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:
Aug. 15, 2017
Filed:
Oct. 04, 2013
Applicant:
Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA (US);
Inventors:
Arup K Sengupta, Bethlehem, PA (US);
Surapol Padungthon, Bethlehem, PA (US);
Michael German, Nottingham, MD (US);
Jinze Li, Bethlehem, PA (US);
Assignee:
Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
C02F 1/42 (2006.01); B01J 39/20 (2006.01); B01J 39/05 (2017.01); B01J 39/09 (2017.01); B01J 49/06 (2017.01); B01J 49/53 (2017.01); C02F 101/10 (2006.01); C02F 101/14 (2006.01); C02F 101/30 (2006.01); C02F 103/08 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
C02F 1/42 (2013.01); B01J 39/05 (2017.01); B01J 39/09 (2017.01); B01J 39/20 (2013.01); B01J 49/06 (2017.01); B01J 49/53 (2017.01); C02F 2001/425 (2013.01); C02F 2101/105 (2013.01); C02F 2101/14 (2013.01); C02F 2101/30 (2013.01); C02F 2103/08 (2013.01); C02F 2303/16 (2013.01);
Abstract
The present invention includes a novel salt-free water softening method that utilizes an exchange medium (such as a gel exchange polymer, a macroporous exchange polymer, or an inorganic cation exchanger) that is pre-loaded with a polyvalent cation that has low solubility in aqueous phase at nearly neutral pH. The method of the invention does not require use of a sodium salt or mineral acid in the regeneration of the exchange medium.