PlainPatent

CPC technology class · C10

C10K - Purifying OR Modifying THE Chemical Composition OF Combus…

Purifying or modifying the chemical composition of combustible gases containing carbon monoxide. 1,080 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

1,080
US patents granted
C10
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
-26%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Purifying OR Modifying THE Chemical Composition OF Combus… ranks #447 of 670 CPC technology areas - 1,080 US patents granted since 2015, with filing down 26% over five years.

#447
of 670 CPC technology areas
1,080
US patents granted, 2015–2025
General Electric
leading assignee (47)
-26%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: General Electric Company (47 patents)

CPC subclass C10K - PURIFYING OR MODIFYING THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF COMBUSTIBLE GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE - covers 1,080 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class C10 (PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in C10K is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. General Electric Company leads with 47 patents, followed by Haldor Topsøe A/s at 19 grants and Thermochem Recovery International, Inc. at 17.

Filing activity in C10K is down 26% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a notable slowdown that may signal a maturing field. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is C10K innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in C10K, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 26% versus 2015–2019.

050100150200 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 66

Who leads C10K?

The 12 most active assignees in PURIFYING OR MODIFYING THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF COMBUSTIBLE GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows General Electric is the most active filer in C10K, holding 47 of the 1,080 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

Source USPTO PatentsView, granted utility patents As of 2015–2025 grant years
View data table
Top patent holders in CPC subclass C10K
Rank Company Patents in C10K
#1 Exxonmobil Research AND Engineering Company 41
#2 Haldor Topsøe A/s 19
#3 Thermochem Recovery International, Inc. 17
#4 RES USA, Llc 17
#5 UOP Llc 14
#6 Linde Gmbh 13
#7 Fulcrum Bioenergy, Inc. 13
#8 Wuhan Kaidi Engineering Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd. 12
#9 Infinium Technology, Llc 12
#10 GAS Technology Institute 10
#11 Velocys Technologies Ltd 9
#12 Expander Energy, Inc. 9
#13 CHZ Technologies, Llc 9
#14 Saudi Basic Industries Corporation 8
#15 Fluor Technologies Corporation 8
#16 8 Rivers Capital, Llc 8
#17 Aries Clean Technologies Llc 7
#18 Lummus Technology Llc 6
#19 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering, Ltd. 6
#20 Anellotech, Inc. 6

About This Class

CPC subclass C10K belongs to class C10.

1,080 patents were granted in this class between 2015 and 2025.

20 companies actively patent in this space.

Classification System

Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) is a hierarchical patent classification system used by the USPTO and EPO.

← All Technology Classes Technology Rankings →

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading C10K 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 C10K assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C10K. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 C10K assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C10K. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 101520253035 01020304050 Patents in C10K Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Exxonmobil Research A…Haldor TopsØE A/SThermochem Recovery I…Res UsaUopLindeFulcrum BioenergyWuhan Kaidi Engineeri…Infinium TechnologyGas Technology Instit…VelocysExpander EnergyChzSaudi Basic Industries
Top 14 C10K assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C10K. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class C10K?
CPC subclass C10K covers PURIFYING OR MODIFYING THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF COMBUSTIBLE GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE. It belongs to CPC class C10 (PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT), with 1,080 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in C10K?
1,080 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass C10K between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in C10K?
General Electric Company leads C10K with 47 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for C10K collected?
Patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It covers all US granted utility patents and assigns CPC codes based on the technology described in each patent.
What is the difference between CPC class and subclass?
A CPC class (e.g., C10) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like C10K provide finer granularity within that category. PlainPatent organizes data at the subclass level (4-character codes) for the most useful view of technology domains.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from USPTO PatentsView - official U.S. government patent data. See our methodology for computation details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPatent Editorial

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.