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. 11, 2025
Filed:
Feb. 25, 2022
The Trustees of the Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ (US);
Eui-Hyeok Yang, Fort Lee, NJ (US);
Ronald Besser, New Providence, NJ (US);
Jian Xu, West Lafayette, IN (US);
Wei Xu, Farmingdale, NY (US);
Brendan Englot, New York, NY (US);
Chang-Hwan Choi, Tenafly, NJ (US);
The Trustees of the Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ (US);
Abstract
Smart membranes are integrated into a small, unmanned surface vessel to enable the efficient, automated cleanup of oil spills. Such a vessel has the potential to provide a low-cost, modular solution for day-to-day oil-spill cleanup operations, especially in confined aquatic areas (e.g., under piers or in the small spaces between marine vessels and piers). The membranes are provided on the surface of a conveyor belt that circulates the membranes through the surrounding body of water for oil collection, as well as through an internal reduction chamber of the vessel for oil release. The smart membranes are adapted to attract and repel oil in response to low-voltage commands applied across the conveyor belt, using a process that is repeatable for a number of cycles, offering high efficiency and long durability. Segments of the conveyor belt can be electrically isolated from one another to allow disparate electrical potentials to be imposed thereon.