DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 10 is objected to because of the following informalities: The claims starts “Use of a…” It should begin “A method of using a…” or other similar language. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claims 1-3 and 6-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ozgun (Biofuels and Biochemicals Production From Microalgae Over Solid Catalyst, 1 July 2020, pages 1-89).
Regarding claims 1-3 and 6-10
Ozgun discloses a method of synthesizing a catalyst comprising the steps of:
preparing a silica sol using tetraethyl orthosilicate (>98 purity, Fluka), ethanol (>/- 99.8 % purity, Sigma-Aldrich), and deionized water were mixed with 1M hydrochloric acid (HCL, 36.5-38 wt %, Sigma-Aldrich) at 80 C for 2 hours;
preparing an alumina sol by mixing aluminum isopropoxide (> 98 % purity, Aldrich), deionized water and the intended acid such as sulfuric acid (>/- 98 % purity, Aldrich) at 85 C;
mixing the prepared sols and adding nickel (II) acetate hydrate (>99 % purity, Alfa Ceasar);
The excess solvent is evaporated at 70 C to obtain a gel;
The gel is dried at 120 C for 12 h, and calcined at 900 C for 6 hours with a 10 C/min heating rate; and
The catalyst is then ground and sieved to 100-200 mesh size. The prepared catalyst has the formulation Ni-Al2O3-SiO2, with 10 % Ni,30 % Al2O3 and 70% SiO2.
Ozgun does not disclose the time of reacting the alumina sol or the stirring rate. However, Ozgun does disclose heating within the claimed temperature and determining the optimal time for reaction is well within the level of the skilled artisan. Further, Ozgun discloses mixing which would require a mixing rate, and determining the optimal stirring rated is well with the level of the skilled artisan and is seen as obvious.
Ozgun does not disclose evaporating the excess solvent under vacuum or inert flow for the claimed time. However, Ozgun does disclose drying within the claimed temperature. However, the skilled artisan would appreciate that the use of vacuum would increase the rate of evaporation, making the use of drying under vacuum obvious. Further, determining the time to properly dry the gel is with the level of the skilled artisan and is seen as obvious.
Ozgun discloses pretreating the catalyst with sodium chloride containing water (3.5 wt %) at 80 C for 24 h.
Although Ozgun does not disclose drying following the saltwater treatment, Ozgun does disclose that the catalytic assays are carried out using dry catalyst, making the limitation on drying obvious. Further determining the optimal drying time and temperature is well within the level of the skilled artisan
Ozgun discloses that the catalyst is used for catalytic conversion of microalgae Nannochloropsis oculate into a biofuel without harvesting and dewatering (pages 18-19, 2.4.1 Catalyst Preparation and 2.4.2 Catalyst activity determination).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-5 are 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 following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: None of the prior art fairly teaches or suggest the limitations of these claims in combination with the limitations of the base claim(s) from which they depend.
Conclusion
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JAMES E. MCDONOUGH
Examiner
Art Unit 1734
/JAMES E MCDONOUGH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1734
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