US5043177A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Aromatics recovery and transfer
Assignee: Nestec SA
•
Filing: 1991-02-07
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Granted: 1991-08-27
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Expires: 2011-02-07
Abstract
Abstract A liquid absorbent is contacted with and atomized by an aromatics-laden gas resulting in transfer of the aromatics from the gas to the absorbent. The gas and aromatics-laden absorbent are then separated, and the aromatics-laden absorbent is collected. The aromatics may be obtained from an aromatics-bearing material, including vegatable materials such as roast and ground coffee, for example, by contacting the aromatics-bearing material with a gas.
Inventors
- 👤 Mark Chimel
- 👤 Yousef Ghodsizadeh
- 👤 Don Weitzenecker
- 👤 Kenneth A. Yunker
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 08:45
CPC Classifications
A; A23; A23F; A23F5/00; A23F5/46; A23F5/48; A23F5/486; A23L; A23L27/00; A23L27/10; A23L27/115
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim
68 words
A process for transferring aromatics from aromatics-laden gas to a liquid absorbent comprising pressurizing the aromatics-laden gas and bringing the pressurized gas into contact with a liquid absorbent in a spray nozzle and shearing and atomizing the liquid absorbent at the spray nozzle, by means of the gas, for transferring the aromatics from the gas to the liquid absorbent, and then separating aromatics-depleted gas from aromatics-laden liquid absorbent.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
68 words
A process for transferring aromatics from aromatics-laden gas to a liquid absorbent comprising pressurizing the aromatics-laden gas and bringing the pressurized gas into contact with a liquid absorbent in a spray nozzle and shearing and atomizing the liquid absorbent at the spray nozzle, by means of the gas, for transferring the aromatics from the gas to the liquid absorbent, and then separating aromatics-depleted gas from aromatics-laden liquid absorbent.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
42 words
A process according to claim 1 wherein the absorbent is selected from the group consisting of aqueous extracts of vegetable material, aqueous dispersions or solutions of carbohydrates, aqueous dispersions or solutions of glycerides, edible oils and homogenized emulsions thereof and combinations thereof.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
100 words
A process for transferring aromatics from a vegetable material to a liquid absorbent comprising: (a) obtaining aromatics from a vegetable material by contacting the vegetable material with a gas for obtaining an aromatics-laden gas and separating the aromatics-laden gas from the vegetable material; and (b) pressurizing the aromatics-laden gas and bringing the pressurized gas into contact with a liquid absorbent at a spray nozzle and shearing and atomizing the liquid absorbent at the spray nozzle, by means of the gas, for transferring the aromatics from the gas to the liquid absorbent, and then separating aromatics-depleted gas from aromatics-laden liquid absorbent.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
100 words
A process for transferring aromatics from a vegetable material to a liquid absorbent comprising: (a) obtaining aromatics from a vegetable material by contacting the vegetable material with a gas for obtaining an aromatics-laden gas and separating the aromatics-laden gas from the vegetable material; and (b) pressurizing the aromatics-laden gas and bringing the pressurized gas into contact with a liquid absorbent at a spray nozzle and shearing and atomizing the liquid absorbent at the spray nozzle, by means of the gas, for transferring the aromatics from the gas to the liquid absorbent, and then separating aromatics-depleted gas from aromatics-laden liquid absorbent.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
21 words
A process according to claim 3 wherein the vegetable material is roast and ground coffee and the absorbent comprises coffee oil.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
20 words
A process according to claim 4 further comprising adding the aromatics-laden absorbent to coffee extract or to soluble coffee powder.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
43 words
A process according to claim 3 wherein the vegetable material is heated and conveyed to a column at a controlled rate, contacted by the gas utilized to obtain the aromatics in the column and then discharged from the column at a controlled rate.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
65 words
A process according to claim 3 wherein the vegetable material is roast and ground coffee and is continuously advanced to, contacted by and discharged from the gas utilized to obtain the aromatics and the rate of gas flow in standard liters per minute contacting the roast and ground coffee is at least about 3 times the coffee throughput rate in kg of coffee per minute.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
76 words
A process according to claim 3 wherein the aromatics obtaining step further comprises continuously: (a) heating and conveying the vegetable material to a vertical column at a controlled rate; (b) introducing the gas into the bottom of the column; (c) advancing the vegetable material downwards in the column and discharging it from the column at a controlled rate and then conveying the vegetable material away from the column; and (d) discharging aromatics-laden gas from the column.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
68 words
A process according to claim 6 or 8 wherein the vegetable material is roast and ground coffee which is maintained at a temperature between about 65° C. and 82° C. in the column and the rate of gas flow in standard liters per minute contacting the roast and ground coffee through the column is at least 3 times the coffee throughput rate in kg of coffee per minute.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
77 words
A process according to claim 1 or 3 wherein aromatics are transferred from the aromatics-laden gas to the liquid absorbent in a multiple stage system by contacting, entraining, atomizing and separating eh aromatics-laden gas and liquid absorbent at least twice by passing the aromatics-laden gas and the liquid absorbent in a counter-current fashion through the system whereupon, via each atomization and separation, the liquid absorbent is enriched with aromatics and the aromatics-laden gas is depleted of aromatics.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
19 words
A process according to claim 1 or 3 wherein the liquid absorbent is entrained by the pressurized aromatics-laden gas.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1994-08-26 | 1995-02-25 | 1995-08-27 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1998-08-26 | 1999-02-25 | 1999-08-27 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2002-08-26 | 2003-02-25 | 2003-08-27 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |