DETAILED ACTION
This detailed action is in response to the application filed on October 18, 2023 and any subsequent filings.
Claims 7-10 are pending.
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 .
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 7-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Toll, et al. U.S. Patent No. 20200157739 ("Toll"), in view of Ringer, et al. U.S. Patent No. 20220364017 A1 ("Cano"), in further view of “Thermal Hydrolysis to Enhance Anaerobic Digestion Performance of Wastewater Sludge.” Chang, et al ("Chang").
Regarding Claim 7, Toll discloses a production process for producing biogas (biogas production, Toll, Pr 35) by means of anaerobic co-digestion (co-digestion, Toll, Pr 34), that comprises: (a) a first step of preparing hydrolyzed biomass (hydrolysis and recovery of treated biomass, Toll, Pr 7) from organic solid waste that is selected from a group consisting of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste and assimilable waste (dry solids and volatile solids, Toll, Pr 35), the organic waste (organic slurry, Toll, Pr 11) from the selective collection of municipal solid waste (dry solids and volatile solids, Toll, Pr 35) and any combination thereof where the first step comprises: a first sub-step comprising a thermal hydrolysis treatment (thermal pressure hydrolysis, Toll, Pr 39) of the organic solid waste (feedstock, Toll, Pr 39) resulting in raw biomass (biomass, Toll, Pr 8); a second sub-step carried out for the post-treatment (recovering, Toll, Pr 14) of the raw biomass, separating foreign matter and resulting in clean hydrolyzed biomass (hydrolyzed lignocellulose biomass, Toll, Pr 14) that comprises of organic matter of at least 90 % by weight (total volatile solids, Toll, Pr 50, Table 2), a volatile solids (total volatile solids, Toll, Pr 50, Table 2) to total solids weight ratio of at least 0.6 and a total solids content of at least 5 % by weight (Toll, Pr 50, Table 2); (b) a second step of mixing between 5 % and 65 % by weight of the clean hydrolyzed biomass (hydrolyzed biomass, Toll, Pr 40) obtained in the previous step with between 35 % and 95 % by weight of sludge (sludge, Toll, Pr 4, Claim 1) from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), giving rise to a mixture with a concentration of solids of less than 30 % by weight(dry solids, Toll, Pr 53), where the mixture is conditioned until achieving a concentration of solids of less than 20 % by weight (dry solids, Toll, Pr 53); (c) a third step of wet anaerobic digestion (wet anaerobic digestion, Toll, Pr 41) of the mixture obtained in the previous step (treated material, Toll, Pr 41) in at least one digester (discharge tank 50, Toll, Pr 41), giving rise to biogas (biogas, Toll, Pr 41) and a digestate (solids in slurry, Toll, Pr 41) wherein said anaerobic digestion is carried out under mesophilic conditions (mesophilic, Toll, Pr 41) of between 25 C and 40 C (mesophilic anaerobic digestion, Toll, Pr 38).
Toll teaches about a thermal hydrolysis treatment that is under pressure. However, Toll does not teach about a thermal hydrolysis treatment that is under pressure between 1.5 and 4.5 bar and a temperature between 120 and 160 C.
Cano teaches a thermal hydrolysis treatment that is under pressure between 1.5 and 4.5 bar and a temperature between 120 and 160 C (Cano, Pr 48).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to combine the production process for producing biogas of Toll with the thermal hydrolysis treatment of Cano, because the thermal hydrolysis treatment of Cano can partially remove micropollutants, higher methane yields, volatile solid reduction, improves digestion loading rate, sludge biodegradability, and sludge dewaterability (Chang, Abstract).
Regarding Claim 8, using the production process for producing biogas of Toll and Cano and motivation for combining references outlined in paragraphs 8-12 of this office action to achieve the production process for producing biogas of claim 7. The combination of references discloses an additional step of utilizing biogas (Biogas passes from line 42, Toll, Pr 41) by means of cogeneration (AD plant 56, Toll, Pr 41), use in boilers for generating heat (boiler 46, Toll, Pr 41).
Regarding Claim 9, using the production process for producing biogas of Toll and Cano and motivation for combining references outlined in paragraphs 8-12 of this office action to achieve the production process for producing biogas of claim 7. The combination of references discloses a process (AD plant 56, Toll, Pr 35) that has an additional step of utilizing the digestate by means of agricultural use as a biofertilizer (agricultural residual, Toll, Pr 35).
Regarding Claim 10, using the production process for producing biogas of Toll and Cano and motivation for combining references outlined in paragraphs 8-12 of this office action to achieve the production process for producing biogas of claim 7. The combination of references discloses the organic solid waste is the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (dry solids and volatile solids, Toll, Pr 35), where the process contains a prior step separating bulky foreign matter (foreign materials, Cano, Pr 30) and separating ferrous metals by means of a magnetic separator (magnetic separator, Cano, Pr 30).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DeMarkus J Hodge whose telephone number is (571)272-3593. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8-5.
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/DeMarkus Jerrell Hodge/Examiner, Art Unit 1779
/Bobby Ramdhanie/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1779