A practical field guide
Patent search
Brita searches a curated local collection of Google Patents records focused on Rachel’s research and related recycling topics. It contains 192,253 patent families (computed) in the snapshot built 4 October 2026.
Local search: the patent tool searches its server-side snapshot, so the search query itself is not sent to Google. Google is contacted during the scheduled monthly refresh to retrieve the selected public data. As with any Discord chat, your message still passes through Discord.
How it works
Google makes public patent data available through BigQuery. A scheduled monthly refresh imports the relevant slice into Brita’s local searchable index. Brita can search that index, open a result’s abstract and applicant details, and give you a direct Google Patents link.
Google Cloud: Google Patents public dataset · About BigQuery public datasets
What’s in the collection
Patent families published from 2010 onward are included when they have an English title and at least one of the CPC prefixes below. Each family appears once, represented by its newest included publication. The counts are computed family counts from the local index built 4 October 2026. They overlap: one family can be listed under several CPC prefixes, so do not add the rows together.
| Research area | CPC prefix | Families (computed) |
|---|---|---|
| Lignin | C07G1 | 1,032 |
| Lignin-derived materials | C08H6 | 3,064 |
| HDO and fuels from oxygen-containing materials | C10G3 | 9,418 |
| Ni/Mo, Co, or Cu combinations (e.g. NiMo) | B01J23/88 | 9,488 |
| Sulfided molybdenum catalysts (e.g. MoS₂, NiMoS) | B01J27/051 | 1,786 |
| Nickel catalysts | B01J23/755 | 6,358 |
| Copper catalysts | B01J23/72 | 4,018 |
| Raney-type catalysts (e.g. Raney nickel) | B01J25 | 25,623 |
| Polymer-waste recycling | C08J11 | 8,130 |
| Plastics and rubber recycling, mostly mechanical | Y02W30/62 | 118,127 |
| Fuels from plastic or rubber waste | C10G1/10 | 3,323 |
| Catalyst recovery or reuse (broad category) | Y02P20/584 | 19,009 |
This is a focused subset, not a complete patent search. Catalyst patents outside these codes—such as platinum or palladium catalysts, or molecular (homogeneous) Ni/Cu complexes—are not included unless they also carry one of the listed codes.
What you can search
- Keywords across titles, abstracts, and applicants; publication-year range; and patent office/country (US, EP, CN, WO, JP, KR, and others).
- Sort results by relevance or newest.
- Open a result for its full English abstract (when available), applicants, CPC codes, and direct Google Patents link.
- Ask Brita when the collection was last refreshed and what it covers.
Example searches
Tap a copy icon to copy a question for Discord.
- “What has been patented on hydrodeoxygenation of lignin-derived phenolics with NiMo catalysts since 2018?”
- “Which applicants have the most patents on sulfided NiMo catalysts?”
- “Find patents on anisole or guaiacol HDO and summarise the catalysts used.”
Search tips
- Put quotes around a phrase for an exact match, such as
"sulfided NiMo". - Use
ORfor alternatives andNOTto exclude a term. - Use
*for a word beginning, such asdepolymeri*. - Use
assignees:shellto search by applicant/company.
Refresh and limits
The collection is refreshed monthly, but Google’s source dataset may lag behind newly published patents. If a refresh fails, the previous complete collection remains available. Ask Brita for the dataset status; a refresh date older than a month is a reason to check it.
Research-data boundary: Never send unpublished structures or confidential research data to external services. Use only public, non-sensitive search terms.