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 .
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 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DE 102010001907 A1 in view of WO 2010/014797 A2. DE 102010001907 A1 discloses a method for producing biofuel and extracting metals from mine water using microalgae, wherein an algal biomass is used as a sorbent for the metal (See Paragraphs [0001], [0036] and [0040] through [0042] of the English translation.) The differences between the process disclosed by DE 102010001907, and that recited in applicant’s claims, are that DE 102010001907 A1 does not disclose first and second containers comprising algal, and that effluent from the second container should be recirculated to the first container for further extraction of the metals. WO 2010/014797 A2 discloses a symbiotic algae system including first and second containers containing algal biomass, wherein waste carbon sources are used as a source of nutrient for the first growth stage, and the product of the first growth stage serves as an inoculum for the second growth stage. (See the first full paragraph on page 9.) WO 2010/014797 A2 further teaches in the paragraph bridging pages 9 and 10 that the waste material may be derived from wastewater. It would be obvious from WO 2010/014797 A2 to modify the process of DE 102010001907 A1 by providing first and second containers containing algal biomass. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to do so, since the processes of DE 102010001907 A1 and WO 2010/014797 A2 are analogous in that both are directed to producing biofuel by contacting wastewater with an algal biomass, and one would appreciate that the use of two containers as disclosed by WO 2010/014797 A2, each containing algal biomass, would provide a greater yield of extracted metal. It would be further obvious to recirculate effluent from the second container to the first container, since recycling is conventional in the chemical processing industry for economic and technical reasons, and would be expected to provide a greater extraction rate of the metal.
Regarding claim 2, it would be further obvious to include a third container comprising algal in the process of DE 102010001907 A1. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to do so, to provide an even greater metal extraction rate.
Regarding claim 3, DE 102010001907 A1 discloses zinc, cadmium, manganese and lead as heavy metals which are extracted in Paragraph [0025] of the English translation.
Regarding claim 4, it would be obvious to use any conventional source of microorganism in the process of DE 102010001907 A1, which would include fungi.
Regarding claim 5, it is conventional to generate potable water from wastewater.
Katz et al (US 2013/0102055) and Legendre et al (US 2011/0318819) are made of record for disclosing methods for processing effluents using microalgae.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WAYNE A LANGEL whose telephone number is (571) 272-1353. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday from 8:15 am to 4:15 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anthony Zimmer can be reached at 571-270-3591. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WAYNE A LANGEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1736