DETAILED ACTION
This detailed action is in response to the amendments and arguments filed on 12/23/2025, and any subsequent filings.
Notations “C_”, “L_” and “Pr_” are used to mean “column_”, “line_” and “paragraph_”.
Claims 6, 21 and 31 are newly canceled. Claims 1-3, 7-10, 12-14, 16-17, 22-23, 26-27, 29-30, and 32-33 are pending.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claim 1
In response to applicant's arguments against the references individually (pg. 7), one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986).
In response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., synergistic removal of perchlorate and PFAS, and synergies resulting from the combination of specific unit operations (pg. 7-8)) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993). Furthermore, the Applicant, in the originally filed application, has not provided data in support of unexpected and superior results (see MPEP 716.02(a)). Furthermore, reference Bachman teaches that contact with the ion exchange media, which may be a strong base ion exchange media (Bachman, [0034]) comprising tri-butyl amine functional groups (Bachman, [0034]), reduces in concentration the fluorinated hydrocarbon species and the at least one perchlorate species (Bachman, [0041] and [0043]).
Claim 14
The Applicant argues that reference Bachman fails to teach or suggest advanced oxidation processes because advanced oxidation requires both oxidation and ultraviolet treatment (pg. 8). This argument is persuasive.
Claim 27
The Applicant argues that Bradley is silent regarding PFAS contaminant and a perchlorate selective tri-butyl amine resin having a quaternary amine functional group (pg. 9). This argument is unpersuasive because Bradley was not relied upon to teach these limitations.
In response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., PFAS contaminant) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
In response to applicant's argument that the examiner's conclusion of obviousness is based upon improper hindsight reasoning (pg. 9), it must be recognized that any judgment on obviousness is in a sense necessarily a reconstruction based upon hindsight reasoning. But so long as it takes into account only knowledge which was within the level of ordinary skill at the time the claimed invention was made, and does not include knowledge gleaned only from the applicant's disclosure, such a reconstruction is proper. See In re McLaughlin, 443 F.2d 1392, 170 USPQ 209 (CCPA 1971).
Response to Amendment
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 14, 16-17, 22-23 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 14 recites “two perchlorate selective ion exchange resin beds” and “at least one perchlorate selective ion exchange resin bed”. It is unclear whether the “at least one perchlorate selective ion exchange resin bed” is one of the “two perchlorate selective ion exchange resin beds” or refers to another distinct perchlorate selective ion exchange resin bed”.
Dependent claims not recited above require all of the limitations of independent Claim 14, and therefore are rejected for the same reasons set forth above.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claims 1-3, 7-8 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Publication US20190241452A1 (‘Ball’) in view of U.S. Publication US20100145113A1 (‘Bachman’) and further in view of U.S. Publication US20040256597A1 (‘Barrett’) and in further view of U.S. Publication US201602078 13A1 (‘Szcesniak’) and in further view of Internet Publication Perchlorate Contamination and Current Treatment Options (‘Wheland’, the webpage was provided with a previous office action).
The Applicant’s claims are directed towards a method.
Regarding Claims 1-3, 7-8 and 12, Ball teaches a method of treating water including perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) (abstract) comprising:
providing feed water having an initial concentration of PFAS (abstract);
dosing the feed water with an oxidizer to produce a dosed water ([0022], persulfate);
exposing the dosed water to ultraviolet (UV) light ([0105], UV light can be used with persulfate) to produce a first treated solution ([0105]);
directing the first treated solution to an ion exchange resin to produce a product water having a lower concentration of PFAS than the first treated solution ([0110], ion exchange resin can be used after chemical oxidation); and
directing one of the first treated solution and the product water to an activated carbon unit to produce a second treated solution having a lower concentration of the oxidizer than the first treated solution or the product water ([0036], further treatment such as by activated carbon filtration after chemical oxidation).
Ball does not teach an initial concentration of perchlorate, that the ion exchange resin is a perchlorate selective ion exchange resin comprising a tri-butyl amine resin having a quaternary amine functional group, and monitoring a total organic carbon (TOC) level in the feed water, first treated solution, and/or product water; recirculating at least a portion of the first treated solution to the feed water; and controlling a flow rate of the feed water and/or the recirculated portion of the first treated solution responsive to the monitored TOC level.
Bachman also relates to a method of treating water including perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) (abstract), comprising providing feed water having an initial concentration of PFAS and an initial concentration of perchlorate (abstract); and
directing the solution to a perchlorate selective ion exchange resin comprising a tri-butyl amine resin ([0034]) to produce a product water having a lower concentration of perchlorate and PFAS than the solution ([0041] and [0043]).
Barrett also relates to a method of treating water (abstract), wherein the tri-butyl amine resin ([0017] and [0019]) has a quaternary amine functional group ([0019]).
Szcesniak also relates to a method of treating water including perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) ([0032] and Table 1A), comprising:
monitoring a total organic carbon (TOC) level in the feed (Fig. 1A, [0058], contaminated groundwater 102) water (Fig. 1A, [0060], sensor 130a), first treated solution (Fig. 1A, [0058], sensors 130b), and/or product water;
recirculating at least a portion of the first treated solution to the feed water (Fig. 1A, [0061], second treated aqueous solution 106); and
controlling a flow rate of the feed water and/or the recirculated portion of the first treated solution responsive to the monitored TOC level ([0100], adjusts dose of radiation to input signal that provides a representation of the TOC value of the contaminated groundwater 102 or second treated aqueous stream 106. The dose of radiation can be adjusted by adjusting the flow rate of the aqueous solution, [0094]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the feed water of Ball may have an initial concentration of perchlorate, as demonstrated by Bachman, because groundwater can be contaminated with perchlorate (Bachman, [0018]. Ball also involves treating groundwater, Ball, abstract). It would have been obvious to use a perchlorate selective ion exchange resin, such as the tri-butyl amine resin of Bachman, in the method of Ball and Bachman because such strongly basic anion (SBA) exchangers remove perchlorate to remarkably low levels (Wheland, pg. 2, Pr1-2) and the ion exchange media can be used to reduce the concentration of both the fluorinated hydrocarbon species and perchlorate species (Bachman, [0041] and [0043]). It would have been obvious for the tri-butyl amine resin of Ball, Bachman and Wheland to have a quaternary amine functional group, as demonstrated by Barrett, to improve perchlorate selectivity (Barrett, [0019] and [0022]). It would have been obvious to monitor TOC levels, recirculate at least a portion of the first treated solution to the feed water and control a flow rate of the feed water and/or recirculated portion responsive to the monitored TOC level, as demonstrated by Szcesniak, in the method of Ball, Bachman, Wheland and Barrett so that when the TOC value of the contaminated water or second treated aqueous stream is above a target TOC value or value range, the drive signal can be generated to increase an amount of persulfate or UV light dose, where the target TOC value or value range is established by local or federal governments, or downstream processing or use requirements (Szcesniak, [0066]).
Additional Disclosures Included:
Claim 2: the oxidizer comprises a persulfate compound (Ball, [0022], persulfate).
Claim 3: the persulfate compound comprises ammonium persulfate, sodium persulfate, and/or potassium persulfate (Ball, [0053], [0058], [0182]).
Claim 7: monitoring a pressure, temperature, pH, concentration, or flow rate in the feed water, first treated solution, and/or product water (reaction conditions that may be adjusted include pH of solution and concentration of persulfate (Ball, [0047]). Flowrates and pressures (Ball, [0165])).
Claims 8: a TOC level of the first treated solution is less than about 0.5 ppb (Szcesniak, Table 4).
Claim 12: delivering the product water to a potable point of use ([0040]) (It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to deliver the product water of the combination of Ball, Bachman, Wheland and Szcesniak to a potable point of use, as demonstrated by Bachman, because the product water has PFAS levels adhering to drinking water health advisories (Ball, [0011] and [0153])).
Claims 9-10 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Publication US20190241452A1 (‘Ball’) in view of U.S. Publication US20100145113A1 (‘Bachman’) and further in view of U.S. Publication US20040256597A1 (‘Barrett’) and in further view of U.S. Publication US201602078 13A1 (‘Szcesniak’) and in further view of Internet Publication Perchlorate Contamination and Current Treatment Options (‘Wheland’, the webpage was provided with a previous office action) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of U.S. Patent US7371326B2 (‘Dale’).
The Applicant’s claims are directed towards a method.
Regarding Claims 9-10, the combination of Ball, Bachman, Barrett, Szcesniak and Wheland teaches the method of Claim 1, except that a perchlorate concentration in the product water is less than about 6 ppb, wherein the perchlorate concentration in the product water is less than about 1 ppb.
Dale also relates to a method of treating water (abstract), wherein a perchlorate concentration in the product water is less than about 6 ppb, wherein the perchlorate concentration in the product water is less than about 1 ppb (C5, L15-17).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the product water of the combination of Ball, Bachman, Barrett, Szcesniak and Wheland can have a perchlorate concentration less than about 6 ppb or 1 ppb, as demonstrated by Dale, because perchlorate selective ion resin beds can be operated to remove perchlorate down to a low threshold (Dale, C5, L15-17).
Regarding Claim 13, the combination of Ball, Bachman, Barrett, Szcesniak and Wheland teaches the method of Claim 1, except replacing the perchlorate selective ion exchange resin upon detecting perchlorate breakthrough that exceeds a threshold value.
Dale teaches replacing (C4, L51) the perchlorate selective ion exchange resin upon detecting perchlorate breakthrough that exceeds a threshold value (beds are replaced after reaching a defined saturation level and/or when reaching a loading such that it unacceptably bleeds species (C7, L33-37)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to replace the perchlorate selective ion exchange resin of Ball, Bachman, Barrett, Szcesniak and Wheland upon detecting perchlorate breakthrough that exceeds a threshold value, as demonstrated by Dale, to assure effectively complete removal of perchlorate (Dale, C4, L44-57).
Claims 14, 16-17, 22-23 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Publication US20100145113A1 (‘Bachman’) in view of U.S. Publication US201602078 13A1 (‘Szcesniak’) and in further view of U.S. Publication US20040256597A1 (‘Barrett’).
The Applicant’s claims are directed towards an apparatus.
Regarding Claims 14, 16-17, 22-23 and 26, Bachman teaches a water treatment system (abstract), comprising:
a reactor (Fig. 1, [0025], pre-treatment 106 may include ultraviolet treatments) having an inlet fluidly connectable to a source of water to be treated and an outlet (Fig. 1, [0025]),
two perchlorate selective ion exchange resin beds (Fig. 1, [0028], treatment 108 may utilize ion exchange media) arranged in parallel ([0033], multiple vessels in parallel), having an inlet fluidly connected to the reactor outlet and a product water outlet (Fig. 1), the perchlorate selective ion exchange resin beds comprising a tri-butyl amine resin ([0034]); and
an activated carbon unit (Fig. 1, [0039], post-treatment 110 may include filtration with granular activated carbon) having an inlet fluidly connected to at least one of the reactor outlet and the perchlorate selective ion exchange resin bed outlet (Fig. 1);
at least one sensor ([0028]) configured to detect a level ([0028]);
a controller (Fig. 2, [0047], control systems or controllers 200) in communication with the at least one sensor ([0047]) and configured to control flow rate of the source of water to be treated ([0031]) and/or recirculated water responsive to the detected level ([0044], may adjust flow rates in response to a representation of a concentration).
Bachman does not teach an advanced oxidation process reactor (AOPR), a quaternary amine functional group, that the at least one sensor is configured to detect total organic carbon (TOC) level; a recirculation line extending from the outlet of the AOPR to the source of the water to be treated; and that the controller is responsive to the detected TOC level.
Szcesniak also relates to a water treatment system (abstract), comprising:
an advanced oxidation process reactor (AOPR) (Fig. 1B, [0095] and [0100], reactor 145) having an inlet fluidly connectable to a source of water to be treated and an outlet (Fig. 1B);
at least one sensor (Fig. 1A, [0060], sensor 130a) configured to detect total organic carbon (TOC) level ([0060]);
a recirculation line (Fig. 1A, [0061], second treated aqueous solution 106) extending from the outlet of the AOPR to the source of the water to be treated (Fig. 1A);
a controller (Fig. 1A, [0065-0066], controller 150) in communication with the at least one sensor ([0065-0066]) and configured to control flow rate of the source of water to be treated and/or recirculated water responsive to the detected TOC level ([0100], adjusts dose of radiation to input signal that provides a representation of the TOC value of the contaminated groundwater 102 or second treated aqueous stream 106. The dose of radiation can be adjusted by adjusting the flow rate of the aqueous solution, [0094]).
Barrett also relates to a water treatment system (abstract), wherein the tri-butyl amine resin ([0017] and [0019]) has a quaternary amine functional group ([0019]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the AOPR of Szcesniak and the water treatment system of Bachman in order to oxidize recalcitrant organic contaminants into non-hazardous compounds (Szcesniak, [0042]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the recirculation line of Szcesniak and the system of Bachman to expose the water to UV in multiple passes to reduce the concentration of the contaminant to an acceptable level (Szcesniak, [0046]). It would have been obvious for the controller of Bachman to be configured to control flow rate of the source of water to be treated and/or recirculated water responsive to the detected TOC level, as demonstrated by Szcesniak, so that when the TOC value of the contaminated water or second treated aqueous stream is above a target TOC value or value range, the drive signal can be generated to increase an amount of persulfate or UV light dose, where the target TOC value or value range is established by local or federal governments, or downstream processing or use requirements (Szcesniak, [0066]). It would have been obvious for the tri-butyl amine resin of Bachman and Szcesniak to have a quaternary amine functional group, as demonstrated by Barrett, to improve perchlorate selectivity (Barrett, [0019] and [0022]).
Additional Disclosures Included:
Claim 16: the AOPR comprises first and second subreactors arranged in parallel (Szcesniak, [0083-0084], lamps can be within the reactor such that they are parallel to each other) (It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the AOPR of the combination of Bachman and Szcesniak to comprise first and second subreactors arranged in parallel, as demonstrated by Szcesniak, to illuminate paths or coverage regions within the reactor (Szcesniak, [0083-0084])).
Claim 17: the AOPR is fluidly connected to a source of persulfate and comprises a UV light source (Szcesniak, [0100]).
Claim 22: the system further comprises at least one sensor configured to detect a pressure, temperature, pH, concentration (Bachman, [0028]), or flow rate.
Claim 23: wherein the controller is further configured to control a rate at which persulfate is introduced to the AOPR and/or control a dose of irradiation associated with the AOPR (Szcesniak, [0100], adjusts dose of radiation to input signal that provides a representation of the TOC value of the contaminated groundwater 102 or second treated aqueous stream 106. The dose of radiation can be adjusted by adjusting the flow rate of the aqueous solution, [0094]).
Claim 26: further comprising a pretreatment unit operation fluidly connected upstream of the AOPR (Szcesniak, Fig. 1A, [0058-0059], media filter 110) (It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to fluidly connect the pretreatment unit operation of Szcesniak upstream of the AOPR of the combination of Bachman and Szcesniak to pretreat the contaminated water by passing it through a media filter to remove any one or more undesired species (Szcesniak, [0059])).
Claim 27 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent US6960301B2 (‘Bradley’) in view of U.S. Publication US20100145113A1 (‘Bachman’) and in further view of U.S. Publication US20040256597A1 (‘Barrett’) and in further view of Internet Publication Perchlorate Contamination and Current Treatment Options (‘Wheland’, the webpage was provided with a previous office action) and in further view of U.S. Publication US20140069821A1 (‘Macin’).
The Applicant’s claim is directed towards a method.
Regarding Claim 27, Bradley teaches a method (C4, L39-43) of retrofitting (C14, L13-17, highly modular) a water treatment system comprising an existing (C14, L60-C15, L5, upon review of the contaminated water stream, a set of units can be delivered by coupling the individual units. Modular units are substantially complete units) AOPR having an inlet fluidly connectable to a source of water to be treated and an outlet (C14, L60-C15, L5, modular units can include an advanced oxidation unit), the method comprising:
providing ion exchange resin beds (Fig. 1, C9, L35-39, ion-exchange step 108); and
modifying the water treatment system by fluidly connecting the ion exchange resin beds in parallel (C10, L41-46) to the outlet of the existing AOPR (Fig. 1, C9, L35-39, ion-exchange step 108 follows AOP step 105).
Bradley does not teach that the ion exchange resin beds are two perchlorate selective ion exchange resin beds comprising a tri-butyl amine resin having a quaternary amine functional group in parallel; and integrating an activated carbon unit operation between the existing AOPR and the two perchlorate selective ion exchange resin beds, thereby retrofitting the water treatment system.
Bachman also relates to a water treatment system (abstract), including providing two ([0033], multiple) perchlorate selective ion exchange resin beds comprising a tributyl amine resin ([0034]); and
fluidly connecting the perchlorate selective ion exchange resin beds in parallel ([0033]) to the outlet of the existing reactor (Fig. 1).
Barrett teaches a tri-butyl amine resin ([0017] and [0019]) having a quaternary amine functional group ([0019]).
Macin also relates to a water treatment system (abstract), including integrating an activated carbon unit operation (Fig. 1A, [0098], activated carbon filter(s) 149) between the existing AOPR (Fig. 1A, [0102], reaction tank 107 and oxidizer 109) and the ion exchange resin beds (Fig. 1A, [0100], specific ion exchange resin 14).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the ion exchange resin beds of Bradley to be perchlorate selective ion exchange resin beds comprising a tri-butyl amine resin, as demonstrated by Bachman, because such strongly basic anion (SBA) exchangers remove perchlorate to remarkably low levels (Wheland, pg. 2, Pr1-2). It would have been obvious for the tri-butyl amine resin of Bradley and Bachman to have a quaternary amine functional group, as demonstrated by Barrett, to improve perchlorate selectivity (Barrett, [0019] and [0022]). It would have been obvious to integrate an activated carbon unit operation between the existing AOPR and the ion exchange resin beds of Bradley, as demonstrated by Macin, for polishing and removal of trace contaminants (Marcin, [0098]).
Claims 29-30 and 32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Publication US20190241452A1 (‘Ball’) in view of Publication SERDP Project ER18-1320 (‘Huang’, the reference was provided with a previous office action) and in further view of Internet Publication Perchlorate Contamination and Current Treatment Options (‘Wheland’, the webpage was provided with a previous office action) and further in view of U.S. Publication US20040256597A1 (‘Barrett’) and in further view of U.S. Publication US201602078 13A1 (‘Szcesniak’).
The Applicant’s claims are directed towards a method.
Regarding Claims 29-30 and 32, Ball teaches a method of treating water including perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) (abstract) comprising:
providing feed water having an initial concentration of PFAS (abstract);
dosing the feed water with an oxidizer to produce a dosed water ([0022], persulfate);
exposing the dosed water to ultraviolet (UV) light ([0105], UV light can be used with persulfate) to produce a first treated solution ([0105]);
directing the first treated solution to an ion exchange resin to produce a product water having a lower concentration of PFAS than the first treated solution ([0110], ion exchange resin can be used after chemical oxidation); and
directing one of the first treated solution and the product water to an activated carbon unit to produce a second treated solution having a lower concentration of the oxidizer than the first treated solution or the product water ([0036], further treatment such as by activated carbon filtration after chemical oxidation).
Ball does not teach that the first treated solution has an initial concentration of perchlorate, that the ion exchange resin is a perchlorate selective ion exchange resin comprising a tri-butyl amine resin having a quaternary amine functional group, and monitoring a total organic carbon (TOC) level in the feed water, first treated solution, and/or product water; recirculating at least a portion of the first treated solution to the feed water; and controlling a flow rate of the feed water and/or the recirculated portion of the first treated solution responsive to the monitored TOC level.
Huang also relates to a method of treating water including perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) (abstract), comprising producing a first treated solution having an initial concentration of perchlorate (pg. 15, last Pr, and pg. 35, Fig. A9).
Wheland also relates to treating water (pgs. 1-2), comprising a perchlorate selective ion exchange resin comprising a tri-butyl amine resin (pg. 2, Pr2).
Barrett teaches a tri-butyl amine resin ([0017] and [0019]) having a quaternary amine functional group ([0019]).
Szcesniak also relates to a method of treating water including perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) ([0032] and Table 1A), comprising:
monitoring a total organic carbon (TOC) level in the feed (Fig. 1A, [0058], contaminated groundwater 102) water (Fig. 1A, [0060], sensor 130a), first treated solution (Fig. 1A, [0058], sensors 130b), and/or product water;
recirculating at least a portion of the first treated solution to the feed water (Fig. 1A, [0061], second treated aqueous solution 106); and
controlling a flow rate of the feed water and/or the recirculated portion of the first treated solution responsive to the monitored TOC level ([0100], adjusts dose of radiation to input signal that provides a representation of the TOC value of the contaminated groundwater 102 or second treated aqueous stream 106. The dose of radiation can be adjusted by adjusting the flow rate of the aqueous solution, [0094]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the first treated solution of Ball may have an initial concentration of perchlorate, as demonstrated by Huang, because persulfate treatment can enhance perchlorate formation during oxidation treatment (Huang, pg. 15, last Pr) and perchlorate forms during oxidation of PFAS (Huang, Fig. 3, pg. 11). It would have been obvious to use a perchlorate selective ion exchange resin, such as the tri-butyl amine resin of Wheland, in the method of Ball because such strongly basic anion (SBA) exchangers remove perchlorate to remarkably low levels (Wheland, pg. 2, Pr1-2) and perchlorate can cause serious health risks (Huang, pg. 5). It would have been obvious for the tri-butyl amine resin of Ball, Huang and Wheland to have a quaternary amine functional group, as demonstrated by Barrett, to improve perchlorate selectivity (Barrett, [0019] and [0022]). It would have been obvious to monitor TOC levels, recirculate at least a portion of the first treated solution to the feed water and control a flow rate of the feed water and/or recirculated portion responsive to the monitored TOC level, as demonstrated by Szcesniak, in the method of Ball so that when the TOC value of the contaminated water or second treated aqueous stream is above a target TOC value or value range, the drive signal can be generated to increase an amount of persulfate or UV light dose, where the target TOC value or value range is established by local or federal governments, or downstream processing or use requirements (Szcesniak, [0066]).
Additional Disclosures Included:
Claim 30: the oxidizer comprises a persulfate compound (Ball, [0022], persulfate).
Claim 32: monitoring a pressure, temperature, pH, concentration, or flow rate in the feed water, first treated solution, and/or product water (reaction conditions that may be adjusted include pH of solution and concentration of persulfate (Ball, [0047]). Flowrates and pressures (Ball, [0165])).
Claim 33 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Publication US20190241452A1 (‘Ball’), Publication SERDP Project ER18-1320 (‘Huang’, the reference was provided with a previous office action), Internet Publication Perchlorate Contamination and Current Treatment Options (‘Wheland’, the webpage was provided with a previous office action), U.S. Publication US20040256597A1 (‘Barrett’) and U.S. Publication US201602078 13A1 (‘Szcesniak’) as applied to claim 29 above, and further in view of U.S. Patent US7371326B2 (‘Dale’).
The Applicant’s claim is directed towards a method.
Regarding Claim 33, the combination of Ball, Huang, Wheland, Barrett and Szcesniak teaches the method of Claim 29, except for replacing the perchlorate selective ion exchange resin upon detecting perchlorate breakthrough that exceeds a threshold value.
Dale teaches replacing (C4, L51) the perchlorate selective ion exchange resin upon detecting perchlorate breakthrough that exceeds a threshold value (beds are replaced after reaching a defined saturation level and/or when reaching a loading such that it unacceptably bleeds species (C7, L33-37).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to replace the perchlorate selective ion exchange resin upon detecting perchlorate breakthrough that exceeds a threshold value, as demonstrated by Dale, to assure effectively complete removal of perchlorate (Dale, C4, L44-57).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/BOI-LIEN THI NGUYEN/Examiner, Art Unit 1779