DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Claim Status
The Amendment filed on 09 October 2025 has been entered; claims 1-15, 18, 20-22, and 24 remain pending, of which claims 7-15, 18, and 20-22 were previously withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments, see Pages 6-7 of the Remarks, with respect to the rejection of claims 1-6 under 35 USC 112(b) have been fully considered but they are not persuasive for the reasons discussed below, especially in view of the variables from which the partial pressures of H2 are to be calculated, and with reference to the fact that the formulas in claim 1 have been removed. Please see below for details.
Claim Objections
Claim 24 is objected to because of the following informalities: regarding claim 24, the limitation “contaminate” should likely be recited as “contaminant”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-6 and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
With respect to claim 1, the limitations which lack support in Applicant’s Specification are: “wherein the partial pressure of H2 provided the aqueous system is ± 10% of the theoretical pressure of H2 determined by combining the partial pressures of H2 calculated from influent nitrate concentration, total flow rate, membrane H2-diffusion coefficient, hollow-fiber outer diameter, membrane thickness, total fiber surface area, and influent oxidized selenium contaminant concentration”, without the formulas depicted in Paragraph [0010] of the published Specification and original claim 1. Reciting the variables without the aforementioned formulas (i.e., the specific manner in which the variables are mathematically related according to the Specification) is not only unsupported, but raises a number of 112(b) issues, as discussed below in detail.
Regarding claims 2-6 and 24, they are rejected for being dependent on a rejected base claim.
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 1-6 and 24 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.
With respect to claim 1, the limitations which render the claim indefinite are: “wherein the partial pressure of H2 provided the aqueous system is ± 10% of the theoretical pressure of H2 determined by combining the partial pressures of H2 calculated from influent nitrate concentration, total flow rate, membrane H2-diffusion coefficient, hollow-fiber outer diameter, membrane thickness, total fiber surface area, and influent oxidized selenium contaminant concentration”. Without the formulas recited in Paragraph [0010] and original claim 1, it is unclear how one would use influent nitrate concentration, total flow rate, membrane H2-diffusion coefficient, hollow-fiber outer diameter, membrane thickness, total fiber surface area, and influent oxidized selenium contaminant concentration to calculate partial pressures of H2.
It is further unclear from Paragraphs [0027, 0028] of the published Specification which “oxidized selenium contaminants” are included, as both selenate and selenite appear to be present in the aqueous system; however, “oxidized selenium contaminants” could refer to both selenate, selenite, as well as any other known selenium-containing contaminant where Se is in a positive valency state.
Additionally, it is unclear to the Examiner if “Q” is a total flow rate from Paragraphs [0027, 0028]), or how a “total flow rate” would be determined in light of the flow first and second growth mediums. Regarding flow rate "Q": when considering claim 1 with claim 3, it appears that "Q" should likely be defined according to the first and second mediums, separately, as the flow rate for the first and second medium are not necessarily the same/simultaneously flowing as in the Example. Additionally with respect to claim 3, it is unclear whether hydrogen is contacted with the inoculated aqueous medium during all or a portion of the each of the three-week periods, which would probably also relate to growth/proliferation of the hydrogenoautotrophic bacteria.
To overcome at least some of these rejections, the Examiner submits that Applicant may wish to consider putting the formulas of Paragraph [0010] back into claim 1, where CinNO3--N on the right side of the first equation is amended to CinNO3-, which corresponds to the influent nitrate concentration. Additionally, the Examiner believes that Applicant intends to recite both selenate and selenite contaminants (see claim 2), each of which appears to have its own impact on H2 gas utilization according to the formulas in Paragraph [0027]. As such, Applicant may wish to reflect the PH2 in formula format as recited in Paragraph [0027] in order to accurately claim how much hydrogen gas is being used by both selenate and selenite as “oxidized selenium contaminants”.
With respect to claim 24, “the biomass” lacks antecedent basis in the claim language. Additionally with respect to claim 24, the contacting step including reduction of oxidized selenium contaminants appears to be already necessarily occurring in claim 1. Clarification is respectfully requested.
Regarding claims 2-6, they are rejected for being dependent on a rejected base claim.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Husain et al. (U.S. Patent Publication # 2010/0126929) teaches a membrane supported biofilm comprising a plurality of hollow fiber membranes in a tank containing water to be treated (“a bioreactor”) (Abstract), wherein oxidized contaminants in the water are contacted with the biofilm on the hollow fiber membranes in the presence of added hydrogen gas introduced in the lumens of the hollow fiber membranes (see Paragraph [0049]), wherein hydrogen gas introduction can be controlled and supplied by manifolds (see Paragraphs [0049, 0053, 0057, 0059]). Husain teaches quantification of nitrate levels (see Fig. 11), growing and maintaining a biofilm over 3-6 weeks (see Paragraphs [0057, 0088]) to achieve the desired biofilm capacity, periodically removing solids accumulated at the bottom of the bioreactor (Paragraph [0061]), addition of a specific amount of H2 gas (see Table 2; Paragraphs [0053, 0055, 0057, 0059]), with measurement and maintaining of ORP within specific levels, which reflects the oxidation/reduction status of the oxidized contaminants in the bioreactor, which is directly related to the amount of hydrogen gas added to the bioreactor. Husain teaches membrane diameters and other reactor and fiber details (see Tables 1, 3; Paragraphs [0052, 0068]), continuous flow (Paragraphs [0058, 0070, 0075]), control of biofilm thickness (Paragraphs [0066, 0070, 0072]).
Husain does not specifically teach addition of hydrogen gas by combining the partial pressures of H2 calculated from influent nitrate concentration, total flow rate, membrane H2-diffusion coefficient, hollow-fiber outer diameter, membrane thickness, total fiber surface area, and influent oxidized selenium contaminant concentration, but does provide all of these values, except for concentration of specifically oxidized selenium values (see Paragraph [0049]). Applicant is respectfully asked to consider amending claim 1 to include the formulas from Paragraphs [0010, 0027] in order to overcome the 112(b) issues and to clearly distinguish over the teachings of Husain and similar references which use bioreactors do remove oxidized selenium contaminants (see NPL references Van Ginkel, Chen, and Chung, for example, all cited by Applicant on the 25 February 2025 IDS).
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CLARE M PERRIN whose telephone number is (571)270-5952. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-6PM EST M-F.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Bob Ramdhanie can be reached at (571) 270-3240. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/CLARE M. PERRIN/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1779
/CLARE M PERRIN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1779 02 January 2026