Orbite receives Notice of Allowance for US fly ash monetization patent

Orbite Technologies Inc. today announced that it has been advised by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that its patent application titled "Processes for Treating Fly Ash" has been found allowable. Consequently, the Company has processed payment of the requisite fees and anticipates patent issuance within USPTO's usual timeframe of four to eight weeks.

The patent covers the selective extraction and recovery of valuable elements such as scandium, gallium, rare earths and rare metals, alumina, magnesium oxide and titanium dioxide from fly ash, a residue from coal combustion, using Orbite's chloride-based technology.

According to the American Coal Ash Association, over 77 million tons of coal ash were produced in the United States in 2013 alone, creating a significant environmental and potential financial liability. Waste generators are increasingly faced with requirements to dispose of this fly ash securely, which, depending on location and other factors, has the potential to translate into a financial liability of up to $40 per ton of waste, or even higher in some cases according to the American Coal Ash Association.

This patent allowance clears the way for Orbite to pursue the commercial application of its unique technology in the U.S. Fly ash contains substantial quantities of valuable materials that no other known technology available on the market today is able to extract in a viable manner. Through its ability to extract these materials of value in a selective manner, Orbite's technology transforms fly ash from a liability into an asset.

"Going by the waste quantities, the value of the constituents in this waste, and the associated potential financial liability, we see significant opportunities for our technology in the U.S. and elsewhere," stated Glenn Kelly, CEO of Orbite. "By providing a viable manner to extract the value from these waste streams, we believe we can change the way the industry processes fly ash, enabling us to pursue our growth objectives."

The company has successfully applied for accelerated examination and processing under the Patent Prosecution Highway in jurisdictions participating in this program, and accordingly anticipates receiving additional allowances for fly ash monetization.

The company has also been notified that patent application titled "Processes for Preparing Alumina and Magnesium Chloride by HCl Leaching of Various Materials" has been found allowable by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office ("CIPO"). This patent covers the selective extraction of magnesium oxide and alumina from leaching an aluminum-containing material with hydrochloric acid.

Furthermore, patent application titled "Processes for recovering rare earth elements from various ores" has been found allowable by CIPO.