of the arrangement(s) of image icons. Some or all of the pigmented material(s) is cured using collimated light directed through the focusing elements toward the arrangement(s) of image icons at one or more angles relative to a surface of the optical device to form directionally cured image icons. The synthetic image(s) of the directionally cured image icons is viewable at the cure angle(s) and therefore visually appears and disappears, or turns on and off, as the viewing angle of the device moves through the cure angle(s). The inventive optical device may be used in conjunction with laser engraving allowing for, in at least one embodiment, superior laser engraving through the optical device.

A powdered composite filtration medium includes composite particles that include at least one diatomite particle and at least one expanded perlite particle sintered together. The composite powdered filtration medium may include from about 7 wt % to about 90 wt % diatomite, from about 93 wt % to about 10 wt % expanded perlite. Less than about 1% total crystalline silica may be present in the medium. The medium may have a permeability of at least 0.25 darcy. The diatomite and expanded perlite may be sintered or calcined with or without a fluxing agent.

Opaline biogenic silica/expanded perlite composite products

An optical device projecting one or more synthetically magnified images that has been laser marked with one or more static two dimensional (2D) images is provided. The static 2D image(s) laser marked on or within this device and the synthetically magnified image(s) projected by this device help determine the authenticity of a document (e.g., passport data page) or product that employs it. Several embodiments of the inventive device also offer increased resistance to tampering or alteration and wear.

Growing community of inventors

Reno, NV, United States of America

Scott Kevin Palm