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
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-7, in the reply filed on June 16, 2026 is acknowledged. Claims 8-19 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
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.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Terauchi et al. (JP 2000-329323 A).
Regarding claim 1, Terauchi et al. discloses a gasifier (i.e., a high temperature gasifier 2 comprising a combustion chamber 7; see Figures; translation, especially at the underlined portions) for converting a carbonaceous feedstock (i.e., carbon particles received via a gas inlet 10) to produce syngas (i.e., synthesis gas mainly composed of CO and H2), comprising: a cone section (i.e., a cone-shaped, different diameter portion at a lower part of the combustion chamber 7; see FIG. 2, 3, 5) and a throat section (i.e., a throat portion 8 at the lower part of the combustion chamber 7); wherein the throat section comprises a throat refractory material (i.e., a refractory support portion 30, 31 surrounding the throat portion 8, see FIG. 2, 3) and a substantially cylindrical cooling element (i.e., a cooling coil 32 surrounding the throat portion 8; see FIG. 2, 5) having an inner face (i.e., at an inner diameter of the cooling coil 32) and an outer face (i.e., at an outer diameter of the cooling coil 32) in a radial direction, and a top face (i.e., at a top of the cooling coil 32) and a bottom face (i.e., at a bottom of the cooling coil 32) in a vertical direction; wherein the inner, outer, top, and bottom faces define a cooling cavity (i.e., a cavity within the cooling coil 32 through which cooling water supplied by a water pipe 33 flows); and wherein the cooling element 32 is in thermal contact with the throat refractory material 30,31 on the inner face, the top face, and the outer face (i.e., the cooling coil 32 is “embedded” in the refractory material, so as to be in thermal contact with the refractory material of the refractory support portion 30,31; see translation at page 9, middle of page).
Regarding claim 2, Terauchi et al. further discloses a coolant inlet conduit (i.e., a water pipe 33 through which cooling water is supplied to the cooling coil 32; see FIG. 2, 5) in fluid flow communication with the cooling element and a coolant outlet conduit (i.e., a water pipe 33 through which spent cooling water from the cooling coil 32 flows; see FIG. 2, 5) in fluid flow communication with the cooling element; wherein the coolant inlet conduit 33 is in fluid flow communication with a coolant source external to the gasifier 2 (i.e., a source of cooling water at a temperature of 40 to 60 °C; see, e.g., translation at page 9, last paragraph); and wherein the coolant outlet conduit 33 is in fluid flow communication with a coolant sink (i.e., a cooling means, such as a condenser or cooler, for the cooling medium (cooling water); see translation at page 11) external to the gasifier 2.
Regarding claim 3, Terauchi et al. further discloses that the coolant inlet conduit 33 and the coolant outlet conduit 33 comprise a section oriented in the radial direction perpendicular to the centerline of the gasifier (see FIG. 2 and 5, showing that a distal section of the water pipe 33 is oriented perpendicularly to the central vertical axis of the gasifier 2).
Regarding claim 4, Terauchi et al. further discloses that the throat refractory material 30,31 can comprise refractory bricks (see FIG. 3 and translation).
Regarding claim 5, Terauchi et al. further discloses that the throat section 8 has an inside surface (i.e., a surface formed by the inner diameter of the refractory support portion 30,31) and an inner radius defined as the distance from the centerline of the gasifier to the inside surface of the throat section 8; wherein the minimum value of the inner radius of the throat section is within 2% of the maximum value of the inner radius of the throat section (i.e., the inner radius of the throat section 8 is uniform along the direction of flow, such that the minimum value of the inner radius and the maximum value of the inner radius are approximately equal; see FIG. 2, 3, 5).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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 1-4, 6, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Duan et al. (CN 210127219 U) in view of Russell et al. (US 2009/0272513 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Duan et al. discloses a gasifier for converting a carbonaceous feedstock to produce syngas (i.e., a gasification furnace; see FIG. 1, annotated below; and translation), comprising:
a cone section (labeled) and a throat section (i.e., a slag mouth, also known as a throat section (labeled)); wherein the throat section comprises a throat refractory material (i.e., the slag mouth comprises refractory material including refractory brick 301, 2, 1; lining brick 4; and heavy refractory castable 5).
[AltContent: textbox (slag mouth/throat section)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (cone section)][AltContent: arrow]
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Duan et al. fails to disclose that the gasifier further comprises: a substantially cylindrical cooling element having an inner face and an outer face in a radial direction, and a top face and a bottom face in a vertical direction, wherein the inner, outer, top, and bottom faces define a cooling cavity; and wherein the cooling element is in thermal contact with the throat refractory material on the inner face, the top face, and the outer face.
In other words, Duan et al. fails to disclose the claimed substantially cylindrical cooling element at the location of the lining brick 4 (see FIG. 1).
Russell et al. discloses a throat section 228 (see FIG. 2-8) for conveying a flow of high temperature syngas 314 from a gasifier, wherein the throat section 228 comprises a throat refractory material (i.e., a refractory lining 230 comprising a plurality of stackable bricks 234; see paragraph [0026]), and, specifically, a substantially cylindrical cooling element (i.e., a cylindrical element comprising a cooled tube bundle 240 that circumscribes the refractory lining 230 of the throat 228 to facilitate the removal of heat transmitted through the refractory lining 230 from the high temperature syngas flowing through the throat 228, see FIG. 2 and paragraph [0027]; also shown as a cylindrical element comprising a cooling tube assembly 304 in FIG. 3-8); wherein the cooling element has an inner face and an outer face in a radial direction (see figures), and a top face and a bottom face in a vertical direction (see figures), and wherein the inner, outer, top, and bottom faces define a cooling cavity (i.e., a cavity through which a cooling fluid (throat cooling water) flows).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide a substantially cylindrical cooling element in the gasifier of Duan et al. (i.e., at the location of the lining brick 4; see FIG. 1), wherein the cooling element has an inner face and an outer face in a radial direction, and a top face and a bottom face in a vertical direction, wherein the inner, outer, top, and bottom faces define a cooling cavity, and wherein the cooling element is in thermal contact with the throat refractory material on the inner face, the top face, and the outer face, because the throat section of a gasifier is prone to overheating, and the substantially cylindrical cooling element would have facilitated the removal of a portion of the heat transmitted through the refractory material from the high temperature syngas which flows through the throat section, thereby preventing the throat section from overheating, as taught by Russell et al. (see paragraphs [0002], [0027]).
Regarding claim 2, Russell et al. (see FIG. 2-8) also discloses a coolant inlet conduit in fluid flow communication with the cooling element (i.e., a conduit for supplying sub-cooled throat cooling water to the cooling tubes 240,304) and a coolant outlet conduit in fluid flow communication with the cooling element (i.e., a conduit for discharging spent throat cooling water from the cooling tubes 240,304); wherein the coolant inlet conduit is in fluid flow communication with a coolant source external to the gasifier (for instance, in FIG. 3, the conduit 332 is in fluid flow communication with a heat exchanger 334 which provides the sub-cooled throat cooling water); and wherein the coolant outlet conduit is in fluid flow communication with a coolant sink external to the gasifier (for instance, in FIG. 3, the conduit 316 is in fluid flow communication with a heat exchanger 308 which functions as a heat sink).
Regarding claim 3, Russell et al. also discloses that the coolant inlet conduit and the coolant outlet conduit (i.e., the conduits which fluidly connect the cooling tubes 240 to the cooling circuit 242, see FIG. 2; for instance, the conduits 332 and 316 in FIG. 3) comprise a section oriented in the radial direction perpendicular to the centerline 206 of the gasifier.
Regarding claim 4, Duan et al. also discloses that the throat refractory material comprises refractory bricks (i.e., refractory bricks 301, 2, 1, 4; see FIG. 1).
Regarding claim 6, Duan et al. also discloses that the throat section has an inner radius that increases stepwise with increasing depth (i.e., the inner radius of the slag mouth increases stepwise, from the location of the refractory brick 301 at the top of the slag mouth, to the location of the refractory brick 1 at the bottom of the slag mouth; see FIG. 1).
Regarding claim 7, Duan et al. also discloses a refractory support floor (i.e., the gasification furnace comprises a support plate 6 functioning as a floor for supporting the refractory material thereon; see FIG. 1). Therefore, in the modified gasifier of Duan et al., the refractory support floor would be further attached to the bottom face of the cooling element.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Lin et al. (Chemical Engineering Science 250 (2022) 117412) and Lin et al. (Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering 47 (2022) 271-281) further illustrate the state of the art.
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Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JENNIFER A LEUNG whose telephone number is (571)272-1449. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:30 AM - 4:30 PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, CLAIRE X WANG can be reached at (571)270-1051. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JENNIFER A LEUNG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1774
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