Contact Mr. Gary W. Smith. A potential technology development and licensing opportunity exists with BEA, the prime operating contractor for the Department of Energy (DOE) at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). BEA is soliciting a written indication of interest from industry partners interested in funding a collaborative technology development project and or entering into a license agreement for the purpose of developing and commercializing this technology described below. License terms will include an up-front licensing fee and a running royalty based on a percentage of sales. This is not an opportunity to provide goods or services to BEA or DOE. This solicitation will close to response 30 days after publication. Interested parties should send a description of their company and their plans to commercialize this technology to the following address: Gary W. Smith Sr. Account Executive Technology Transfer and Commercialization Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC P. O. Box 1625, MS3805 Idaho Falls, ID 83415-3805 E-mail is
[email protected] INVENTION SUMMARY: INL has filed a patent application on a conceptual analytical centrifuge design for use in crude oil testing. It combines centrifugal force with microwave irradiation to rapidly break emulsions and dispersions containing oil, water and solids. Conventional techniques for this analysis requires the use of expensive, and time consuming, heated centrifuges or dilution of the heavy oil sample with lighter solvents to obtain faster results. This device would reduce analysis time for heavy oil samples by a factor of three and lower equipment costs when compared to a thermally heated device. It would also preclude the need for dilution; thus reducing costs, hazards, and waste volumes. Nominal funding is needed to build a prototype and demonstrate proof of concept.