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 under 35 U.S.C. §120 as a continuation application of Serial No. 17/528,117, filed November 16, 2021 (issued as USPN 11,596,898), is hereby acknowledged.
Election/Restriction
Applicant’s election, without traverse, of Group I (claims 1-14) in the reply filed on October 23, 2025, to the restriction requirement dated July 23, 2025, is hereby acknowledged.
Accordingly, claims 1-14 have been examined in the instant Office action whereas claims 15-20 have been withdrawn from consideration as drawn to a nonelected invention but remains pending with the present application.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP §§ 706.02(l)(1) - 706.02(l)(3) for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
Claims 1-5 and 7-13 are rejected on the ground of non-statutory double patenting (‘ODP’) as unpatentable over claims 12-18 of U.S. Patent No. 11,596,898 B1 (‘898 patent), which issued on March 7, 2023.
Although present independent claim 1 is not identical to independent claim 12 of the ‘898 patent in that the fluid recited in claim 12 patent is a produced fluid that further includes one or more in situ chemicals, the two sets of claims are not patentably distinct from each other because they are both drawn to a system for carbon dioxide sequestration that contains: a reaction vessel configured to receive a fluid, wherein the fluid includes at least one in-situ chemical species, and wherein the reaction vessel is further configured to receive a gas supply including at least a carbon dioxide gas; and one or more diffusers, wherein the one or more diffusers are configured to receive at least a portion of the gas supply to diffuse the carbon dioxide gas into at least a portion of the fluid, and wherein the reaction vessel is further configured to contain a mixture to allow the at least one in-situ chemical species of the fluid to react with the carbon dioxide gas to sequester the carbon dioxide gas by forming at least one reaction product. Present claim 2 recites that the water can be produced/processed water whereas claim 17 of the ‘898 patent recites the system including a recirculation loop. Independent claim 12 of the ‘898 patent recites the reaction vessel of the system having a lower level whereas dependent claims 15-18 further recite the reaction vessel containing multiple levels, including an intermediate level and an upper level.
Thus, claims 1-5 and 7-13 are unpatentable under ODP over claims of the ‘898 patent.
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, 2 and 7-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. §102(a)(1) as anticipated by (US 2004/0219090 A1 to Dziedzic, published November 4, 2004).
Dziedzic discloses a process/system for selectively removing (sequestering) carbon dioxide from a gaseous stream by converting the carbon dioxide to a solid, stable form (reaction product), wherein in the process the carbon dioxide enriched air is passed through a gas diffusion membrane (diffuser) to transfer the carbon dioxide to a fluid medium, wherein this carbon dioxide rich fluid is then passed through a matrix containing a catalyst (promoter) specific for carbon dioxide that accelerates the conversion of the carbon dioxide to carbonic acid, and wherein a mineral ion is added to the reaction so that a precipitate of carbonate salt is formed and can be safely stored for extended periods of time, such as in a storage site (abstract; [0001]; [0003]; [0004]; [0009]; [0010]; Fig. 1). Thus, Dziedzic discloses a process for the continuous and rapid removal of carbon dioxide from the air, such as from a stationary source, and the transformation of the carbon dioxide into a stable, non-toxic/reaction product form ([0009]).
In Figure 1 Dziedzic depicts the gaseous carbon dioxide (from, e.g., a factory/plant source) is diffused into a capturing liquid by flowing the gaseous carbon dioxide through a gas diffusion membrane in a carbon dioxide capture module, wherein the liquid can be one or more of the liquids depicted in Table 1, such as water ([0010]). Preferably, the gas diffusion membrane has a high surface area to facilitate a large flow of the gaseous carbon dioxide through the membrane, which can be a liquid diffusion membrane having one or more diffusers/liquids ([0010]). Subsequently, the transformation of dissolved forms of carbon dioxide to carbonic acid are accelerated in a conversion module (reaction vessel) wherein the carbon dioxide rich fluid emerges from the gas diffusion membrane and is passed by a matrix that contains a specific catalyst (in the module), wherein the catalyst can be entrapped in a gel or polymer matrix, stabilized in a micellar structure, incorporated into the substance of the matrix itself, or configured as a membrane reactor, wherein catalysts can be combined (mixed) prior to precipitation ([0011] to [0013]; [0015]). Once the carbonic acid is formed (reaction product), it can be precipitated by using a base, such as a bicarbonate/carbonate fluid, ([0014]; [0015]). Accordingly, the carbon dioxide is sequestered/captured in the form of a precipitate ([0014]; [0019] to [0021]).
Dziedzic further discloses that the water containing carbon dioxide can come from a hydrocarbon reforming process (produced water) (present claim 2; claim 19 of Dziedzic).
Thus, claims 1, 2 and 7-12 are anticipated by Dziedzic.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6 and 14 are 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art of record does not teach the system/reaction vessel of present independent claims 1 and 10, further possessing a second recirculation loop configured to receive a reacted fluid from a lower level or associated fluid, in accordance with present dependent claims 6 and 14, respectively.
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
January 31, 2026