Vijay H Deshpande, Age 63495 Stonebury Dr, Alpharetta, GA 30005

6824577, Nov 30, 2004

Dec 12, 2001

10/020763

Vijay A. Deshpande - Houston TX

Texaco Inc. - San Ramon CA

B01J 700

481279, 48 61, 422188, 422190, 422191, 422192, 422193

An apparatus for carrying out a multi-step process of converting hydrocarbon fuel to a substantially pure hydrogen gas feed includes a plurality of modules arranged in a nested manner along a common axis. The multi-step process includes: providing a fuel processor having a plurality of modules arranged so that they are nested one within the other; and feeding the hydrocarbon fuel successively through each of the modules in the reactor to produce the hydrogen rich gas.

6887285, May 3, 2005

Dec 12, 2001

10/021673

Vijay A. Deshpande - Houston TX, US

Texaco Inc. - San Ramon CA

B01J008/00
B01J008/02
B01J008/04
B01J008/06

481279, 48 61, 481279, 422188, 422190, 422191

An apparatus for carrying out a multi-step process of converting hydrocarbon fuel to a substantially pure hydrogen gas feed includes a plurality of modules each module being in fluid communication with adjacent modules. The modules may be arranged axially along a common axis of flow or alternatively the modules are arranged along a common axis so that they are nested one within the other. The multi-step process includes: providing a fuel processor having a plurality of modules; and feeding the hydrocarbon fuel successively through each of the modules in the reactor to produce the hydrogen rich gas.

7101175, Sep 5, 2006

Apr 4, 2003

10/407290

Vijay Anant Deshpande - Houston TX, US
Curtis L. Krause - Houston TX, US
Paul Francis Martin - Toronto, CA
Kevin Hoa Nguyen - Missouri City TX, US
James F. Stevens - Katy TX, US
William Spencer Wheat - Missouri City TX, US

Texaco Inc. - San Ramon CA

F24H 7/02

432 29, 432 30, 429 20, 422198

A combustor for oxidizing a combustion fuel and pre-heating one or more reactants for fuel reforming. The combustor includes an elongated housing having an inlet for receiving a combustion fuel and an outlet for exhausting combustion products. The elongated housing further includes a cylindrical side wall, a bottom wall, and a top wall. Inert particles are disposed within the housing adjacent the inlet. A combustion catalyst bed is disposed within the housing above the inert particles that is a mixture of inert particles and combustion catalyst. The inert particles and the combustion catalyst preferably have a volumetric ratio of inert particles to catalyst between about 2:1 and about 4:1. The combustor has at least one heat exchanger within the combustion catalyst bed for heating a reformer reactant and generating steam. Preferably, the combustor includes at least two heat exchangers within the combustion catalyst bed, the heat exchanging elements have different surface areas. The combustor can include at least one sensor for measuring temperature within the combustor, and preferably the reactor includes two or more sensors for measuring temperature at two or more locations within the combustion catalyst bed.

7135154, Nov 14, 2006

Dec 5, 2001

10/006880

Vijay A. Deshpande - Houston TX, US

Texaco Inc. - San Ramon CA

F01N 3/10
B01D 50/00
F28D 21/00
B28B 5/02

422173, 422177, 422109, 422113, 422202, 422203, 422204

A reactor module for use in a compact fuel processor having a module inlet for receiving a feed stream, a module outlet for producing an effluent stream, a reactor having a reactor inlet, a reactor outlet, and catalyst, an inlet spiral passage in fluid communication with the module inlet to the reactor inlet, and an outlet spiral passage in fluid communication with the reactor outlet to the module outlet. Such a design provides for the feed stream to be introduced to the module inlet, where it then passes through the inlet spiral passage, and is heated by hot reactor product passing through the outlet spiral passage. The reactor may be any type of fixed bed exothermic containing supported catalyst particles or the reactor bed may be a monolith with catalytic material coated on to the surface of the structural members.

7160340, Jan 9, 2007

Apr 26, 2002

10/133852

Curtis L. Krause - Houston TX, US
Jennifer L. Phan - Rosharon TX, US
Vijay Deshpande - Houston TX, US
Paul Martin - Toronto, CA

Texaco Inc. - San Ramon CA

C10J 3/20
B01J 9/00
C10J 3/24

48 63, 48 82, 481279, 422190, 422191, 422193, 422211

An apparatus for carrying out a multi-step process of converting hydrocarbon fuel to a substantially pure hydrogen gas feed includes a plurality of reaction zones arranged in a common reaction chamber. The multi-step process includes: providing a fuel to the fuel processor so that as the fuel reacts and forms the hydrogen rich gas, the intermediate gas products pass through each reaction zone as arranged in the reactor to produce the hydrogen rich gas.

7226490, Jun 5, 2007

Dec 5, 2001

10/006879

Vijay A. Deshpande - Houston TX, US
Curtis Krause - Houston TX, US

Texaco, Inc. - San Ramon CA

B01J 8/00

481279, 48 93, 422191, 422211

An apparatus for converting hydrocarbon fuel to a hydrogen rich gas including a first heat exchanger for heating the hydrocarbon fuel, a first desulfurization reactor for reacting a heated hydrocarbon fuel to produce a substantially desulfurized hydrocarbon fuel, a manifold for mixing the substantially desulfurized hydrocarbon fuel with an oxygen containing gas to produce a fuel mixture, a second heat exchanger for heating the fuel mixture, an autothermal reactor including a catalyst for reacting the heated fuel mixture to produce a first hydrogen containing gaseous mixture, a second desulfurization reactor for producing a second hydrogen containing gaseous mixture that is substantially desulfurized, a water gas shift reactor for reacting the second hydrogen containing gaseous mixture to produce a third hydrogen containing gaseous mixture with a substantially decreased carbon monoxide content, and a selective oxidation reactor for reacting the third hydrogen containing gaseous mixture to produce the hydrogen rich gas.

7524343, Apr 28, 2009

Apr 21, 2005

11/111202

Vijay A. Deshpande - Houston TX, US

Texaco Inc. - San Ramon CA

B01J 7/00
B01J 8/02
B01J 8/04

481279, 422193, 422188, 422190, 422191, 422192, 48 61, 481271

An apparatus for carrying out a multi-step process of converting hydrocarbon fuel to a substantially pure hydrogen gas feed includes a plurality of modules each module being in fluid communication with adjacent modules. The modules may be arranged axially along a common axis of flow or alternatively the modules are arranged along a common axis so that they are nested one within the other. The multi-step process includes: providing a fuel processor having a plurality of modules; and feeding the hydrocarbon fuel successively through each of the modules in the reactor to produce the hydrogen rich gas.

7867457, Jan 11, 2011

Jun 18, 2004

10/560439

Alexander Gutsol - Malvern PA, US
Alexander Fridman - Marlton NJ, US
Young I. Cho - Marlton NJ, US
Lawrence Kennedy - Dublin OH, US
Alexei Saveliev - Chicago IL, US
Tecle S. Rufael - Stafford TX, US
Vijay A. Deshpande - Houston TX, US

Drexel University - Philadelphia PA
Chevron U.S.A., Inc. - San Ramon CA
Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois - Urbana IL

B01J 19/08
C01B 3/24

42218621, 42218626, 423650

A plasma reactor () is provided. The plasma reactor () includes a reaction chamber () formed by a wall (). Proximate to the first end of the reaction chamber, the plasma reactor includes a feed gas inlet () for creating a reverse vortex gas flow () in the reaction chamber. The plasma reactor () also includes an anode and a cathode connected to a power source for generation of an electric arc for plasma generation in said reaction chamber. The plasma reactor () may optionally include a movable electrode adapted for movement from a first, ignition position to a second, operational position in the reaction chamber. Also provided is a method of converting light hydrocarbons to hydrogen-rich gas, using the plasma reactor of the invention.