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The Intellectual Property Office helps USC faculty, staff, and
students identify, protect, and commercialize the University's
intellectual property for the purpose of benefiting society and spurring
economic growth for our regional and US economies. The IP office also
fosters relationships with industrial partners that creates
opportunities for faculty to engage in collaborative or sponsored
research. Responding to the needs of the faculty and industrial partners
maximizes University technologies for the benefit of the University,
faculty inventors, and their colleges and departments. Future
Fuels™ is the University's top research priority, and for good reason.
Many great technologies have been created by faculty, staff, and
students. Visit
http://www.ip.research.sc.edu/technologies/categories/future_fuels.shtml
for a list of current technologies available for licensing in the Future
Fuels™ category. More information on the Intellectual Property Office
may be found at
http://www.ip.research.sc.edu/default.shtml.
HYDROGEN PRODUCTION
Polymer electrode membrane (PEM) fuel cells operating on pure hydrogen
have excellent energy and power capabilities. However, producing pure
hydrogen from water using electrolysis is not economical. USC has
developed a technology that combines electrolysis and thermal chemistry
to produce hydrogen. This technology promises to greatly reduce the
significant operating and capital costs of hydrogen
production.
HYDROGEN STORAGE
USC has developed technologies that focus on hydrogen storage and
release. These technologies deal with the difficult issue of storing
hydrogen into a chemical form that is stable enough to put into motor
vehicles. These technologies also provide mechanisms for releasing the
hydrogen from the chemical form to provide an instantaneous source of
hydrogen for rapid demand on cold start of any device requiring hydrogen
gas.
FUEL CELL MEMBRANE AND CATALYST DEVELOPMENT
USC has developed a novel pulse plating technique that provides an
increased the Pt/C ratio up to 75% near the surface of the electrode.
This has the potential to produce a sixfold reduction in the amount of
Pt or other noble metals used in the production of PEM membranes. This
electrodeposition technique can be used for platinum electrodeposition
as well as other noble metals (Ru, Pd, Ag, etc,) and alloys such as Pt-
Ru, Pt-Ir, Pt-Ag and Pt-Au). For extremely precious metals, this method
offers a tremendous cost savings in metals cost alone. The results
indicate that pulse deposition may be an attractive technique to replace
conventional powder type membrane electrode assembly (MEA) preparation
methods and help achieve industry goals of reducing the cost and
increasing the efficiency of PEM fuel cells.
FUEL CELL MODELING SOFTWARE
USC is developing novel software that solves transport and
electrochemical equations used for the theoretical prediction of key
variables in the PEM system. This software can be used for three
dimensional PEM fuel cell simulation with any kind of flow-field
pattern. The numerical model solves the same primary flow related
variables in the main flow channels and diffusion layers and can be used
to solve for both steady state and time dependent variables. This
software helps the user enhance their understanding of physics inside
PEM fuel cells which will lead to improved PEM fuel cell technologies.
BIOMASS
USC has developed a novel method for cultivation and propagation of
plants that are utilized for both bioremediation and biomass. This
method provides high plant multiplication rates, high bulk transfer
rates, and low attrition rates. These advantages promise to aid in
future large-scale production of biomass to be used is areas such as
bioremediation and energy production. Biomass does not add carbon
dioxide to the atmosphere as it absorbs the same amount of carbon in
growing as it releases when consumed as a fuel. Its advantage is that it
can be used to generate electricity with the same equipment or power
plants that are now burning fossil fuels. Biomass is an important source
of energy and the most important fuel worldwide after coal, oil and
natural gas.
CONTACT
JoAnna Floyd, Interim Director
Intellectual Property Office
1200 Catawba Street, Columbia, SC 29208
(803) 777-1954
(803) 777-0603 fax
jlfloyd at gwm.sc.edu
http://www.ip.research.sc.edu/ |
