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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Response to Election/Restrictions
1. Applicant's election with traverse of Group I, claims 1-11, in the reply filed on 05/11/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that “The Examiner has failed to specifically point out why the claim sets are considered to be different inventions and present a serious search burden.” This is not found persuasive because of the following reasons.
The inventions are drawn to two different processes and the processes require different process steps that are not related to each other or depend upon each other for completeness. That is, the steps being recited in Group I and Group II are not the same. The search, examination, and determination for patentability of each Group is different due to specific process steps being recited in each Group of inventions.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
2. Claims 12-17 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention(s), there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 05/11/2026.
Status of Application
3. This application was filed on 10/16/2023.
Claims 1-17 were originally presented in this application for examination.
Claims 1-17 are currently pending in this application for examination.
Specification
4. The examiner has not checked the specification to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors (grammatical, typographical, and idiomatic). Cooperation of the applicant(s) is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant(s) may become aware of in the specification, in the claims and in any further amendment(s) that applicant(s) may file.
Applicant(s) is also requested to complete the status of the copending applications referred to in the specification by their Attorney Docket Number or Application Serial Number, if any.
The status of the parent application(s) and/or any other application(s) cross-referenced to this application, if any, should be updated in a timely manner.
Information Disclosure Statement
5. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01/13/2025 and 02/13/2025 has been made of record. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements have been considered by the examiner.
An initialed copy of the IDS accompanies this office action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
6. 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.
Claim(s) 1-7 & 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hickey et al. (US 8,580,219 B2), hereinafter “Hickey et al. ‘219”.
The claimed invention relates to a process of recovering solid potassium and/or ammonia salts comprising:
Introducing an aqueous stream comprising at least one of ammonium cations or potassium cations, and at least one of carbonate anions or bicarbonate anions into a treatment unit;
Introducing a carbon dioxide stream comprising CO2 into the treatment unit;
contacting the aqueous stream with the carbon dioxide stream to form a mixture;
removing heat from the treatment unit to control a temperature of the mixture;
forming a slurry from the mixture, the slurry comprising water and at least one of a solid potassium salt, or a solid ammonium salt;
withdrawing the slurry from the treatment unit as a treated aqueous stream; and
introducing the treated aqueous stream into a separator to generate a brine stream, and a recovered potassium and/or ammonia salt stream comprising at least one of the solid potassium salt or the solid ammonium salt (as recited in the instant claim 1).
Hickey et al. ‘219 broadly discloses a method for recovering ammonium carbonate and ammonium bicarbonate (which is “ammonia salts”) from a liquid solution comprising at least one of ammonia or ammonium, the process comprising:
a. providing the liquid solution comprising ammonium at a pH and temperature sufficient to convert at least a portion of ammonium in the solution to free ammonia and provide a converted solution;
b. stripping ammonia from the converted solution in an ammonia stripping vessel to produce a gas phase ammonia stream;
c. contacting the ammonia stream with a scrubbing liquid comprising dissolved CO2 in a scrubbing vessel to produce ammonium bicarbonate and ammonium carbonate;
d. withdrawing an ammonium liquid comprising ammonium carbonate and ammonium bicarbonate from the scrubbing vessel;
e. recovering a first portion of the ammonium liquid as an ammonium product stream; and
f. contacting a second portion of the ammonium liquid with a CO2 containing gas stream and a make-up liquid to produce the scrubbing liquid (see col. 13- col. 14, claim 1).
Regarding claim 1, Hickey et al. ‘219 appears to teach the claimed process of recovering ammonia salts and comprising the same process steps as recited in the instant claim, except for the step of “removing heat from the treatment unit to control a temperature of the mixture”.
The phrase “removing heat from the treatment unit to control a temperature of the mixture” in the claim is taken to mean “adjusting/controlling the temperature in the treatment unit so as to control the temperature of the mixture”. It is considered adjusting/controlling the temperature in the treatment unit in the disclosed method can easily be derived by a person skilled in the art (before the effective filing date of the claimed invention) without require of technical skill since it involves only routine experimentation of a person having the ordinary skill in the art to do so.
With respect to the claim limitation on “introducing the treated aqueous stream into a separator to generate a brine stream, and a recovered potassium and/or ammonia salt stream comprising at least one of the solid potassium salt or the solid ammonium salt” in the instant claim 1, Hickey et al. ‘219 discloses “the stream containing water and solids is withdrawn from ethanol recovery assembly and passed to solids separation assembly which may comprise one or more unit operations to effect the separation such as centrifuges, hydrocyclones, decanters, and the like, etc.” (see col. 12, lines 47-52).
Regarding claim 2, the disclosed method is “a continuous process” (see col. 12, line 39).
Regarding claim 3, the disclosed aqueous stream is the same as the claimed thus the temperature of such is expected to be the same as recited.
Regarding claims 4 & 5, the mixture in the treatment unit of the disclosed method would be expected to have the same temperature as well in view of the same material and treatment unit disclosed and claimed.
Regarding claim 6, the instant claim further defines “the carbon dioxide stream comprises greater than 80 vol% of CO2”. Hickey et al. ‘219 discloses the mole fraction of carbon dioxide (CO2) is greater than about 40, preferably between about 60 and 70, volume percent (vol.%) (see col. 13, lines 1-3; col. 14, claim 4). A CO2 mole fraction of 45% to 75% is also disclosed at col. 4, lines 23 & 47.
It is considered finding of an optimum amount of the CO2 effective for treating the waste water stream and recovering the ammonia salts (ammonium bicarbonate) in the disclosed method is prima facie obvious to a person skilled in the art (before the effective filing date of the claimed invention) because of In re Boesch.
Regarding claim 7, the pressure of the carbon dioxide stream is not disclosed in the reference, however it is considered that the pressure of the carbon dioxide stream of the disclosed method can easily be derived and controlled based on the mole fraction (vol%) of the CO2 used in the method.
Regarding claim 11, the additional claim feature on “further comprising returning the recovered potassium and/or ammonia salt stream to an absorber after dilution in a CO2-depleted aqueous solution” is met by the reference. Hickey et al. ‘219 discloses “another portion of the ammonium liquid passes to a CO2 absorption vessel where it is combined with a make-up water stream and contacted with a CO2 containing gas stream to provide additional scrubbing liquid” (see col. 8, lines 48-51). Col. 10, lines 52-53 discloses “the second portion for return to the CO2 absorption column”.
Claims 1-7 are unpatentable as being obvious over Hickey et al. ‘219.
Allowable Subject Matter
5. Claims 8-10 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.
Hickey et al. ‘219 discloses the same process of recovering solid potassium and/or ammonia salts comprising the steps as recited in the instant claim 1, however the disclosed method does not teach “further comprising generating the carbon dioxide stream from a CO2-containing solution in a regenerator”.
There would be no motivation to combine the teachings of the prior art references together to arrive to the claimed invention.
Citations
6. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. All references are cited for related art. See PTO-892 Form prepared.
US 8,486,359 B2 (relates to a process for recovering ammonium carbonate and ammonium bicarbonate from a liquid solution comprising at least one of ammonia or ammonium using CO2).
US 10,427,948 B2 (relates to processes and systems for ammonia recovery and/or acid-gas separation).
US 10,604,432 B2 (relates to a process, a method, a system for recovery and concentration of dissolved ammonium bicarbonate from wastewater containing ammonia using gas separation, condensation, and crystallization).
US 2023/0373800 A1 (relates to a method for producing ammonium bicarbonate in an ammonia-based decarbonization system).
Conclusion
7. Claims 1-17 are pending. Claims 1-7 & 11 are rejected. Claims 8-10 are objected. Claims 12-17 are withdrawn. No claims are allowed.
Contacts
8. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Primary Examiner CAM N. NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-1357. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F (8:30 am – 5:00 pm) at alternative worksite or at cam.nguyen@uspto.gov.
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, Anthony Zimmer, can be reached at 571-270-3591. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Cam N. Nguyen/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1736
/CNN/
July 28, 2026
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