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 Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claim(s) 1-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over da Silva et al. (Chemical Engineering Research and Design), Zhao et al. (US 10,364,446), and Gayet et al. (US 10,017,444), in combination.
The claims are drawn to a process for preparing vanillin or derivatives thereof, obtained by a biotechnological process, comprising at least one step of separating vanillin or derivatives thereof from vanillyl alcohol or derivatives thereof, by crystallization. Further limitations include the crystallization being performed in a water/alcohol mixture; at least one step of stabilizing a fermentation must comprising vanillin or derivatives thereof; and obtaining vanillin or derivative thereof having a color in an ethanolic solution at 10% by weight or less than or equal to 150 Hazen.
da Silva et al. teach that obtained by a biotechnological process, e.g., oxidation of kraft lignin, can be purified using multiple crystallization steps from water-methanol solutions. The vanillin obtained from lignin oxidation may be dissolved in a solvent mixture of water and alcohol, e.g., 40% methanol in water, followed by stirring and cooling to 23to 25°C to crystallize the vanillin (page 1285, 3rd paragraph). da Silva et al. do not expressly teach that the vanillin is separated from a mixture that comprises vanillyl alcohol or derivatives thereof, stabilizing a fermentation must comprising vanillin or derivatives thereof; and obtaining vanillin or derivative thereof having a color in an ethanolic solution at 10% by weight or less than or equal to 150 Hazen.
Gayet et al. teach a process for the purification of natural vanillin, wherein the vanillin may be produced by a biotechnological process, including fermentation of a microorganism. Gayet et al. further teach that natural vanillin is typically purified by extraction followed by crystallization. More specifically, the reference teaches that streams at the output of producing natural vanillin also comprises vanillyl alcohol (col. 1, lines 14-44). Gayet et al. also teach the desirability of natural vanillin having a color, in ethanolic solution at 10% by weight, of less than or equal to 200 Hazen, preferably less than or equal to 100 Hazen (abstract).
Zhao et al. teach the production of vanillin from a biotechnological process, specifically from fermentation of a bacterial strain. The vanillin is extracted, i.e., purified by first filtering the fermented medium using a ceramic membrane to remove any biomass present; further treating the filtrate by ultrafiltration (stabilization step), followed by reverse osmosis (concentration step); the concentrate is then adjusted to pH 5-6 and allowed to cool for crystallization (col. 5, lines 6 to 42).
The instant claims are rendered obvious by the combined reference teachings, as Gayet et al. teach that streams comprising vanillin produced by natural, i.e., biotechnological processes, will also comprise vanillyl alcohol, from which the natural vanillin will be separated from. Gayet et al. also teach the desirability of natural vanillin having a color, in ethanolic solution at 10% by weight, of less than or equal to 200 Hazen. Zhao et al. teach that prior to purifying vanillin by crystallization steps, such as that which is taught by da Silva et al., the solution comprising the natural vanillin resulting from the biotechnological process, may be filtered to remove any biomass present, treated to stabilize the solutions, e.g., by ultrafiltration, and then concentrated using reverse osmosis, all in an effort to obtain a high purity vanillin product.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SIKARL A WITHERSPOON whose telephone number is (571)272-0649. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-9pm IFP.
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/SIKARL A WITHERSPOON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1692