ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 19 -- United States Patent no. 12,330,121, issued on June 17, was assigned to TexOPCO LLC (Houston).
"3D printed spacers for ion-exchange device" was invented by Ethan L. Demeter (The Woodlands, Texas), Michael James Connor Jr. (Porter, Texas), Chad Unrau (Houston) and Brian M. McDonald (Austin, Texas).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The present disclosure is directed to ion-exchange systems and devices that include composite ion-exchange membranes having 3D printed spacers on them. These 3D printed spacers can drastically reduce the total intermembrane spacing within the system/device while maintaining a reliable sealing surface around the exterior border of the membrane....