TX2O, a team of four Texas State University graduate students, has been selected as to be a finalist in the Collegiate Inventors Competition, where they will display their innovative solution to reduce the impact of water that is used during oil refinery.
The event will take place Nov. 3 and will serve to showcase finalists products to a variety of interested parties, including thousands of United States Patent and Trade Office patent and trademark examiners, sponsors, and media, as well as the public.
TX2O will be flying to Alexandria, Virginia for the Collegiate Inventors Competition Expo with the hopes of succeeding over several other teams and their products. Gary Beall, advisor to the team during the competition, said it was no small feat to be chosen for the competition.
“The competition is nationwide and only 6 teams are chosen to compete so it is a big deal to be chosen,” Beall said. “The students have a great experience competing at the United States Patent and Trademark office and if they win they could come home with a significant cash prize.”
The project that the team will be presenting promises to increase the efficiency of oil refining and reduce the impact of contaminated water that is created as a by-product. The system includes two parts. One part: TX2sorb is a cylinder casing holding TX2O’s proprietary granular absorbent. The second part: TX2gen allows the product to be used multiple times without sacrificing effectiveness for up to ten uses.
This reusability is key in the products promise to reduce water treatment costs by up to 30 percent, as well as dramatically reducing the landfill waste produced by similar, less reusable products. Equally important is the product’s ability to easily integrate into the market, their website calling the system a drop-in product.
The Collegiate Inventors Competition has been held annually since 1990 and serves as a platform for contestants to continue work on their products. While the products are showcased they will be looked over by a panel of judges that will decide who the winner of the cash prize will be. The event is a product of the National Inventors Hall of Fame in partnership with the United States Patent and Trade Office.
Joseph Matal, undersecretary of commerce for intellectual property and director of the USPTO, said he is proud to host the 2017 Collegiate Investors Competition.
“We look forward to meeting these young innovators at this event, and encouraging their creativity and problem-solving skills to enable them to develop meaningful solutions to real-world challenges,” Matal said.
Student members of the team include Archana Gujjari, Conor Brantley, business administration graduate student; Michael Opoku ; and Thi Nguyen, communication disorders graduate student.