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 .
Priority
Applicant’s claim of priority as a 35 U.S.C. §371 national stage entry of
PCT/EP2021/072521 filed Aug. 12, 2021, which in turn claims priority to European Patent Office application EP20207616.2 filed Nov. 13, 2020, is hereby acknowledged.
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.
Claim 1, claims 2-20 that depend therefrom, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. §112(b), as 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.
Independent claim 1, lines 3-4, recites “a further reactant selected from the group consisting of steam, providing water for a reaction with the hydrocarbon, carbon dioxide and mixtures thereof”. This limitation is apparently reciting an enclosed group of species for the “reactant”, however, one of the species is a process step (“providing water for a reaction with the hydrocarbon”), which is inconsistent with a listing of species/compounds for a reactant.
Correction of this issue by Applicant in a subsequent reply to this action is respectfully requested.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 and 3-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. §102(a)(1) as anticipated by Drnevich (US 2010/0158776 A1 to Drnevich et al., published June. 24, 2010).
Drnevich discloses a process for reducing carbon dioxide emissions in a refinery, wherein a refinery off gas stream is obtained upstream within the refinery, wherein a reacted stream is produced from a heated hydrocarbon containing stream composed at refinery off gas stream by catalytically reacting hydrogen with hydrocarbons and residual sulfur compounds present within the hydrocarbon containing stream, and wherein the reacted stream contains saturated hydrocarbons and hydrogen sulfide formed from hydrogenation of the hydrocarbons and sulfur compounds, respectively (abstract; [0009]; [0010]; [0022] to [0028]; Figure 1 of Drnevich). A catalytic reaction can take place between oxygen, steam and the hydrocarbons and the hydrogen with the sulfur compounds so that the reacted stream contains additional hydrogen, saturated hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and the hydrogen sulfide ([0009]; [0010]).
The reacted stream is cooled and the hydrogen sulfide is adsorbed within the reacted stream to produce a treated reacted stream that is combined with a steam stream to produce a reactant stream, wherein a reformed stream is formed that comprises hydrogen, carbon monoxide, steam and carbon dioxide ([0010]). The reformed stream is formed by subjecting the reactant stream to steam methane reforming in a steam methane reformer fired by a fuel ([0010]). The carbon monoxide and steam contained in the reformed stream is reacted in at least one water-gas shift reactor such that a shifted stream is produced having a hydrogen and carbon dioxide content greater than that of the reformed stream ([0011]; [0028]).
Drnevich further discloses that the carbon dioxide can be separated from the shifted stream to produce a carbon dioxide containing gas stream and a hydrogen containing gas stream, wherein a first hydrogen containing fuel gas stream and a second hydrogen containing fuel gas stream are produced from the hydrogen containing gas stream that is returned to the refinery fuel gas header and the second hydrogen containing fuel gas stream is utilized to supply at least part of the fuel to the steam methane reformer ([0012] to [0016]). The reacted stream can be formed by contacting the hydrogen, the hydrocarbons and/or the sulfur compounds with a catalyst capable of promoting both hydrogenation and partial oxidation reactions, wherein the carbon monoxide and steam contained in the reformed stream can be reacted in a high/low temperature water-gas shift reactor in flow communication each other, and wherein the hydrocarbon containing stream can be heated through indirect heat exchange with a partly shifted stream discharged from the high temperature water-gas shift reactor to the low temperature water-gas shift reactor ([0013]; [0014]).
Drnevich also discloses that reactor tubes fed by the reactant stream discussed above, can be heated within a convective section of steam methane/hydrocarbon reformer, wherein a flue gas stream is produced by the combustion occurring within a radiant section used to heat the reactant stream within a heat exchanger located within the convective section, wherein further heat exchangers are provided within the convective section to raise steam and then to superheat the steam ([0033] to [0035]; Figure 1; claims 1, 5, 7 of Drnevich). The resultant steam is fed as a steam stream that is subsequently divided into a superheated steam stream and an export steam stream used for carbon dioxide separation ([0033]. Flue gas stream then passes to a selective catalytic reduction unit for removal of nitrogen oxides, wherein the treated flue gas then passes through combustion air heater to provide a heated combustion air stream, wherein the flue gas is discharged as a stack gas, and wherein the heated combustion air stream supports combustion of the fuel that used in firing burners ([0034]). The additional hydrogen and carbon monoxide within the reformed stream is then reacted downstream to provide additional hydrogen product/gas stream [0048]; claim 1 of Drnevich.
Thus, the instant claims are anticipated by Drnevich.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 2 is objected to as dependent upon a rejected base claim but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims (including overcoming the 112 indefinite issues discussed previously).
Drnevich does not teach or suggest its process including a reformer system having two or more reformer units (5,22) in parallel, wherein at least one parallel reformer unit located outside a radiant section of the reformer system is a heat-exchanger reformer, wherein heat for the reaction in the parallel reformer unit is supplied by a reformate effluent from a fired reformer unit present in the radiant section, in accordance with present dependent claim 2.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN J FIGUEROA whose telephone number is (571)272-8916. The examiner can normally be reached on 8:30 am -6:00 pm. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, JOSEPH DEL SOLE can be reached on 571-272-1130. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JOHN J FIGUEROA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1763
June 25, 2026
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