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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 11-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Group II, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election of Group I (claims 1-10) was made without traverse in the reply filed on 12/11/2025.
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.
Claim(s) 1 and 8-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 20160115026 A1 Angelini et al. Claim 1 requires “heating a feed stream comprising hydrogen sulfide to a preheat temperature; after heating the feed stream, converting at least a portion of the hydrogen sulfide in the feed stream into hydrogen and sulfur to form a mixed product stream comprising the hydrogen, the sulfur, and a remaining, unconverted portion of the hydrogen sulfide”. Angelini et al. discloses forming H2 and elemental sulfur from a H2S stream “In a broad sense, the invention is based on the simultaneous occurrence of cracking and partial oxidation of H2S so as to provide concurrent production of sulphur and of a significant amount of hydrogen.” [0023] and that the feed may be preheated “In one embodiment, the feedstock to Catalytic Oxidative Cracking reaction zone or zones (H₂S-containing acid gas and oxygen-containing gas) is preheated in order to increase the reaction temperature, to boost hydrogen production and to depress SO, formation.” [0043]. Regarding unconverted H2S Angelini et al. discloses “As a consequence of the lower H2S conversion, a higher acid gas recycle rate from H2S-containing gas source (e.g. an amine regenerator) to reaction chamber is obtained as compared to a traditional Claus Plant.” [0047].
Claim 1 further requires “wherein the preheat temperature is a temperature that is sufficiently hot to maintain a desired reaction temperature while converting at least the portion of the hydrogen sulfide in the feed stream into hydrogen and sulfur”. It is understood that the preheat temperature is implicitly disclosed as being sufficient to maintain the desired reaction temperature, otherwise the invention would not function as intended. Nonetheless regarding the required temperature for reaction Angelini et al. discloses “It should be noted that the reaction preferably is conducted autothermally. This refers to the fact that, whilst the process is preferably adiabatic, heat exchange takes in fact place, since the oxidation reaction is exothermal, and the cracking reaction is endothermal, whereby heat made available through the exothermal reaction is utilized in the endothermal reaction.” [0046] which strongly suggests to one of ordinary skill in the art that the preheat temperature should be near or at the desired reaction temperature.
Claim 1 further requires “and cooling at least a portion of the mixed product stream to condense the sulfur to form a sulfur stream comprising the sulfur that has condensed from the portion of the mixed product stream.”. Angelini et al. discloses “The quench zone (which preferably is a zone of the reaction chamber) is preferably followed by a waste heat boiler and a sulphur condenser to cool down the process gas and to recover liquid sulphur.” [0051].
Claim 8 requires “converting, in the presence of oxygen, at least a portion of the hydrogen sulfide in the feed stream to sulfur and sulfur dioxide to form a second feed stream.”. Angelini et al. discloses oxygen as a reagent “The quantity of oxygen fed to the reactor is selected so as to achieve a ratio H2S/O2 in the feedstock higher than typical figure of about 2:1.” [0041] and production of SO2 “Although the process of the invention substantially reduces the formation of SO2, it will be inevitable that some SO2 is formed.” [0053].
Claim 9 requires “cooling the second feed stream to condense sulfur to form a second sulfur stream and a third feed stream, wherein the second sulfur stream comprises the sulfur that has condensed from the second feed stream, and the third feed stream comprises a remaining, gaseous portion of the second feed stream”. Angelini et al. discloses cooling to condense sulfur “The quench zone (which preferably is a zone of the reaction chamber) is preferably followed by a waste heat boiler and a sulphur condenser to cool down the process gas and to recover liquid sulphur.” [0051].
Claim 9 further requires “and converting at least a portion of the sulfur dioxide of the third feed stream back into hydrogen sulfide to form a fourth feed stream”. Angelini et al. discloses “The tail gas is preferably preheated and fed to a hydrogenation reactor. Therein the SO2, as well as other residual sulphur compounds, such as COS and CS2, are converted into H2S, which is then removed. This removal can be done in a conventional manner, e.g., by scrubbing the gas with a lean amine solution in an absorber.” [0054].
Claim 9 further requires “wherein converting the portion of the hydrogen sulfide in the feed stream into hydrogen and sulfur comprises converting at least a portion of the hydrogen sulfide in the fourth feed stream into hydrogen and sulfur to form the mixed product stream.”. Angelini et al. discloses recycling the H2S from the amine scrubber back into the process “As a consequence of the lower H₂S conversion, a higher acid gas recycle rate from H₂S-containing gas source (e.g. an amine regenerator) to reaction chamber is obtained as compared to a traditional Claus Plant.” [0047]. It is understood that the reactor the H2S is recycling into is capable of converting at least a portion of the hydrogen sulfide in the feed stream into hydrogen and sulfur (see Claim 1).
Claim 10 requires “heating an oxidizing stream comprising oxygen, wherein the oxygen present while converting at least the portion of the hydrogen sulfide in the feed stream to sulfur and sulfur dioxide is provided by the oxidizing stream after the oxidizing stream has been heated.”. Angelini et al. discloses “In one embodiment, the feedstock to Catalytic Oxidative Cracking reaction zone or zones (H2S-containing acid gas and oxygen-containing gas) is preheated in order to increase the reaction temperature” [0043].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-7 are objected to as being 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 closest prior art to Claim 2 is given by US 20160115026 A1 Angelini et al. Claim 2 requires “receiving, by a plurality of pressure swing adsorption beds, an acid gas stream comprising carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide; separating, by the plurality of pressure swing adsorption beds, at least a portion of the carbon dioxide from the acid gas stream to produce a carbon dioxide stream and the feed stream, the carbon dioxide stream comprising the carbon dioxide that has separated from the acid gas stream, the feed stream comprising a remaining portion of the acid gas stream.”. Angelini et al. is silent towards removing CO2 through a plurality of pressure swing adsorption beds.
Claims 3-7 depend upon Claim 2 and are allowable for similar reasons.
Conclusion
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/JOSHUA MAXWELL SPEER/
Examiner
Art Unit 1736
/DANIEL BERNS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1736