Clear Lake-area inventors receive patent for invention to prevent problem in industrial process

Two inventors from the Clear Lake area are part of a team that received a U.S. patent last week for its solution to a problem with an industrial process.

The process, gas phase polymerization, is commonly used to convert gases to solids in the petrochemical industry. Facilities frequently experience problems with solid particles that deposit themselves on the walls of the reactor and other exposed surfaces. The invention described in the patent is a coating designed to discourage this from happening.

The team credited in the patent consists of Kevin B. Stavens from Seabrook; Gary D. Mohr of the Clear Lake area of Houston; Matthew W. Holtcamp of Huffman, Texas; and William A. Lamberti of Stewartsville, New Jersey. The patent was originally filed on Nov. 7, 2007, and its official number is 7,875,685. ExxonMobil Chemical Patents is listed as the owner.

ExxonMobil is a major multinational oil and gas company and one of the world's largest publicly traded corporations. The offices of its chemical division are located in the Memorial area at 13501 Katy Freeway.