DETAILED ACTION
The communication dated 6/8/2026 has been entered and fully considered. Claim 10 is cancelled. Claims 11-21 are withdrawn. Claims 1-9 are elected for prosecution.
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 claims 1-9 in the reply filed on 6/8/2026 is acknowledged.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Claim 1 recites "less than 120C" and claim 2 recites "20-120C" which includes a temperature of 120C (at its upper end is broader than the limits of claim 1).. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
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) 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by ZHU (US 10006166 B2).
For claim 1, ZHU teaches a method for producing a cellulose microfibrils [abstract] that contain lignin [col 4 line 62] from lignocellulosic biomass [col 4 line 42]. This teaches the limitation of “A method for preparing lignocellulose nanofibril”. ZHU also teaches the lignocellulosic biomass is reacted with maleic anhydride [col 19 line 37] in a water-free esterification reaction [col 19 line 23] at 100°C [col 19 line 39]. This water content is within the instant range of “0-5% of water” and the temperature is within the instant claim range of “a temperature below 120°C”. This teaches the limitation of “comprising:(1) dispersing a biomass raw material in a binary anhydride and 0-5% of water, performing an esterification pretreatment reaction at a temperature below 120°C to obtain a pretreatment reaction product”. ZHU teaches the reaction product is then washed (dialysis water) [col 5 line 47 and col 15 line 21] until neutral [col 13 line 21]. This teaches the limitation of “and washing the pretreatment reaction product until neutral to obtain a neutral pretreatment reaction product; and (2) dispersing the neutral pretreatment reaction product in a medium”. ZHU teaches the material can be further fibrillated to make a dispersion of nanofibrils [col 20 line 4]. This teaches the limitation of “and performing a dissociation treatment in a nanofibrillation equipment to obtain a dispersion of lignocellulose nanofibril”.
For claim 2, ZHU teaches the method according to claim 1, as above. ZHU teaches the esterification is completed at 100°C [col 19 line 23-32]. This value is within the instant claim range of “wherein in the esterification pretreatment reaction of step (1), the temperature used is 20-120°C”.
For claim 3, ZHU teaches the method according to claim 1, as above. ZHU teaches the biomass raw material is wood [col 20 line 46]. This teaches the limitation of “wherein the biomass raw material is selected from wood, Gramineous plants, crop straws, fruit shells, pine cones, and other plant residues”.
For claim 4, ZHU teaches the method according to claim 3, as above. ZHU teaches the biomass raw material is wood [col 20 line 46]. This teaches the limitation of “wherein the biomass raw material is selected from wood, bamboo, reed, rice straw, corn straw, wheat straw, sorghum straw, peanut shell, rice husk, pine cones, sugarcane bagasse, and coffee bean residues”.
For claim 5, ZHU teaches the method according to claim 1, as above. ZHU teaches the use of maleic anhydride to create a reaction liquor for the esterification reaction [col 19 line 37]. This teaches the limitation of “wherein the binary anhydride is selected from malonic anhydride, maleic anhydride, dimethyl maleic anhydride, fumaric anhydride, succinic anhydride, methyl succinic anhydride, 2-hydroxy succinic anhydride, (2- propenyl) succinic anhydride, S-acetylmercapto succinic anhydride, cis-3-carboxylpentenedicarboxylic anhydride, trans-1,2-cyclohexanedicarboxylic anhydride, glutaric anhydride, adipic anhydride, cis-4-cyclohexene-1,2-dicarboxylic anhydride, cyclohexane 1,2- dicarboxylic anhydride, heptanedioic anhydride, octanedioic anhydride, azelaic anhydride, dodecyl succinic anhydride, dodecenyl succinic anhydride, phthalic anhydride, 4-chloro phthalic anhydride, tetrachloro phthalic anhydride, 3-fluoro phthalic anhydride, 3,6-difluoro phthalic anhydride, tetrafluoro phthalic anhydride, tetrahydro phthalic anhydride, methyl tetrahydro phthalic anhydride, and citric anhydride”.
For claim 6, ZHU teaches the method according to claim 5, as above. ZHU teaches the use of maleic anhydride to create a reaction liquor for the esterification reaction [col 19 line 37]. This teaches the limitation of “wherein the binary anhydride is selected from maleic anhydride, succinic anhydride, glutaric anhydride and phthalic anhydride”.
For claim 7, ZHU teaches the method according to claim 1, as above. ZHU teaches the use of maleic anhydride to create a reaction liquor for the esterification reaction at a ratio of 5:1 [col 20 line 47]. This value is within the instant range of “wherein the weight ratio of the biomass raw material to the binary anhydride is 5:1-1:100”.
For claim 8, ZHU teaches the method according to claim 1, as above. ZHU also teaches the lignocellulosic biomass is reacted with maleic anhydride in a water-free esterification reaction at 100°C [col 19 line 23-32]. The teaches the limitation of “wherein in the esterification pretreatment reaction of step (1), no water is present, i.e. the esterification pretreatment reaction is carried out in an anhydrous system”.
For claim 9, ZHU teaches method of claim 1 as above. ZHU teaches a method for producing a cellulose microfibrils [abstract] that contain lignin [col 4 line 62] from lignocellulosic biomass [col 4 line 42]. This teaches the limitation of “Lignocellulose nanofibril obtainable by the method of claim 1”.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEPHEN M RUSSELL whose telephone number is (571)272-6907. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri: 7:30 to 4:30 EST.
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, Abbas Rashid can be reached at (571) 270-7457. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/S.M.R./Examiner, Art Unit 1748
/Abbas Rashid/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1748
Prosecution Insights