Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/221,361

Method for High-Value Application of PTA Residue High-Concentration Bromine-Containing Wastewater to Preparation of Cuprous Bromide

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Jul 12, 2023
Examiner
NGUYEN, CAM N
Art Unit
1736
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Jiangsu University Of Technology
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
85%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 8m
To Grant
97%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 85% — above average
85%
Career Allow Rate
1070 granted / 1260 resolved
+19.9% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+11.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
38 currently pending
Career history
1298
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.7%
-39.3% vs TC avg
§103
30.5%
-9.5% vs TC avg
§102
31.0%
-9.0% vs TC avg
§112
27.6%
-12.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1260 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . DETAILED ACTION Status of Application 1. This application is a Continuation of PCT/CN2022/112989, which was filed on 08/17/2022. Claims 1-9 were originally presented in this application for examination. Claims 1-9 are currently pending in this application and under consideration. Specification 2. The examiner has not checked the specification to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors (grammatical, typographical, and idiomatic). Cooperation of the applicant(s) is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant(s) may become aware of in the specification, in the claims and in any further amendment(s) that applicant(s) may file. Applicant(s) is also requested to complete the status of the copending applications referred to in the specification by their Attorney Docket Number or Application Serial Number, if any. The status of the parent application(s) and/or any other application(s) cross-referenced to this application, if any, should be updated in a timely manner. Claim Objections 3. Claims 1-9 are objected to because of the following informalities: A. In claim 1, line 1, “high-value application of bromine-containing wastewater to” should be deleted. B. In claim 1, line 2, --from bromine-containing wastewater-- should be inserted after “cuprous bromide”. C. In claim 1, line 2, “firstly” should be deleted. D. In claim 1, line 3, “taking a reaction for” should be changed to --wherein the reaction takes--. E. In claim 1, line 4, “totally” should be changed to --completely--. F. In claim 1, line 5, “ingredients” should be changed to --product--. G. In claims 2-9, line 1, “high-value application of bromine-containing wastewater to” should be deleted. Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102(a)(1) 4. 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) 1-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CN 113526747, hereinafter “CN ‘747”. CN ‘747 discloses a method of preparing cuprous bromide from a bromine-containing wastewater of PTA residues, the method comprising: adjusting the pH of the bromine-containing wastewater to 0.5 -2, adding cuprous oxide in batches, reacting for 3-20 mins after the cuprous oxide is completely added to generate cuprous bromide, carrying out the solid-liquid separation to obtain solid, carrying out acid washing, alcohol washing and drying to obtain cuprous bromide, concentrating a liquid phase to recover inorganic salt, and using the residual wastewater as process water; wherein, the step of adding cuprous oxide in batches is to add cuprous oxide in 2-5 times at intervals of 0.5-1 min (see Abstract). Regarding claims 1-2, 6, & 8, CN ‘747 appears to teach the same method as recited in the instant claims (see Abstract). Regarding claim 3, the claim further defines that the bromine content in the bromine-containing wastewater is 10-200 g/L. This is taught by the reference (see p. 3 of translation). Regarding claim 4, the PTA residue wastewater contains 60-65 wt% NaBr (see p. 3 of translation). Regarding claim 5, sulfuric acid is used to adjust the pH of the bromine-containing wastewater (see p. 3 of translation). Regarding claim 7, the added amount of cuprous oxide is calculated as the content of bromide ions: molar ratio Br:Cu2O – 1:0.45 -0.55 (see p. 3 of translation). Regarding claim 9, the reaction is carried out under stirring, and the stirring rate is 100-600 rpm (see p. 4 of translation). CN ‘747 teaches the claimed method and the all of the claimed limitations are fully disclosed by the reference, thus the instant claims are anticipated. Citations 5. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. All references are cited for related art. See PTO-892 Form prepared. Conclusion 6. Claims 1-9 are pending. Claims 1-9 are rejected. No claims are allowed. Contacts 7. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Primary Examiner CAM N. NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-1357. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F (8:30 am – 5:00 pm) at alternative worksite or at cam.nguyen@uspto.gov. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. 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. 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. /Cam N. Nguyen/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1736 /CNN/ March 03, 2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jul 12, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 03, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
85%
Grant Probability
97%
With Interview (+11.9%)
2y 8m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1260 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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