ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 30 -- BASF, Ludwigshafen, Germany, has been assigned a patent (8,002,119) developed by five co-inventors for a "control of the thickening of silicate-containing aqueous systems." The co-inventors are Karl-Heinz Buechner, Altlussheim, Germany, Stephan Nied, Neustadt/Wstr., Germany, Alexander Goethlich, Mannheim, Germany, Frank Klippel, Ludwigshafen, Germany, and Gunnar Schornick, Neuleiningen, Germany. The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark   more