CPC technology class · B01

B01D - Separation

Separation. 43,096 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

43,096
US patents granted: #1/5
in B01: 41.7%
B01 class share: +9%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Separation ranks #39 of 670 CPC technology areas - 43,096 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 9% over five years.

#39
of 670 CPC technology areas: 43,096
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Saudi Arabian Oil
leading assignee (598): +9%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How B01D's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, B01D recorded 19,757 grants versus 18,159 in 2015–2019 (+9% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2020 at 4,542 grants and bottomed in 2015 at 3,155 (+44% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Saudi Arabian OIL Company holds 1.4% of the class ; the top three share 3.7%.

Leaderboard read

B01D concentration, lead at 1.4%

Saudi Arabian OIL Company leads this historical grant record at 1.4% of B01D - foreign corporation assignees hold 51% of class grants (14,171 of 27,888). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 1.4%
Top three share: 3.7%
Lead over #2: 83

Where B01D sits inside B01

Among 5 subclasses in B01 (Physical OR Chemical Processes OR Apparatus IN General), B01D ranks #1 and holds 41.7% of the parent class's 103,400 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

B01J 35,809 B01L 15,586 B01F 8,785 B01B 124

Rising assignees active in B01D

Company-wide grant multiples (2022–2024 vs 2019–2021) among assignees with ≥5 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide; class patent counts are subclass-specific.

#1 Exxon Mobil Technology and Engineering Company 298x 0 → 298 company-wide · 59 in B01D
#2 King Faisal University 125x 6 → 747 company-wide · 15 in B01D
#3 Doosan Enerbility Co., Ltd. 121x 0 → 121 company-wide · 9 in B01D
#4 Shell USA, Inc. 110x 0 → 110 company-wide · 19 in B01D
#5 Solventum Intellectual Properties Company 88x 0 → 88 company-wide · 10 in B01D

B01D grants by year, peak 2020 (4,542)

US utility-patent grants per year in B01D, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 9% versus 2015–2019.

Saudi Arabian Oil

598
Donaldson

515
Mann+Hummel

488
Basf Se

445
Ngk Insulators

417
Uop

315
Johnson Matthey Public

312
Cummins Filtration Ip

288
3m Innovative…

241
L'air Liquide Societe…

224
Hamilton Sundstrand…

223
Waters

199

What this shows Saudi Arabian Oil is the most active filer in B01D, holding 598 of the 43,096 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

View data table

Top patent holders in CPC subclass B01D
Rank	Company	Patents in B01D
#1	Saudi Arabian OIL Company	598
#2	Donaldson Company, Inc.	515
#3	MANN+HUMMEL GmbH	488
#4	Basf SE	445
#5	NGK Insulators, Ltd.	417
#6	UOP LLC	315
#7	Johnson Matthey Public Limited Company	312
#8	Cummins Filtration IP, Inc.	288
#9	3M Innovative Properties Company	241
#10	L'Air Liquide, Societe Anonyme Pour l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Procedes Georges Claude	224
#11	Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation (HSC)	223
#12	Waters Technologies Corporation	199
#13	Caterpillar Inc.	194
#14	DOW Global Technologies LLC	189
#15	Toray Industries, Inc.	185
#16	King Fahd University OF Petroleum AND Minerals	181
#17	Corning Incorporated	163
#18	Exxonmobil Research AND Engineering Company	148
#19	Pall Corporation	138
#20	IFP Energies Nouvelles	137

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading B01D assignee, placed by how many patents it holds in this class (horizontal) against its company-wide average claims per patent (vertical) - a read on whether the class is led by broad-but-shallow filers or focused deep-claim players.

Top 14 B01D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B01D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near B01D's 43,096-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for B01D (#39 of 670 by volume ; lead share 1.4%) - not the B01 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

B60R 42,931 G16H 42,899 Y02D 45,676 E21B 39,943

Nearest by lead-assignee share

C12M 1.3% E04H 1.3% A47G 1.3% G01K 1.5%

Questions about B01D

Which company holds the most patents in B01D?

Saudi Arabian OIL Company leads B01D with 598 patents (1.4% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 51% of class grants.

Which B01D assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in B01D, Exxon Mobil Technology and Engineering Company shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (298x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 298 in 2022–2024) while holding 59 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does B01D compare inside parent class B01?

Inside B01 (Physical OR Chemical Processes OR Apparatus IN General), B01D ranks #1 of 5 subclasses by grant volume and holds 41.7% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is B01J (35,809 grants).

What to do with this data

B01D in context - here's where to go next.

Saudi Arabian OIL Company leads B01D with 598 grants in this class. See full portfolio
B01D ranks #39 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
Inside parent class B01, the largest sibling subclass is B01J with 35,809 grants. Explore B01J

Figures reflect USPTO PatentsView grant data through 2026-05-15; pending applications not yet granted are not counted.

Methodology - B01D figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (43,096 grants in the tracked window).

Every figure on PlainPatent is rendered directly from USPTO source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USPTO source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.