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
Restriction to one of the following inventions is required under 35 U.S.C. 121:
I. Claims 1-30, drawn to a system for separating carbon dioxide from a process fluid stream, classified in B01D 53/14.
II. Claims 31-52, drawn to a method for separating carbon dioxide from a process fluid stream, classified in B01D 53/62.
The inventions are independent or distinct, each from the other because:
Inventions II and I are related as process and apparatus for its practice. The inventions are distinct if it can be shown that either: (1) the process as claimed can be practiced by another and materially different apparatus or by hand, or (2) the apparatus as claimed can be used to practice another and materially different process. (MPEP § 806.05(e)). In this case the apparatus as claimed can be used to practice another process such as in the separation of sulfur dioxide or hydrogen sulfide from a mixed fluid stream.
Restriction for examination purposes as indicated is proper because all the inventions listed in this action are independent or distinct for the reasons given above and there would be a serious search and/or examination burden if restriction were not required because one or more of the following reasons apply:
Based on the current disclosure, separate search strategies within multiple classes and subclasses would be required given the distinct set of elements and components between the two different inventions that must be given patentable weight. Given the scope of the potentially relevant classes and subclasses, the examiner’s search would necessitate consideration of a wide and divergent range of art.
Applicant is advised that the reply to this requirement to be complete must include (i) an election of an invention to be examined even though the requirement may be traversed (37 CFR 1.143) and (ii) identification of the claims encompassing the elected invention.
The election of an invention may be made with or without traverse. To reserve a right to petition, the election must be made with traverse. If the reply does not distinctly and specifically point out supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election shall be treated as an election without traverse. Traversal must be presented at the time of election in order to be considered timely. Failure to timely traverse the requirement will result in the loss of right to petition under 37 CFR 1.144. If claims are added after the election, applicant must indicate which of these claims are readable upon the elected invention.
Should applicant traverse on the ground that the inventions are not patentably distinct, applicant should submit evidence or identify such evidence now of record showing the inventions to be obvious variants or clearly admit on the record that this is the case. In either instance, if the examiner finds one of the inventions unpatentable over the prior art, the evidence or admission may be used in a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) of the other invention.
During a telephone conversation with Andrew Haberman on February 12, 2026 a provisional election was made without traverse to prosecute the invention of Group 1, claims 1-30. Affirmation of this election must be made by applicant in replying to this Office action. Claims 31-52 are withdrawn from further consideration by the examiner, 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a non-elected invention.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because details of the drawings such as the reference numbers and fine lines are not clear. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Examination was possible using the drawings in the published international publication WO 2024/159119. Note that the publication drawings are missing reference numbers for all of the components such as E118 and P400. These must be included in the replacement drawings for this application to avoid objections.
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) 29 and 30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fujii et al. (5,318,758).
Fujii et al. ‘758 teach a carbon dioxide removal system comprising a process fluid feed line (14), an extraction heat exchanger (vessel 1) containing a refrigerant warming passage (coolant line 8) and a carbon dioxide extraction cooling passage (interior of vessel), an extraction passage inlet (4) connected to the feed line, a treated fluid outlet (5), an extraction contact liquid inlet (6), and a carbon dioxide enriched extraction contact liquid outlet (12), wherein the contact liquid contacts the process fluid to form the treated fluid and the enriched liquid (see figure 1, col. 4, line 43 to col. 6, line 30).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-28 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: The prior art of record fails to disclose or suggest a motivation for the system of claim 1 wherein there is a dryer contact liquid feed line, a drying heat exchanger having a combined stream cooling passage and a refrigeration passage, a junction configured to combine a process fluid and a dryer contact liquid, and the combined stream cooling passage and the refrigeration passage configured so that a coolant stream reduces the temperature of the combined stream to that water condenses and combines with the dryer contact liquid, in combination with the other recited structural limitations.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The additional references listed on the attached PTO-892 form disclose carbon dioxide capture arrangements.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FRANK LAWRENCE whose telephone number is (571)272-1161. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:30am-7pm.
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, Jennifer Dieterle can be reached at 571-270-7872. 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.
/FRANK M LAWRENCE JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1776
fl