DETAILED ACTION
Applicant’s response filed on 11/19/2025 has been fully considered. Claims 1 and 3-21 are pending. Claims 1, 6, and 8 are amended. Claim 2 is canceled. Claims 10-20 are withdrawn. Claim 21 is new.
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 .
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 3-7, and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bland et al. (US 2014/0144072 A1, cited in IDS).
Regarding claim 1, the Office notes that the claims pertain to a system for drying lignin, the system comprising a mixer and a separator as claimed. The claims therefore do not require the presence of lignin and desiccant beads in the system. Bland teaches a system 100 for drying coal as illustrated in FIG. 1 [0036]
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[FIG. 1], wherein the system 100 includes a granular drying medium distribution unit 102, a coal distribution unit 104, a combination unit 106, and a separator 108 [0036], wherein the separator 108 classifies the combination of coal and drying medium into a stream of dried coal 110 and granular drying media 112 [0036], wherein the coal distribution unit 104 introduces coal into the process [0038], wherein the coal has a particle size distribution whereby the mean particle size is 1.5 mm or less [0038], wherein the combination unit 106 includes functionality for the contacting engagement of the coal with the granular drying medium, plus some degree of agitation [0039], wherein the separator 108 operates by providing holes or openings of an appropriate size that the granular drying medium will not pass through, but the coal readily pass therethrough [0045], wherein the granular drying medium distribution unit 102 releases a predetermined volume of granular drying medium beads at a predetermined rate [0047], wherein the granular drying media are desiccants [0078], wherein the system may use additional techniques to adjust the agitation time-period to maximize the percentage of moisture removal [0014], wherein the combination unit 106 may be operated so that the coal and granular drying medium are engaged for a certain period of time [0042], wherein typically, the longer the contact time between the granular drying medium and the coal, the more moisture that is removed [0042], wherein if the moisture level is below the desired percentage, this implies that too much moisture is being removed and therefore the amount of contacting engagement between the goal and granular drying medium is too long [0063], wherein if the moisture level is too high, this may indicate the desire to increase the amount of surface engagement time [0063], wherein modulation of the effective contact time between the coal and granular drying media may be attained through the control of the agitation rate [0071], where in examples, the coal and the granular drying media were mixed for about 60 minutes [0106], about 1 minute [0107], or about 10 minutes [0108].
The specification of the instant application recites that the lignin may be sized based on the process used to produce the lignin [0021], which means that there is no limit to the size of the lignin that can be used in the claimed system. Since Bland’s combination unit 106 can receive Bland’s coal that has a particle size distribution whereby the mean particle size is 1.5 mm or less, Bland’s combination unit 106 can receive lignin as claimed. Bland’s granular drying media that are desiccants read on the composition and structure of the one or more types of desiccant beads that are recited in claim 1. Bland’s combination unit 106 is therefore configured to receive lignin and one or more desiccant beads. The specification of the instant application recites that mixing the wet lignin with the one or more types of desiccant beads enables moisture from the wet lignin to be transferred to the one or more types desiccant beads through absorption, resulting in dry lignin and wet desiccant beads [0004], that the particular time period may be set by a control panel of mixer 102, or may be preprogrammed [0026], and that during operation of system 200, wet lignin 110 and one or more types of dry desiccant beads 112 are mixed together in mixer 102 for a particular amount of time, such as a user selected amount of time, a preprogrammed amount of time, etc. [0039]. Mixing the lignin with the one or more types of desiccant beads therefore reduces the moisture content of the lignin, which means that as long as the mixer is capable of mixing the lignin with the one or more types of desiccant beads, the moisture content of the lignin will be reduced to some extent. Also, the ability of the lignin to have approximately a 35% moisture content prior to mixing in the mixer and the ability of the lignin to have approximately a 5% moisture content after mixing the mixer for up to about 40 minutes and after separation at the separator depends at least on the size and/or source of the lignin mixed in the mixer, the species and/or moisture content of the desiccant beads, the amount of lignin and the amount of desiccant beads in the mixer, and the speed at which the lignin and the desiccant beads are mixed. Claim 1 does not limit the size and/or source of the lignin mixed in the mixer, the species and/or moisture content of the desiccant beads, the amount of lignin and the amount of desiccant beads in the mixer, and the speed at which the lignin and the desiccant beads are mixed. Claim 1 also does not require the presence of lignin and desiccant beads in the system. Bland’s combination unit 106 is therefore configured to receive lignin and one or more desiccant beads, wherein the one or more types of desiccant beads are configured to reduce a moisture content of the lignin by absorbing moisture form the lignin into the one or more types of desiccant beads.
The specification of the instant application recites that Separator 104 may be configured to separate elements having a size that is less than a threshold, such as dry lignin 114, from elements having a size that is greater than the threshold, such as one or more types of wet desiccant beads 116 [0025], which means that Bland’s separator 108 is substantially similar in configuration to Separator 104 in the specification of the instant application, which means that Bland’s separator 108 is configured to separate the lignin from the one or more types of desiccant beads.
Band’s teachings therefore read on a system for drying lignin, the system comprising: a mixer configured to receive lignin and one or more types of desiccant beads and to mix the lignin with the one or more types of desiccant beads, wherein the one or more types of desiccant beads are configured to reduce a moisture content of the lignin by adsorbing moisture form the lignin into the one or more types of desiccant beads, a separator coupled to the mixture and configured to separate the lignin from the one or more types of desiccant beads
Regarding claim 3, Bland satisfies wherein an odor of the lignin is reduced after mixing in the mixer as claimed. This is because the claim does not limit the amount, species, or structure of the lignin and the one or more types of desiccant that the mixer is configured to receive, does not limit the mixing speed at which the lignin and the one or more types of desiccant beads are mixed, and does not limit the extent to which an odor of the lignin that the mixer is configured to receive is reduced after mixing in the mixer, which means that the lignin and the one or more types of desiccant that the mixer is configured to receive can have any amount, species, or structure, can be mixed at any mixing speed, and the odor of the lignin that the mixer is configured to receive can reduced to any extent as long as the odor of the lignin that the mixer is configured to receive is reduced. The specification of the instant application recites that the lignin is mixed with the one or more types of desiccant beads until an odor of the lignin is significantly reduced [0010], that the mixing process may reduce or eliminate a sulfurous odor of the lignin [0029], that after generating dry lignin 114 from a first mixing process, dry lignin 114 may be mixed with additional types of dry desiccant beads to further dry lignin 114 and to further reduce an odor of dry lignin 114 [0031], that performing multiple mixing processes in series may improve the dryness and reduce of the odor of dry lignin 114 [0031], and that in some such implementations, as a result of a second mixing process, dry lignin 114 may have a moisture content of less than 5% and an eliminated, or severely reduced, odor that the lignin is mixed with the one or more types of desiccant beads until an odor of the lignin is reduced or eliminated [0046]. Therefore, Bland satisfies wherein an odor of the lignin is reduced after mixing in the mixer as claimed.
Regarding claim 4, Bland teaches that the system 100 includes a granular drying medium distribution unit 102 and a combination unit 106 [0036], that the combination unit 106 includes functionality for the contacting engagement of the coal with the granular drying medium, plus some degree of agitation [0039], that the granular drying medium distribution unit 102 releases a predetermined volume of granular drying medium beads at a predetermined rate [0047], and that the granular drying media are desiccants that are activated alumina [0078]. Bland’s combination unit 106 is therefore configured to receive granular drying media that is activated alumina, which reads on a mixer that is configured to receive one of more types of desiccant beads, wherein the one or more types of desiccant beads comprise activated alumina desiccant beads, which reads on wherein the one or more types of desiccant beads comprise activated alumina desiccant beads as claimed.
Regarding claim 5, Bland teaches that the system 100 includes a granular drying medium distribution unit 102 and a combination unit 106 [0036], that the combination unit 106 includes functionality for the contacting engagement of the coal with the granular drying medium, plus some degree of agitation [0039], that the granular drying medium distribution unit 102 releases a predetermined volume of granular drying medium beads at a predetermined rate [0047], and that the granular drying media are desiccants that are activated alumina [0078]. Bland’s combination unit 106 is therefore configured to receive granular drying media that is activated alumina and is therefore configured to receive porous aluminum oxide, which reads on wherein the activated alumina desiccant beads comprise porous aluminum oxide as claimed.
Regarding claim 6, Bland teaches that the system 100 includes a granular drying medium distribution unit 102 and a combination unit 106 [0036], that the combination unit 106 includes functionality for the contacting engagement of the coal with the granular drying medium, plus some degree of agitation [0039], that the granular drying medium distribution unit 102 releases a predetermined volume of granular drying medium beads at a predetermined rate [0047], and that the granular drying media are activated charcoal [0081], calcium sulfate [0089], activated carbon [0081], or molecular sieves [0034, 0081]. Bland’s combination unit 106 is therefore configured to receive granular drying media that is activated charcoal, calcium sulfate, activated carbon, or molecular sieves, and is also configured to receive the other claimed types of desiccant, which reads on wherein the one or more types of desiccant beads comprise one of more of silica gel beads, activated charcoal, calcium sulfate, calcium chloride, calcium oxide, activated carbon, molecular sieves, montmorillonite clay, metal salts, phosphorous compounds, or combinations thereof as claimed.
Regarding claim 7, Bland teaches that the system 100 includes a separator 108 [0036], that the separator 108 classifies the combination of coal and drying medium into a stream of dried coal 110 and granular drying media 112 [0036], and that once separated, the granular drying medium can be passed to a dryer where they can be dried and sufficient moisture is removed to permit their reuse, if desired [0041], which reads on the system of claim 1, further comprising: a dryer coupled to the separator and configured to receive the one or more types of desiccant beads and to dry the one or more types of desiccant beads such that the one or more types of desiccant beads may be provided to the mixer for use in mixing with additional lignin as claimed.
Regarding claim 21, Bland teaches that the system 100 includes a granular drying medium distribution unit 102 and a combination unit 106 [0036], that the combination unit 106 includes functionality for the contacting engagement of the coal with the granular drying medium, plus some degree of agitation [0039], that the granular drying medium distribution unit 102 releases a predetermined volume of granular drying medium beads at a predetermined rate [0047], that the granular drying media are desiccants [0078], that examples of desiccants are silicates [0034], and that a variety of desiccation agents, desiccants, may be employed to reduce the moisture content of coal fine, including but not limited to, silica, alumina, and calcium sulfate [0089]. Bland’s combination unit 106 is therefore configured to receive granular drying media that is a variety of desiccation agents, desiccants, silicates, silica, alumina, or calcium sulfate, which reads on wherein the one or more types of desiccant beads comprise one or more of calcium chloride, calcium oxide, montmorillonite clay, metal salts, phosphorous compounds, or a combination thereof as claimed.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bland et al. (US 2014/0144072 A1, cited in IDS) as applied to claim 7, and further in view of Schmidt (US 5,263,266, cited in IDS).
Regarding claim 8, Bland teaches the system of claim 7 as explained above. Bland teaches that once separated, the granular drying medium can be passed to a dryer where they can be dried and sufficient moisture is removed to permit their reuse, if desired [0041].
Bland does not teach that the system of claim 7 further comprises an oil heater coupled to the dryer and configured to provide heated oil to the dryer, wherein the heated oil is configured to heat the dryer during a drying process of the one or more types of desiccant beads. However, Schmidt teaches that a plant shown in FIG. 1 is intended to dry about 60 t of wood chips per hour at an initial humidity of 100 percent of water to a final humidity of 2 percent (5:17-19), that FIG. 1 is
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[FIG. 1], that connected to the combustion chamber 11 is a waste heat boiler 14 in which a thermal oil is heated in a pipe system 15 to a temperature of 2000° C at which temperature it is discharged from the waste heat boiler 14 via line 16 (5:45-49), and that this thermal oil is used via a line 17 connected to line 16 for heating the presses used for pressing the particle boards, on the one hand, while on the other hand line 16 leads to the indirect heating 18 of the second dryer 5 and from there back again to the pipe system 15 of the waste heat boiler 14 via line 19 to which a line 20 coming from the presses is connected (5:50-56). Bland and Schmidt are analogous art because both references are in the same field of endeavor of a system for drying material that is suitable for drying lignin. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to use Schmidt’s combustion chamber 11, Schmidt’s waste heat boiler 14, Schmidt’s thermal oil, Schmidt’s pipe system 15, Schmidt’s line 16, Schmidt’s line 17, Schmidt’s indirect heating 18, and Schmidt’s line 20 to modify Bland’s dryer to which Bland’s granular drying medium is passed, such that connected to Schmidt’s combustion chamber 11 is Schmidt’s waste heat boiler 14 in which Schmidt’s thermal oil is heated in Schmidt’s pipe system 15 to a temperature at which temperature it is discharged from Schmidt’s waste heat boiler 14 via Schmidt’s line 16, Schmidt’s thermal oil is used via Schmidt’s line 17 connected to Schmidt’s line 16 for heating Bland’s dyer, on the one hand, while on the other hand Schmidt’s line 16 leads to Schmidt’s indirect heating 18 of Bland’s dryer and from there back again to Schmidt’s pipe system 15 of Schmidt’s waste heat boiler 14 via Schmidt’s line 19 to which Schmidt’s line 20 coming from Bland’s dryer is connected. The proposed modification would read on the system of claim 7 further comprising an oil heater coupled to the dryer and configured to provide heated oil to the dryer, wherein the heated oil is configured to heat the dryer during a drying process of the one or more types of desiccant beads as claimed. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because it would have been beneficial for heating Bland’s dryer to dry Bland’s granular drying medium and remove sufficient moisture to permit their reuse because Schmidt teaches that connected to the combustion chamber 11 is a waste heat boiler 14 in which a thermal oil is heated in a pipe system 15 to a temperature of 2000° C at which temperature it is discharged from the waste heat boiler 14 via line 16 (5:45-49), and that this thermal oil is used via a line 17 connected to line 16 for heating the presses used for pressing the particle boards, on the one hand, while on the other hand line 16 leads to the indirect heating 18 of the second dryer 5 and from there back again to the pipe system 15 of the waste heat boiler 14 via line 19 to which a line 20 coming from the presses is connected (5:50-56), and that the equipment is in a plant shown in FIG. 1 that is intended to dry about 60 t of wood chips per hour at an initial humidity of 100 percent of water to a final humidity of 2 percent (5:17-19), and because Bland teaches that once separated, the granular drying medium can be passed to a dryer where they can be dried and sufficient moisture is removed to permit their reuse, if desired [0041].
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bland et al. (US 2014/0144072 A1, cited in IDS) as applied to claim 7, and further in view of Liu (CN 102967135 A, machine translation in English used for citation).
Regarding claim 9, Bland teaches the system of claim 7 as explained above. Bland teaches that the separated granular drying medium can be somewhat dusty and can carry a minute amount of coal with them after they have absorbed the water [0041], and that once separated, the granular drying medium can be passed to a dryer where they can be dried and sufficient moisture is removed to permit their reuse, if desired [0041].
Bland does not teach that the system of claim 7 further comprises a dust collector coupled to the dryer and configured to remove dust from the dryer. However, Liu teaches a dust collector that is present in an energy-saving rapid drying device [0007], wherein the device is used for energy-saving and environmentally friendly wood drying [0009], wherein flue gas discharged from a heat exchange furnace is filtered through the dust collector [0023]. Bland and Liu are analogous art because both references are in the same field of endeavor of a system for drying lignin. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to use Liu’s dust collector to modify Bland’s dryer to collect dust from Bland’s granular drying medium in Bland’s dryer. The proposed modification would read on the system of claim 7 further comprising a dust collector coupled to the dryer and configured to remove dust from the dryer as claimed. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because it would have been beneficial for removing dust from Bland’s granular drying medium in Bland’s dryer because Liu teaches a dust collector that is present in an energy-saving rapid drying device [0007], wherein the device is used for energy-saving and environmentally friendly wood drying [0009], wherein flue gas discharged from a heat exchange furnace is filtered through the dust collector [0023], and because Bland teaches that the separated granular drying medium can be somewhat dusty and can carry a minute amount of coal with them after they have absorbed the water [0041], and that once separated, the granular drying medium can be passed to a dryer where they can be dried and sufficient moisture is removed to permit their reuse, if desired [0041].
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see p. 5, filed 11/19/2025, with respect to the objection to claim 6 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The objection to claim 6 has been withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments filed 11/19/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. In response to the applicant’s argument that Bland fails to disclose at least “wherein the lignin has approximately a 35% moisture content prior to mixing in the mixer, and wherein the lignin has approximately a 5% moisture content after mixing in the mixer for up to about 40 minutes and after separation at the separator” as recited in independent Claim 1 because Bland discloses drying coal fines with a moisture content of 3-% for about 60 minutes thereby drying the coal fines to <5% moisture by weight, and drying coal fines with a moisture content of 21% for about 10 minutes, thereby drying the coal fines to about 7% moisture by weight (p. 5-6), the Office notes that the claims pertain to a system for drying lignin, the system comprising a mixer and a separator as claimed. The claims therefore do not require the presence of lignin and desiccant beads in the system. The specification of the instant application recites that the lignin may be sized based on the process used to produce the lignin [0021], which means that there is no limit to the size of the lignin that can be used in the claimed system. Since Bland’s combination unit 106 can receive Bland’s coal [0042] that has a particle size distribution whereby the mean particle size is 1.5 mm or less [0038], Bland’s combination unit 106 can receive lignin as claimed. Bland teaches that the coal has a particle size distribution whereby the mean particle size is 1.5 mm or less [0038]. Bland’s granular drying media that are desiccants [0078] read on the composition and structure of the one or more types of desiccant beads that are recited in claim 1. Bland’s combination unit 106 [0039] is therefore configured to receive lignin and one or more desiccant beads. The specification of the instant application recites that mixing the wet lignin with the one or more types of desiccant beads enables moisture from the wet lignin to be transferred to the one or more types desiccant beads through absorption, resulting in dry lignin and wet desiccant beads [0004], that the particular time period may be set by a control panel of mixer 102, or may be preprogrammed [0026], and that during operation of system 200, wet lignin 110 and one or more types of dry desiccant beads 112 are mixed together in mixer 102 for a particular amount of time, such as a user selected amount of time, a preprogrammed amount of time, etc. [0039]. Mixing the lignin with the one or more types of desiccant beads therefore reduces the moisture content of the lignin, which means that as long as the mixer is capable of mixing the lignin with the one or more types of desiccant beads, the moisture content of the lignin will be reduced to some extent. Also, the ability of the lignin to have approximately a 35% moisture content prior to mixing in the mixer and the ability of the lignin to have approximately a 5% moisture content after mixing the mixer for up to about 40 minutes and after separation at the separator depends at least on the size and/or source of the lignin mixed in the mixer, the species and/or moisture content of the desiccant beads, the amount of lignin and the amount of desiccant beads in the mixer, and the speed at which the lignin and the desiccant beads are mixed. Claim 1 does not limit the size and/or source of the lignin mixed in the mixer, the species and/or moisture content of the desiccant beads, the amount of lignin and the amount of desiccant beads in the mixer, and the speed at which the lignin and the desiccant beads are mixed. Claim 1 also does not require the presence of lignin and desiccant beads in the system. Bland’s combination unit 106 [0039] is therefore configured to receive lignin and one or more desiccant beads, wherein the one or more types of desiccant beads are configured to reduce a moisture content of the lignin by absorbing moisture form the lignin into the one or more types of desiccant beads.
In response to the applicant’s argument that Bland fails to disclose each and every limitation and feature of claims 3-7 for at least their respective dependencies from claim 1 or for further features recited therein (p. 6), Bland anticipates the limitations of claims 3-7 and 21 as explained in the rejection of the claims that is set forth in this Office action.
In response to the applicant argument that Schmidt fails to cure the deficiencies of Bland, and Bland and Schmidt fail to disclose or render obvious each and every limitation and feature of claim 8 for at least its dependency from claim 1 or for further features recited therein (p. 6), Bland does not have deficiencies to which the applicant refers as explained above in response to the applicant’s arguments with respect to Bland. Bland in view of Schmidt renders obvious the limitations of claim 8 as explained in the rejection of claim 8 that is set forth in this Office action.
In response to the applicant’s argument that Liu fails to cure the deficiencies of Bland and that Bland and Liu fail to disclose or render obvious each and every limitation and feature of claim 9 for at least its dependency from claim 1 or for further features recited therein (p. 6-7), Bland does not have deficiencies to which the applicant refers as explained above in response to the applicant’s arguments with respect to Bland. Bland in view of Liu renders obvious the limitations of claim 9 as explained in the rejection of claim 9 that is set forth in this Office action.
In response to the applicant’s argument that claim 21 is patentable at least by virtue of its respective dependency and for the additional features recited therein (p. 7), Bland anticipates the limitations of claim 21 as explained above in the rejection of claim 21 that is set forth in this Office action.
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.
Correspondence
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID KARST whose telephone number is (571)270-7732. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-5:00 PM.
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/DAVID T KARST/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1767