Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 06, 2026
Application No. 18/150,435

POLYMER WASTE PROCESSING TO YIELD LIQUID PRODUCTS

Final Rejection §112
Filed
Jan 05, 2023
Priority
Jan 05, 2022 — provisional 63/296,569
Examiner
BOYER, RANDY
Art Unit
1771
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Western Research Institute
OA Round
2 (Final)
70%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
79%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 70% — above average
70%
Career Allowance Rate
646 granted / 918 resolved
+5.4% vs TC avg
Moderate +8% lift
Without
With
+8.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 3m
Avg Prosecution
25 currently pending
Career history
944
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.1%
-36.9% vs TC avg
§103
52.2%
+12.2% vs TC avg
§102
22.8%
-17.2% vs TC avg
§112
20.5%
-19.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 918 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
DETAILED ACTION Response to Amendment Examiner acknowledges Applicant’s response filed 12 May 2026 containing amendments to the claims and remarks. Claims 1, 5-18, 20-23, 25, 27, and 33-36 are pending. The previous rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(a), 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1), and 35 U.S.C. 103 are withdrawn in view of Applicant’s amendments to the claims. New objection is made with respect to claim 27, necessitated by Applicant’s amendments to the claims. Likewise, new grounds for rejection of 8, 12, 18, 33, and 34 is entered under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), necessitated by Applicant’s amendments to the claims. The objection and rejection follow. Claim Objections Claim 27 is objected to improper English grammar. With respect to claim 27, the language “comprising recovering comprises” is improper English. Appropriate correction is required. 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. Claims 8, 12, 18, 33, and 34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. With respect to claims 8, 12, 18, 33, and 34, the following limitations lack proper antecedent basis: “the solid polymeric waste” (claims 8 and 18); “the non-polymeric material” (claim 12); and “the first liquid product” (claims 33 and 34). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1, 5-7, 9-11, 14-17, 20-23, 25, 27, 35, and 36 are allowed. Claims 8, 12, 13, 18, 33, and 34 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) set forth in this Office Action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: With respect to claims 1, 5-18, 20-23, 25, 27, and 33-36, the cited art does not disclose or otherwise suggest a method for processing polymeric waste material into one or more products comprising, in relevant part, combining a bottoms liquid from the thermal conversion reactor with a condensed overhead liquid obtained via condensation of a vapor stream from the thermal conversion reactor, the combined liquid producing a blended liquid product. 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. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Randy Boyer whose telephone number is (571) 272-7113. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday from 10:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. (EST). If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Prem C. Singh, can be reached at (571) 272-6381. The fax number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /Randy Boyer/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1771
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jan 05, 2023
Application Filed
Jan 12, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
May 12, 2026
Response Filed
Jul 21, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12692210
METHODS AND APPARATUSES FOR PROCESSING HYDROCARBONS TO PRODUCE LIGHT OLEFINS
3y 7m to grant Granted Jul 28, 2026
Patent 12686823
HYDROCARBON PRODUCTION APPARATUS AND HYDROCARBON PRODUCTION METHOD
2y 7m to grant Granted Jul 21, 2026
Patent 12678762
ASSISTANT SYSTEM FOR SOLUTION-PHASE SYNTHESIS
3y 0m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12680031
METHODS OF PROCESSING HYDROCARBONS AND CARBON DIOXIDE
3y 2m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12680025
PROCESS FOR GASIFYING A CARBON-CONTAINING SUBSTANCE BY MOLTEN SALT CATALYSIS, AND ASSOCIATED PLANT
2y 9m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
70%
Grant Probability
79%
With Interview (+8.2%)
3y 3m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 918 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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