EnabledCircular Patent Spotlights

Northstar Receives Patent from the USPTO For its Front-End Asphalt Recycling Process

Northstar Receives Patent from the USPTO For its Front-End Asphalt Recycling Process

Michelle

Northstar Receives Patent from the USPTO For its Front-End Asphalt Recycling Process

Vancouver-based Northstar is a cleantech company specialized in recovery and reprocessing of asphalt shingles. Today (Nov 8th) the company received good news that it had been awarded a patent via the US Patent and Trademarks Office (USPTO) for its front-end recycling technology. It is also applying for a patent in Canada, and through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) for an international application.1

According to NorthStar’s latest corporate presentation, asphalt shingles are made up from 50% aggregate, 24% bitumen, 20% felt, 4% limestone/silica sand and 2% oil-based adhesives. Shingles are used on around 84% of US houses and make up almost 15 million tons of landfill waste per year hence there is a high motivation to recycle them. Using Northstar technology the components can be separatedand reused in fresh shingles, construction, and other industrial applications. There is a sizeable market opportunity given that the asphalt shingles market in the USA is valued at US$ 7 bn and a significant saving to be made on landfill fees which have risen over 25% since 2016. The proportions and recycling applications are summarized in Figure 1 below2.

The technology is referred to as the Bitumen Extraction Separation Technology (BEST). It is currently running at 10-20 tpd and is expected to increase to 50-75 tpd by the end of this year at its Calgary facility. The company states that its process will save 60% CO2eq emissions compared with virgin production and landfill of shingles. It has secured an off-take agreement for its liquid asphalt product from Canadian Colas Group subsidiary – McAsphalt2.

Figure 1. Northstar Asphalt Shingles Recycling Fractions and End Markets2
  1. Northstar. (2022, Nov 8). Northstar Awarded Patent by United States Patent and Trademark Office Protecting Its Front-End Process for Reprocessing Asphalt Shingles. Retrieved from Northstar Clean Technologies: https://www.northstarcleantech.com/releases/northstar-awarded-patent-by-united-states-patent-and-trademark-office-protecting-its-front-end-process-for-reprocessing-asphalt-shingles
  2. NorthStar. (2022a, Q4). Northstar Corporate Presentation. Retrieved from Northstar: https://docsend.com/view/e8c53v3mdyupcxg5

GB2598213B : Method of recycling nickel from waste battery material

Michelle

GB2598213B : Method of recycling nickel from waste battery material

Publication Date: 08-Feb-2023
Current Owner: JOHNSON MATTHEY PLC
1st Inventor: BARBARA BREEZE (GB)

This granted Great British patent is assigned to Johnson Matthey and the 1st Inventor is Dr Barbara Breeze – currently Circularity Strategist at Johnson Matthey Technology Centre (JMTC), Sonning Common, UK.

The patent refers to work on recovering nickel from waste battery cathode material via a gas-phase process. Typical materials include lithium nickel oxide (LMO), lithium nickel manganese oxide (LNMO) and common NCM battery materials. In some embodiments the material is an NCMA formulation. According to the patent example, the method involves heating the material to 700 °C in a reaction vessel then passing a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide (syngas) at elevated pressures (150-200 kPa or 6-8 MPa) and temperatures (140-200°C) over the material for around 1 h followed by nitrogen as the temperature is cooled to around 50 °C. Subsequently the syngas mixture is resumed. The exit gases are reacted with concentrated sulfuric acid in a series of gas
scrubbers in counter-current mode. (See Figure 1). The gas mix reacting with the sulphuric acid contains CO and Ni(C0)4. The resulting product is nickel sulfate which can be processed back to battery grade material in a closed loop system according to the following equation:

Ni(CO)4 + H2SO4 -> NiSO4 + H2 + 4CO

Any unreacted syngas and CO recovered from the nickel carbonyl can be returned to the black mass treatment stage. There is an option to also treat the battery material with formic acid to leach out lithium and to make nickel formate prior to the reduction with syngas. Ni formate can be separated from the Co formate due to the difference in decomposition temperatures (250°C c.f. 310°C) by heating the material to 270°C. Furthermore, the method relies on the difference in boiling points between different metal carbonyls. For instance, Ni(CO)4 has a boiling point of 43°C c.f. Fe(CO)5 (which may also be present) which has a b.p. of 104°C.

Figure 1. Basic Schematic of the CalBio™ System for Purification of Biogas (Buckenham & Waineo, 2022).

California Bioenergy LLC Receives a US Granted Patent for its Biogas to Bioelectricity Process

Michelle

California Bioenergy LLC Receives a US Granted Patent for its Biogas to Bioelectricity Process

A patent has been granted to California Bioenergy LLC for the processing of biogas to electricity (“bioelectricity”) in fuel cells. (Buckenham & Waineo, 2022). The company’s primary business is in the processing of dairy farm waste using its CalBio™ anaerobic digester technology which includes an option to convert biogas into electricity using fuel cells or internal combustion engines. (Calbio Energy).

The patent describes a system which has a biogas purification stage followed by conversion to electricity in a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) operating at less than 750˚C . The purification stages remove carbonyl sulfides, hydrogen sulfide and entrained water as shown in Figure 1 below. The sorbents used are iron sponge or iron impregnated onto wood chips for bulk H2S removal followed by a bed of activated carbon which acts as an H2S polisher. After dehumidification and oil removal, a bed of copper oxide polishes out carbonyl sulphide (COS). The purified biogas has a methane content of ~60% and the balance is CO2.

The electricity subsequently generated in the SOFC can be supplied to the grid or used to power vehicles. The data management package tracks energy credits in real time and assigns them to the customer. The CO2 and water by-products are reused within the farming operations which improves the overall circularity of the process.

Figure 1. Basic Schematic of the CalBio™ System for Purification of Biogas (Buckenham & Waineo, 2022).

Buckenham, N. R., & Waineo, D. (2022, December 6). US11517853B2. System for processing of biogas to produce electricity in fuel cells.
Calbio Energy. (n.d.). Calbio Projects. Retrieved from Calbio Energy: https://calbioenergy.com/projects/