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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 5/15/26 has been considered by the examiner.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Group III, claims 14-17 in the reply filed on 5/28/26 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the present claims
are directed to a single inventive concept deserving full substantive consideration on the merits. This is not found persuasive because Applicant does not address the reasons for restriction provided by the Examiner in the Office Action of 4/1/26.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 1, 8, 10 and 12 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention. Note claims 2-7, 9, 11 and 13 are canceled. New claims 18-28 depend from claim 14 and are directed toward the elected invention of Group III.
An election of species for the main device was required between a redox flow battery, an electrolyzer, a stationary electrochemical energy storage system or other similar device. Examiner has elected a redox flow battery as the species for the main device. Thus, new claim 20 is withdrawn as being directed toward a nonelected species for the main device.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: the specification recites multiple informalities such as “an anode a cathode” at [0009] and “redox flow battery redox flow battery” at [0009]. The entire specification should be reviewed to correct all informalities. Appropriate correction is required.
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) 14-19, 21-25 and 27-28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Pijpers, US2017/0317363 A1.
Regarding claim 14 and 15, Pijpers teaches electrochemical balancing cells that can allow adjustment of electrolyte solutions to take place. The electrochemical balancing cells are suitable for placement in fluid communication with both electrolyte solutions of a flow battery (abstract). FIG. 4 shows a diagram of an illustrative flow battery system in which both half-cells of an exemplary flow battery are fluidly connected to the electrochemical balancing cell (shown in FIG. 3):
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Figure 4 shows a flow battery 200 (main device), an electrochemical balancing cell 100 (sub device) and an electrolyte (electrolyte tanks 30,40 and flow conduits) wherein electrolyte flows from the flow battery 200 to the balancing cell 100 via inlets 111,121 and from the balancing cell 100 to the flow battery 200 via outlets 112,122.
Pijpers is directed, in part, to electrochemical balancing cells that can simultaneously adjust pH (electrolyte property) and balance state of charge (capacity) in electrolyte solutions. Pijpers is also directed, in part, to flow batteries in fluid communication with an electrochemical balancing cell that can simultaneously adjust pH and balance state of charge in electrolyte solutions. Pijpers is also directed, in part, to methods for simultaneously adjusting pH and balancing state of charge in electrolyte solutions using an electrochemical balancing cell [0028].
Regarding claim 16, Pijpers teaches, in various embodiments, the potential applied to the electrochemical balancing cell can range between about 0.1 V and about 2 V. Such voltages can be applicable for ion-selective membranes and bipolar membranes having thicknesses under about 4 mm and for electrolyte solutions having reasonable conductivity values, such as above about 10 mS/cm. In more particular embodiments, the potential applied to the electrochemical balancing cell can be about 1 V or under. By reducing the active material in the positive electrolyte solution within first chamber 110, the potential at first electrode 114 is insufficiently negative to produce hydrogen via reduction. Particularly, by keeping the applied voltage under about 2V, electrolytic generation of hydrogen in the electrochemical balancing cell can be substantially precluded. The lack of hydrogen evolution can provide a high current (conductivity) efficiency to the rebalancing process and improve durability of the flow battery system [0102].
Regarding claim 17, at least one of the active materials within a flow battery can include a coordination complex bearing at least one catecholate ligand or substituted catecholate ligand. Sulfonated catecholate ligands can be particularly desirable substituted catecholate ligands due to their ability to promote solubility of coordination complexes in which they are present. At least one of the active materials within a flow battery can include an iron hexacyanide complex. Iron hexacyanide complexes can be particularly desirable for use as a positive active material in combination with a transition metal coordination complex bearing a catecholate ligand or substituted catecholate ligand as a negative active material due to the high open circuit voltages that can be obtained [0068].
Regarding claims 18 and 19, see at least [0072-0074]. Regarding claim 27 and 28, Pijpers teaches the active material in the negative aqueous electrolyte solution was a titanium catecholate complex, and the active material in the positive aqueous electrolyte solution was an iron hexacyanide complex [0108].
Regarding claims 21-25, see at least Figures 3, 5 and 6. FIG. 5 shows a diagram of the electrochemical balancing cell of FIG. 3 upon introduction of a positive electrolyte solution to the first chamber of the cell, a negative electrolyte solution to the third chamber of the cell, and water or an acidic aqueous solution to the second chamber of the cell in the presence of an applied potential. As shown in FIG. 5, a negative electrolyte solution enters third chamber 130, a positive electrolyte solution enters first chamber 110, and water or an acidic aqueous solution enters second chamber 120 as a potential is applied between first and second electrodes 114 and 124. The applied potential is such that first electrode 114 in first chamber 110 is a negative electrode and second electrode 124 in second chamber 120 is a positive electrode. In the presence of an oxygen-generation catalyst in a membrane electrode assembly at second interface 150, water can undergo oxidation to oxygen and protons (H+). In alternative configurations, the oxygen-generation catalyst can be present in second chamber 120, and the second interface can be a second cation-selective membrane. In either case, the positive active material in first chamber 110 can concurrently undergo reduction. Protons (H+) generated in second chamber 120 can migrate across second interface 150 to affect a pH decrease in the negative electrolyte solution in third chamber 130. A cation (e.g., Na+, K+, or another alkali metal ion) from the negative electrolyte solution in third chamber 130 can likewise migrate across first interface 140 to balance the increased negative charge in the positive electrolyte solution in first chamber 110. The current densities in the electrochemical balancing cell 100 can be maintained such that the pH decrease in the negative electrolyte solution in third chamber 130 is not excessive [0098-0099]. FIG. 6 shows a diagram of the electrochemical balancing cell of FIG. 3 upon introduction of a positive electrolyte solution to the first chamber of the cell, a negative electrolyte solution to the third chamber of the cell, and an alkaline aqueous solution to the second chamber of the cell in the presence of an applied potential. As shown in FIG. 6, a negative electrolyte solution enters third chamber 130, a positive electrolyte solution enters first chamber 110, and an alkaline aqueous solution enters second chamber 120 as a potential is applied between first and second electrodes 114 and 124. The applied potential is such that first electrode 114 in first chamber 110 is a negative electrode and second electrode 124 in second chamber 120 is a positive electrode. In the presence of an oxygen-generation catalyst in second chamber 120, hydroxide ions can undergo oxidation to oxygen and water. The positive active material in first chamber 110 can concurrently undergo reduction. Water from the alkaline aqueous solution and/or water from the negative electrolyte solution in third chamber 130 can enter the bipolar membrane at second interface 150. In the presence of the applied potential, the water can undergo disassociation within the bipolar membrane to form protons (i.e., hydronium ions) and hydroxide ions. The bipolar membrane can be disposed such that the protons migrate into third chamber 130 to affect a pH decrease in the negative electrolyte solution. A cation (e.g., Na+, K+, or another alkali metal ion) from the negative electrolyte solution in third chamber 130 can likewise migrate across first interface 140 to balance the increased negative charge in the positive electrolyte solution in first chamber 110 [0100-0101].
By reducing the active material in the positive electrolyte solution within first chamber 110, the potential at first electrode 114 is insufficiently negative to produce hydrogen via reduction. Particularly, by keeping the applied voltage under about 2V, electrolytic generation of hydrogen in the electrochemical balancing cell can be substantially precluded. The lack of hydrogen evolution can provide a high current efficiency to the rebalancing process and improve durability of the flow battery system [0102]. Thus, the claims are anticipated.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 26 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The claims are directed toward a method of increasing durability of an energy conversion and storage system by rebalancing electrolyte composition, comprising the steps of: providing a main device, providing a sub device, providing an electrolyte, directing said electrolyte from said main device to said sub device, re-balancing capacity and electrolyte properties of said electrolyte in said sub device, and directing said electrolyte from said sub device to said main device. The sub device is a semi-electrolyzer subunit wherein a size of said semi-electrolyzer subunit is less than five percent of a size of said main device. The prior art does not teach or suggest the size of the semi-electrolyzer subunit is less than five percent of the size of the main device.
Pijpers teaches the sub device and the main device. However, there is no teaching or suggestion in Pijpers that a size of the sub device is less than five percent of the size of the main device (the claim requires a size significantly smaller at less than five percent).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TRACY DOVE whose telephone number is (571)272-1285. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-3:00.
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/TRACY M DOVE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725
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