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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on December 29, 2025 has been made of record and entered.
Claims 1, 3, 8, 10, 12, 15, and 19 have been amended.
Claim 2 has been canceled.
Claims 1 and 3-20 are currently pending in this application and under consideration.
Claim Objections
Claims 5-7, 9, 11-17, and 19 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In Claims 5-7, 9, 11-17, and 19, add a comma preceding “wherein” in line 1 of each claim.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1, 3-13 and 15-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Snydacker et al. (US 2019/0256987 A1).
With regard to Claim 1, Snydacker teaches a method of producing lithium concentrate from a lithium source (Abstract).
Snydacker teaches contacting the lithium source with an uncoated ion exchange sorbent to sorb lithium (Paragraph 0095, Lithium is optionally extracted from such liquid resources using an ion exchange process based on inorganic ion exchange materials. These inorganic ion exchange materials absorb lithium from a liquid resource while releasing hydrogen, and then elute lithium in acid while absorbing hydrogen; Claim 209, said ion exchange particles comprise coated ion exchange particles, uncoated ion exchange particles, or combinations thereof).
Snydacker teaches producing a lithium concentrate, by desorbing the lithium from the sorbent by proton exchange using an acidic desorption fluid having a pH which is not so low as to degrade the sorbent and monitoring the pH until a steady-state pH is reached (Claim 202; Paragraph 0122, treating said lithium-enriched ion exchange material in said ion exchange unit with an acid solution, wherein said lithium ions from said lithium-enriched ion exchange material are exchanged with hydrogen ions from said acid solution to produce a lithium eluate; Paragraph 0158, contacting said lithium-selective ion exchange media with water to remove residual brine from the media, contacting said lithium-selective ion exchange media with acid to absorb protons while releasing lithium ions and producing a lithium solution; Claim 203, said pH modulation maintains an equilibrium in favor of hydrogen ions from said hydrogen-rich ion exchange particles being exchanged with lithium ions from said liquid resource).
While Snydacker does not explicitly teach a pH between about 1.0 and about 2.5, Snydacker discloses a wide range of acids and acid concentrations used for recovering lithium (Paragraphs 0373-0374; the acid solution comprises hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, hydrobromic acid, chloric acid, perchloric acid, nitric acid, formic acid, acetic acid, or combinations thereof… the acid used for recovering lithium from the ion exchange system has a concentration selected from the following list: less than 0.1 M, less than 1.0 M, less than 5 M, less than 10 M, or combinations thereof). An acid concentration of less than 0.1 M, for example, hydrochloric acid, results in a pH greater than 1.
As set forth in MPEP 2144.05.I, in the case where the claimed range “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art”, a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
With regard to Claim 3, while Snydacker does not explicitly teach the pH of the desorption step between about 1.7 and about 1.9, Snydacker discloses a wide range of acids and acid concentrations used for recovering lithium (Paragraphs 0373-0374; the acid solution comprises hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, hydrobromic acid, chloric acid, perchloric acid, nitric acid, formic acid, acetic acid, or combinations thereof… the acid used for recovering lithium from the ion exchange system has a concentration selected from the following list: less than 0.1 M, less than 1.0 M, less than 5 M, less than 10 M, or combinations thereof). An acid concentration of less than 0.1 M, for example, hydrochloric acid, results in a pH greater than 1.
As set forth in MPEP 2144.05.I, in the case where the claimed range “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art”, a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
With regard to Claim 4, Snydacker teaches the method wherein the sorbent is (a) uncoated, and/or (b) mixed with an organic or inorganic binder, or a combination of an organic and inorganic binder (Claim 209, said ion exchange particles comprise coated ion exchange particles, uncoated ion exchange particles, or combinations thereof; Claim 211, said coating material of said coated ion exchange particles comprises a chloro-polymer, a fluoro-polymer, a chloro-fluoro-polymer, a hydrophilic polymer, a hydrophobic polymer, co-polymers thereof, mixtures thereof, or combinations thereof).
With regard to Claim 5, Snydacker teaches the method wherein the acidic desorption fluid used in the desorption step comprises sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid or phosphoric acid (Paragraph 0015, In one embodiment, said acid solution is a solution of hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, hydrobromic acid, chloric acid, perchloric acid, nitric acid, formic acid, acetic acid, or combinations thereof).
With regard to Claim 6, Snydacker teaches the method wherein the lithium source is a brine solution having a Li concentration between about 1 to about 10,000 ppm (Paragraph 0363, a liquid resource is selected with a lithium concentration selected from the following list…less than 10,000 ppm, less than 1,000 ppm, less than 100 ppm, less than 10 ppm, or combinations thereof…less than 5,000 ppm, less than 500 ppm, less than 50 ppm, or combinations thereof).
With regard to Claim 7, Snydacker teaches the method wherein the produced lithium concentrate is polished to remove multivalent ions and further concentrated to a final Li concentration greater than about 10,000 ppm (Example 6, Paragraph 0454, The resulting lithium chloride eluate is…polished to remove trace amounts of divalent ions; Example 9, Paragraph 0467, The retentate contains a concentrated lithium solution with a lithium concentration around 40,000 mg/L; Paragraph 0470, The purification system is used to remove divalent and multivalent impurities through addition of sodium hydroxide and sodium carbonate). Given a density of lithium of 0.534 g/mL, the lithium concentration of Example 9 is (40000 mg/L)/(0.534 g/mL) = 74906 ppm.
With regard to Claim 8, Snydacker teaches the method further comprising a step of reacting the lithium concentrate with phosphate anions to produce lithium phosphate (Paragraph 0225, In one embodiment of a chemical precipitation unit, a lithium solution is treated with phosphate species to precipitate Li3PO4).
With regard to Claim 9, Snydacker teaches the method wherein the phosphate anions comprise one or more of phosphoric acid, potassium phosphate monobasic, potassium phosphate dibasic, potassium phosphate tribasic, sodium phosphate monobasic, sodium phosphate dibasic, or sodium phosphate tribasic, ammonium phosphate monobasic, ammonium phosphate dibasic, or ammonium phosphate tribasic (Paragraph 0025, In one embodiment of a chemical precipitation unit, a lithium chloride, lithium sulfate, or other lithium salt solution is treated with sodium phosphate, other phosphate compounds, or combinations thereof to precipitate Li3PO4).
With regard to Claim 10, Snydacker teaches the method further comprising a step of converting the lithium phosphate to lithium hydroxide or lithium carbonate, by reaction with calcium hydroxide or by electrolysis (Paragraph 0184, In one embodiment, an electrolysis system converts a lithium salt solution to form a lithium hydroxide solution, an acidified solution, and optionally a dilute lithium salt solution. In one embodiment, the lithium salt solution is or is derived from a lithium eluate solution, produced by an ion exchange system, that has optionally been concentrated and/or purified).
In Paragraph 0183, Snydacker converts a lithium sulfate solution into lithium hydroxide by electrolysis. However, the reference discloses that lithium phosphate can be used in place of lithium sulfate (Claim 207; said lithium salt is lithium carbonate, lithium bicarbonate, lithium hydroxide, lithium chloride, lithium bromide, lithium sulfate, lithium bisulfate, lithium phosphate).
As set forth in MPEP 2144.07, The selection of a known material based on its suitability for its intended use supported a prima facie obviousness determination in Sinclair & Carroll Co. v. Interchemical Corp., 325 U.S. 327, 65 USPQ 297 (1945).
With regard to Claims 11-12, Snydacker teaches the method wherein the lithium concentrate has at least 100 ppm of Li but not greater than about 3000 ppm, when reacting with phosphate anions, and wherein the lithium concentrate has a Li concentration greater than about 1000 ppm (Paragraph 0227, In one embodiment, the concentration of lithium in the Li-containing solution fed into the chemical precipitation unit may be greater than 1,000 mg/L…).
As set forth in MPEP 2144.05.I, in the case where the claimed range “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art”, a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
With regard to Claim 13, Snydacker teaches the method wherein the acidic desorption fluid used in the desorption step comprises phosphoric acid (Paragraph 0015, In one embodiment, said acid solution is a solution of hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, hydrobromic acid, chloric acid, perchloric acid, nitric acid, formic acid, acetic acid, or combinations thereof).
With regard to Claim 15, Snydacker teaches the method wherein a Ti-based sorbent is used as the ion exchange sorbent (Paragraph 0341, an ion exchange material comprises LiFePO4, Li2SnO3, Li2MnO3, Li2TiO3, Li4Ti5O12, Li4Mn5O12, Li1.6Mn1.6O4, solid solutions thereof, or combinations thereof).
While Snydacker does not explicitly teach that the acidic desorption fluid used in the desorption step has a pH between about 1.7 and about 1.9, Snydacker discloses a wide range of acids and acid concentrations used for recovering lithium (Paragraphs 0373-0374; the acid solution comprises hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, hydrobromic acid, chloric acid, perchloric acid, nitric acid, formic acid, acetic acid, or combinations thereof… the acid used for recovering lithium from the ion exchange system has a concentration selected from the following list: less than 0.1 M, less than 1.0 M, less than 5 M, less than 10 M, or combinations thereof). An acid concentration of less than 0.1 M, for example, hydrochloric acid, results in a pH greater than 1.
As set forth in MPEP 2144.05.I, in the case where the claimed range “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art”, a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
With regard to Claim 16-17, Snydacker teaches the method wherein the Ti-based sorbent is first added to water and the pH of the mixture is lowered by adding an inorganic or organic acid to the desorption fluid, wherein the acid is a polyprotic acid which acts as a buffering agent (Paragraph 0158, contacting said lithium-selective ion exchange media with water to remove residual brine from the media, contacting said lithium-selective ion exchange media with acid to absorb protons while releasing lithium ions and producing a lithium solution; Paragraph 0015, In one embodiment, said acid solution is a solution of hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, hydrobromic acid, chloric acid, perchloric acid, nitric acid, formic acid, acetic acid, or combinations thereof).
With regard to Claim 18, Snydacker teaches the method wherein a Mn-based sorbent is used as the ion exchange sorbent (Examples 1-17, Li4Mn5O12).
While Snydacker does not explicitly teach the process wherein the desorption step is in a desorption fluid having a concentration of acid and sorbent such that the molar ratio between the initial H+ and final Li+ concentration is between about 0.5 and 8.0, Snydacker discloses a wide range of acids and acid concentrations used for recovering lithium (Paragraphs 0373-0374; the acid solution comprises hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, hydrobromic acid, chloric acid, perchloric acid, nitric acid, formic acid, acetic acid, or combinations thereof… the acid used for recovering lithium from the ion exchange system has a concentration selected from the following list: less than 0.1 M, less than 1.0 M, less than 5 M, less than 10 M, or combinations thereof). An acid concentration of less than 0.1 M, for example, hydrochloric acid, results in a pH greater than 1.
As set forth in MPEP 2144.05.I, in the case where the claimed range “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art”, a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
With regard to Claim 19, Snydacker teaches the method wherein the Mn-based sorbent has the formula H1-2Mn1-2O3-4 (Paragraph 0341, an ion exchange material comprises LiFePO4, Li2SnO3, Li2MnO3, Li2TiO3, Li4Ti5O12, Li4Mn5O12, Li1.6Mn1.6O4, solid solutions thereof, or combinations thereof).
Claims 14 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Snydacker et al. (US 2019/0256987 A1) in view of Song et al. (“Recovery of lithium from spent lithium-ion batteries using precipitation and electrodialysis techniques”).
With regard to Claims 14 and 20, Snydacker teaches the method wherein conversion of lithium
phosphate to LiOH·H2O by electrolysis is performed in a multi-compartment electrolysis unit (Paragraph 0184, In one embodiment, an electrolysis system converts a lithium salt solution to form a lithium hydroxide solution, an acidified solution, and optionally a dilute lithium salt solution. In one embodiment, the lithium salt solution is or is derived from a lithium eluate solution, produced by an ion exchange system, that has optionally been concentrated and/or purified; Paragraph 0214, In some embodiments, the membrane electrolysis cell is an electrodialysis cell with multiple compartments. In some embodiments, the electrodialysis cell may have more than about two, more than about five, more than about 10, or more than about twenty compartments).
Snydacker is silent to dissolving the lithium phosphate in a mineral acid which then serves as anolyte or feed solution.
Song teaches dissolving the lithium phosphate in a mineral acid which then serves as anolyte or feed solution (Page 336, it can be assumed that if Li3PO4 is dissolved by acid, the lithium cations and phosphorus anions may be separated by electrodialysis. Dissolving Li3PO4 as anolyte, under the effect of electrodialysis with cation exchange membranes, the cathode chamber may obtain high concentration LiOH which can be directly prepared for Li2CO3 product; Figure 1, H3PO4). Song does this to increase separation of lithium and phosphorus, providing an efficient and green process for recovering lithium from spent lithium-ion batteries (I. Introduction, Page 335, Considering the current global lithium production with respect to projected demand, recovery and recycling of lithium are very important for the lithium metal economy which should be well studied).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention for Snydacker to teach dissolving the lithium phosphate in a mineral acid which then serves as anolyte or feed solution, as taught by Song, to increase separation of lithium and phosphorus, providing an efficient and green process for recovering lithium from spent lithium-ion batteries.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed December 29, 2025, with respect to the rejections of claims 1-20 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) and claims 1, 4-9, and 13 under 35 U.S.C. 102 in view of Snydacker et al. (US 2019/0256987 A1) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejections have been withdrawn. However, Applicant’s arguments with respect to the rejections of claims 2-3, 10-12, and 15-19 under 35 U.S.C. 103 in view of Snydacker et al. (US 2019/0256987 A1) and of claims 14 and 20 over Snydacker et al. in view of Song et al. (“Recovery of lithium from spent lithium-ion batteries using precipitation and electrodialysis techniques”) have been fully considered and are not persuasive. Furthermore, new grounds of rejection are made under 35 U.S.C. 103 with respect to claims 1, 4-9, and 13 over Snydacker et al. (US 2019/0256987 A1).
Regarding the rejections of Claims 2-3, 10-12, and 15-19 in view of Snydacker, in page 7 of Applicant’s arguments, Applicant argues that “As Snydacker does not teach all the elements of claim 1, a prima facie case of obviousness cannot be made for any claim dependent on claim 1”. The Examiner maintains that Snydacker teaches the elements of the amended claim 1 (see Claim 1 rejection).
Regarding the rejections of Claims 14 and 20 over Snydacker in view of Song, in page 7 of Applicant’s arguments, Applicant argues that “The Song et al reference fails to remedy the deficiencies of Snydacker”. The Examiner recognizes that obviousness may be established by combining or modifying the teachings of the prior art to produce the claimed invention where there is some teaching, suggestion, or motivation to do so found either in the references themselves or in the knowledge generally available to one of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Fine, 837 F.2d 1071, 5 USPQ2d 1596 (Fed. Cir. 1988), In re Jones, 958 F.2d 347, 21 USPQ2d 1941 (Fed. Cir. 1992), and KSR International Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007). In this case, the Examiner maintains that Song discloses dissolving the lithium phosphate in a mineral acid which then serves as anolyte or feed solution, which overcomes the deficiencies of Snydacker (see Claims 14 and 20 rejections).
Conclusion
Claims 1 and 3-20 are pending. Claims 1 and 3-20 are rejected. No claims are allowed.
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 ABDUL-RAHMAN YUSUF WALEED SMARI whose telephone number is (571)270-7302. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 7:30-5, F 7:30-4.
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/ABDUL-RAHMAN YUSUF WALEED SMARI/Examiner, Art Unit 1736 March 5, 2026
/Cam N. Nguyen/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1736 March 05, 2026