News

Sulfur Patent Granted

On December 22, 2009 the United States Patent and Trademark Office granted a patent to Martin Resource Management Corporation for a method and system for pelletizing sulfur. The inventor of the patent is Jean-Marie Koten, Division Manager Engineering & Business Development for Brimrock US LLC (formerly Martin Integrated Sulfur Systems).

Jean-Marie was hired by Martin three years ago and given the task of creating a new and better sulfur priller at Martin's Neches Terminal. Within a year Jean-Marie had built a demonstration unit and a larger scale 200 ton a day capacity pilot plant. Amazingly he still had time that first year to do the detailed paperwork for the patent!

Early last year, Jean-Marie oversaw the construction of the PrillMax 2000 prototype sulfur wet process priller at the Neches Terminal. The priller converts two thousand tons of molten sulfur daily into high quality sulfur prills. Jean-Marie has spent most of 2009 in Corpus Christi, Texas supervising the construction of a commercial project for Koch Sulfur Products Company LLC.

Jean-Marie is an active participant in Civil War battle reenactments and currently is a Captain in the Texas Cavalry. He and his lovely wife, Petra currently have three children in college and care for several horses and one very cantankerous Texas Longhorn steer at their small ranch near Tyler.