First university patent of the Dominican Republic
SANTO DOMINGO. The Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC) yesterday became the first university for the Dominican Republic in getting a patent of invention by Catalyst of automatic heating in internal combustion engines, developed by students Francarlos Esteban Bencosme Ferreras y Keyron Figueroa Guichardo, both of 21 years old.
La National Intellectual Property Office (ONAPI) granted the patent, after certifying that the invention "possesses world novelty character, inventive level and industrial application ", according to the provisions of the 20-00 Law on Industrial Property. The institution was notified by resolution 189-2016, of the 15 last August, and which was signed by Luisa Castillo Bautista, Director of Inventions of ONAPI.
INTEC submitted the application of patent to ONAPI the August 8st, 2014, and since then it has exhausted the procedures of form and substance for the granting. The students developed the invention with the accompaniment of the teachers and using the laboratories of the Engineering Area of the university, with the financial support of the Seed Capital Fund of the University. Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, assigned to the Vicerrectoría de Investigación y Vinculación of INTEC.
El Rector of the INTEC, Rolando M. Guzmán, stated that obtaining this patent is not a achievement exclusive of INTEC and the intecianos, but of all the higher education system.
"This represents a qualitative change of great importance for the Dominican higher education system because it indicates that it already has the capacities for the transformation of knowledge in the generation of value-added technological products. Obtaining this patent indicates a hopeful awakening of the innovation, research and development capabilities of our system in benefit of national competitiveness ", argued Guzmán.
As long as Sandy Lockward, director of ONAPI, expressed the satisfaction and joy that surrounds the granting of this patent to a Dominican university, stating that "this achievement reinforces el Government commitment Dominican with patentable innovation, applied research and linking universities with national industry as an essential contribution to the development of new technological advances, "he said.
He assured that INTEC makes history by obtaining a green patent because the catalyst reduces to a large extent carbon dioxide emissions and other heavy metals in less time, collaborating with the environment.
The Vice Chancellor for Research and Liaison of INTEC, Víctor Gómez Valenzuela, announced that the university will deposit six applications de patents before the end of this year. Meanwhile he Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Plácido Gómez, appreciated the management capacity demonstrated by the INTEC to obtain the patent.
About the Automatic heating catalyst
The Catalyst is a treatment device that is placed in the exhaust pipe of vehicles and is responsible for converting gases of low molecular stability, which are harmful to people and the environment, into products with high molecular stability and reactivity almost nil As the gases pass through it, the pollutants are purified by a chemical reaction process and become harmless substances present in the atmosphere such as water vapor, nitrogen and carbon dioxide.
Currently there are vehicle catalysts that reduce polluting gases, but these begin to work after they have traveled approximately 10 kilometers from 8 to 15 minutes, depending on the speed, which is when they reach the required temperature between 400 and 700 degrees celcius.
The catalytic converter of automatic heating patented by the INTEC is an innovation that varies from the existing models in the market, since it goes into operation immediately ignites the vehicle, reducing direct pollution in up to an 90%, and reaching its ideal working temperature when only one kilometer has been traveled, which is equivalent to about two minutes.
This model of catalyst is not only applicable to vehicles, it can also work in industries that use combustion engines, and that pollute the environment, since the system can be adapted to the exhaust pipe of diesel-based power plants.
The patent as a Utility Model was granted for a period of 15 years, non-extendable, counted from the filing date of the patent, as established by Law 20-00 on Industrial Property.
Francarlos and Keyron tell us about the catalyst in this video.