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 .
Claims 1-4, 6, 7, 9, 13, 14, 16-18, 20, 24, 25, 35, 36, 48, 50, 52, 54, and 61-63 are pending in the instant application. Claims 25, 35, 36, 48, 50, 52, and 54 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to non-elected subject matter. The withdrawn subject matter is patentably distinct from the elected subject matter as it differs in structure and element and would require separate search considerations. In addition, a reference which anticipates one group would not render obvious the other. Claims 1, 2, 9, 14, 17, 18, 20, 24, 61, and 62 are rejected. Claims 3, 4, 6, 7, 13, 16, and 63 are objected.
Information Disclosure Statements
The information disclosure statements filed on July 19, 2024, September 29, 2025, February 13, 2026, and April 10, 2026 have been considered and signed copies of form 1449 are enclosed herewith.
Election/Restrictions
The election of Group I, claims 1-4, 6, 7, 9, 13, 14, 16-18, 20, and 61-63, in the response filed on April 10, 2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the grounds:
“Claim 24 incorporates the special technical feature of Claim 1 by its recitation of ‘producing furfural in accordance with claim 1’ and merely adds an additional step, Claims 1 and 24 have a special technical feature in common. Based on Example 17 and the common technical feature of Groups I and II, unity of invention exists between Groups I and II. Therefore, the division between Groups I and II should be withdrawn and Claims 1-4, 6, 7, 9, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 20, 24, and 61-63 be examined.” This argument is found to be fully persuasive and the restriction between Groups I and II has been withdrawn. The restriction requirement between Groups (I and II) and (III-VI) is still deemed proper and is hereby made final.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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, 2, 14, 18, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2013/0317239 A1.
US 2013/0317239 A1 discloses a process for producing 2-furaldehyde (i.e., furfural) from cellulose using zinc sulfate heptahydrate as a solid acid catalyst. See Example 13 and Table 2. In Example 13, a mixture of sulfolane and zinc sulfate heptahydrate under nitrogen was stirred and heated to 224 °C before a slurry of cellulose (25% by weight) was added. No steam is used. The 2-furaldehyde product was distilled off. Therefore, a process for producing furfural of the claims is anticipated by the reference.
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.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 9, 14, 17, 18, 20, 24, 61, and 62 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2013/0317239 A1.
US 2013/0317239 A1 discloses a process for producing 2-furaldehyde (i.e. furfural) from cellulose using zinc sulfate heptahydrate as a solid acid catalyst. See Example 13 and Table 2. In Example 13, a mixture of sulfolane and zinc sulfate heptahydrate under nitrogen was stirred and heated to 224 °C before a slurry of cellulose (25% by weight) was added. No steam is used. The 2-furaldehyde product was distilled off. It is disclosed in [0027] that the material can be wood, corncobs, bagasse, cotton, rice, or wheat. It is also disclosed that the reaction temperature may be 300 °C (see [0050]); that the obtained furfural may be converted to furan, tetrahydrofuran, or furfuryl alcohol (see [0071] – [0072]); that steam may be used (see [0049]); and the process may be formed as a continuous reaction (see [0053]).
US 2013/0317239 A1 does not specifically disclose an example wherein the lignocellulosic material or fraction thereof is selected from the group listed in claim 9; the pyrolysis and/or production of furfural is carried out at a temperature in the range of from about 300 to about 500 °C; the furfural is converted into furfuryl alcohol, furoic acid, furan, tetrahydrofuran, levulinic acid, butadiene, hexamethylenediamine, tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol, methyltetrahydrofuran or furfural-phenolic resin; the production of furfural is carried out in the presence of steam; or the process is carried out as a continuous or semi-continuous process.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention through routine experimentation to arrive at the processes of the claims in view of the process for producing 2-furaldehyde disclosed in the reference and that the obtained furfural may be converted to furan, tetrahydrofuran, or furfuryl alcohol with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation would have been to find optimal processes for producing furfural and converting it into furan, tetrahydrofuran or furfuryl alcohol. Thus, a prima facie case of obviousness has been established.
Claim Objections
Claims 3, 4, 6, 7, 13, 16, and 63 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.
Conclusion
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/KRISTIN A VAJDA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1622
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