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 Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II, claim 12-18 in the reply filed on 1/20/2026 is acknowledged. New claim 21-30 are added into Group II, New claims 31-32 are grouped in Group I and are therefore withdrawn from consideration. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis ( i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 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. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. Claims 12–18 and 21–30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. §103 as being unpatentable over Mars (US 3,210,411) in view of Hembre (US 2015/0183706 A1) and further in view of CN106984310A . Mars discloses a process for hydrogenating benzoic acid to cyclohexane-carboxylic acid (col. 1, lines 6–9). Mars teaches bringing vaporous benzoic acid and hydrogen into contact with a hydrogenation catalyst comprising palladium, rhodium, ruthenium , platinum, iridium, nickel , or cobalt (col. 1, lines 17–26), optionally supported on alumina or silica (col. 1, lines 26–30). Mars further teaches passing the mixture through a reaction zone containing catalyst (col. 2, lines 9–15). Mars does not expressly disclose sequential hydrogenation steps. Hembre expressly teaches processes involving two hydrogenation steps: “Such processes involve first hydrogenating at least one benzenecarboxylic acid compound to form at least one cyclohexanecarboxylic acid compound, then hydrogenating at least some of the cyclohexanecarboxylic acid compounds…” (¶[0060]) . Hembre further describes a first hydrogenation reactor (¶[0061]) and expressly discloses benzoic acid hydrogenation to cyclohexanecarboxylic acid (¶[0092]) Accordingly, Hembre teaches sequential hydrogenation of benzenecarboxylic acids, including benzoic acid, in distinct hydrogenation steps. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the process of Mars to conduct the hydrogenation in sequential stages as taught by Hembre in order to improve conversion, reaction control, and hydrogen utilization, since staged hydrogenation was known to enhance process efficiency and selectivity in aromatic hydrogenation systems. Mars discloses Ru, Ni, and Co catalysts but does not disclose inclusion of an alkali metal element supported on the carrier. CN106984310A discloses hydrogenation catalysts comprising: Ruthenium as active component (0.1–3 wt %) Auxiliary metals including Ni, Fe, and Co Supported on carriers including zirconia, titania, alumina, silica, activated carbon Carrier treated with an alkaline compound prior to metal loading CN therefore teaches Ru-based supported catalysts further comprising auxiliary transition metals and an alkali metal element associated with the carrier. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the process of Mars by substitut ing the hydrogenation catalyst of Mars with the Ru-based auxiliary-metal-containing supported catalyst system of CN106984310A in order to improve catalytic activity, dispersion, and stability in hydrogenation of aromatic carboxylic acid substrates, as both references concern hydrogenation of aromatic compounds using supported noble metal catalysts. The substitution of one known hydrogenation catalyst for another known hydrogenation catalyst performing the same function constitutes a predictable variation. Claim 13 Mars teaches a reaction tube containing catalyst (col. 2, lines 9–15). Hembre teaches sequential hydrogenation stages (¶[0060]–[0061]) Claims 14–15 Hydrogen-to-substrate molar ratio is a result-effective variable in hydrogenation processes. Optimization of hydrogen ratios within workable ranges constitutes routine experimentation. Claims 16–18 Mars teaches recovery of cyclohexane-carboxylic acid product after hydrogenation (col. 2, lines 7–14). Distillation under reduced pressure to separate components is conventional downstream processing. Selection of operating pressures and temperatures represents routine process engineering. Claim 21 CN106984310A discloses Ru content of 0.1–3 wt % and auxiliary metal content of 1–10 wt %. The claimed Ru range (0.3–3 wt %) overlaps CN’s disclosed range, and the claimed auxiliary range overlaps CN’s disclosed range. Overlapping ranges create a presumption of obviousness absent evidence of criticality. Claim 22 Mars discloses alumina and silica supports (col. 1, lines 26–30). CN106984310A discloses zirconia, titania, alumina, silica, and activated carbon. The claimed carrier selections are fully taught in the prior art. Claims 23–30 To the extent these claims depend from claim 12 and recite catalyst composition features (e.g., metal loadings, carrier type, alkali presence), such features are taught by CN106984310A as discussed above. Routine variations in preparation details and reduction methods would have been obvious as known alternatives in supported noble metal catalyst preparation. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT TAM M NGUYEN whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-1452 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Mon - Frid . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Prem C Singh can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-273-6381 . The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. 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