The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 14, 2023
Filed:
Sep. 23, 2020
University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD (US);
Liangbing Hu, Potomac, MD (US);
Mingwei Zhu, Nanjing, CN;
Yiju Li, Beijing, CN;
Chaoji Chen, Hyattsville, MD (US);
Tian Li, Indianapolis, IN (US);
He Liu, Nanjing, CN;
Amy Gong, Potomac, MD (US);
Yudi Kuang, Greenbelt, MD (US);
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK, College Park, MD (US);
Abstract
Solar thermal devices are formed from a block of wood, where the natural cell lumens of the wood form an interconnected network that transports fluid or material therein. The block of wood can be modified to increase absorption of solar radiation. Combining the solar absorption effects with the natural transport network can be used for various applications. In some embodiments, heating of the modified block of wood by insolation can be used to evaporate a fluid, for example, evaporating water for extraction, distillation, or desalination. In other embodiments, heating of the modified block of wood by insolation can be used to change transport properties of a material to allow it to be transported in the interconnected network, for example, heating crude oil to adsorb the oil within the block of wood.