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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of WO 2022/243726, the WIPO publication of PCT/IB2021/054259 filed May 18, 2021.
Response to Restriction Election
Applicant's election with traverse of Species I, drawn to a hydrogen reducing gas at least partially produced by electrolysis, in the reply filed on June 12, 2026 is acknowledged.
The traversal is on the grounds that Species I encompasses all claims as supported by applicant’s [0016] in which the process can includes both hydrogen reducing gas partially produced by electrolysis and a top reduction gas that is captured and split.
This is found persuasive. Therefore, the April 22, 2026 Restriction Requirement is withdrawn and claims 10-18 are under examination.
Claim Status
This Office Action is in response to Applicant’s Claim Amendments and Restriction Election filed June 12, 2026.
Claims Filing Date
June 12, 2026
Under Examination
10-18
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed March 28, 2024 fails to comply with 37 CFR 1.98(a)(2), which requires a legible copy of each cited foreign patent document; each non-patent literature publication or that portion which caused it to be listed; and all other information or that portion which caused it to be listed. It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered.
The following Other References (non-patent literature) have not been included:
A39 International Search Report of PCT/IB2021/054252 dated 01/24/2022
A42 International Search Report of PCT/IB2022/054664 dated 02/08/2022
Drawings Objection
The drawings are objected to because
Fig. 1 includes reference numeral 21 not mentioned in applicant’s specification.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
Claims 10-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Smith (WO 2011/143718 with citations from Espacenet Description) in view of Hyl (DE 202020100640U1 machine translation).
Regarding claim 10, Smith discloses a method for manufacturing direct reduced iron (a blast furnace directly reduces iron) ([0005], [0031], [0038], [0051], [0054]), the method comprising:
the oxidized iron (ore) being first mixed with biochar to form a solid compound ([0023], [0055], [0069]-[0071], [0097], [0144], [0149]); and
charging the solid compound into the direct reduction furnace ([0055], [0069]-[0071], [0097], [0144]).
Smith is silent to reducing oxidized iron in a direct reduction furnace by a reducing gas.
Hyl discloses a method for manufacturing direct reduced iron ([0001], [0010]), the method comprising: reducing oxidized iron in a direct reduction furnace by a reducing gas ([0002], [0010], [0014]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in the process of Smith to perform the direct reduction of iron by reducing oxidized iron in a direct reduction furnace by a reducing gas to advantageously produce reduced iron ore (Hyl [0002]) in which oxygen is removed from the iron ore by means of chemical reaction with hydrogen (Hyl [0003]) for a more uniform operation with increased efficiency (Hyl [0014]) that reduces CO2 emissions (Hyl [0007], [0014], [0022]).
Regarding claim 11, Smith in view of Hyl discloses the method as recited in claim 10 as cited above, wherein said biochar is produced by the pyrolysis of biomass (Smith [0023], [0112]-[0114], [0118]-[0120], [0142]-[0144]).
Regarding claim 12, Smith in view of Hyl discloses the method as recited in claim 10 as cited above, wherein the solid compound is a briquette or pellet (Smith [0055], [0069]-[0071], [0144], [0149]; Hyl [0002]-[0003], [0052]).
Regarding claim 13, Smith in view of Hyl discloses the method as recited in claim 10 as cited above, wherein the reducing gas includes more than 50% in volume of hydrogen (pure hydrogen (100 vol%) or at least 80 vol% hydrogen) (Hyl [0010], [0013]-[0014], [0019], [0034], [0039]).
Regarding claim 14, Smith in view of Hyl discloses the method as recited in claim 10 as cited above, wherein the reducing gas includes more than 99% in volume of hydrogen (pure hydrogen (100 vol%)) (Hyl [0010], [0013]-[0014], [0019], [0034], [0039]).
Regarding claim 15, Smith in view of Hyl discloses the method as recited in claim 13 as cited above, wherein the hydrogen of the reducing gas is at least partly produced by electrolysis (Hyl [0013]).
Claims 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Smith (WO 2011/143718 with citations from Espacenet Description) in view of Hyl (DE 202020100640U1 machine translation) as applied to claim 15 above, and further in view of Li (CN 110423854 machine translation).
Regarding claim 16, Smith in view of Hyl discloses the method as recited in claim 15 as cited above.
Smith in view of Hyl is silent to the electrolysis being powered by renewable energy.
Li discloses a method for manufacturing direct reduced iron ([0002]) wherein hydrogen reducing gas is at least partly produced by electrolysis ([0011]-[0012], [0024], [0032], [0048]-[0049]) wherein the electrolysis is powered by renewable energy ([0034]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in the process of Smith in view of Hyl for the electrolysis that produces hydrogen to be powered by renewable energy, which is a clean energy source that helps to alleviate the energy shortage problem (Li [0034]) and avoids non-renewable energy sources, such that it is pollution-free (Li [0032]).
Claims 17 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Smith (WO 2011/143718 with citations from Espacenet Description) in view of Hyl (DE 202020100640U1 machine translation) as applied to claim 10 above, and further in view of Aaslepp (DE 10217006067 machine translation).
Regarding claim 17, Smith in view of Hyl discloses the method as recited in claim 10 as cited above, wherein a top reduction gas is captured at an exit of the direct reduction furnace (exhaust gas) (Hyl [0010]) and includes a C02-rich gas and an H2-rich gas (exhaust gas exiting the reactor includes CO2 and unreacted H2 and undergoes cleaning to remove unwanted accumulations) (Hyl [0002], [0004], [0010], [0014], [0046]), said H2-rich gas being at least partly used as the reducing gas (mixing treated exhaust gas with fresh reduction gas) (Hyl [0023], [0028], [0030], [0046]-[0047]).
Smith in view of Hyl is silent the exit gas being subjected to at least one separation step so as to be split between a C02-rich gas and an H2-rich gas.
Aaslepp discloses a method for manufacturing direct reduced iron ([0001]), wherein a top reduction gas is captured at an exit of the direct reduction furnace and subjected to at least one separation step so as to be split between CO2-rich gas and an H2-rich gas (CO2 separation) ([0003], [0012], [0018]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in the process of Hyl to split the exhaust gas between CO2-rich gas and H2-rich gas for minimal CO2 emissions (Aaslepp [0003]) by capturing CO2 and converting it with hydrogen to methane (Aaslepp [0012]).
Regarding claim 18, Smith in view of Hyl and Aaslepp discloses the method as recited in claim 17 as cited above, wherein the C02-rich gas (Hyl [0006]) is subjected to a methanation step (Aaslepp [0012]).
Claims 10-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Luo (CN 102392093 machine translation with paragraph citations from attached Espacenet translation).
Regarding claim 10, Luo discloses a method for manufacturing direct reduced iron ([0002], [0006], [0014]), the method comprising:
reducing oxidized iron in a direct reduction furnace by a reducing gas (syngas rich in hydrogen and carbon monoxide) ([0014], [0024]), the oxidized iron being first mixed with biochar to form a solid compound (raw material pellets including biomass powder undergo preheating for pull pyrolysis) ([0014], [0022], [0049]); and
charging the solid compound into the direct reduction furnace ([0024]).
Regarding claim 11, Luo discloses the method as recited in claim 10 as cited above, wherein said biochar is produced by the pyrolysis of biomass (during preheating of raw material pellets) (Luo [0049]).
Regarding claim 12, Luo discloses the method as recited in claim 10 as cited above, wherein the solid compound is a briquette or pellet ([0014], [0022]-[0023], [0029], [0048]-[0049]).
Regarding claim 13, Luo discloses the method as recited in claim 10 as cited above, wherein the reducing gas includes more than 50% in volume of hydrogen (syngas hydrogen content can reach more than 60%) ([0031]). In the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists. MPEP 2144.05(I).
Regarding claim 14, Luo discloses the method as recited in claim 10 as cited above.
Luo discloses a reducing gas of syngas rich in hydrogen ([0014], [0031], [0058]).
Luo also discloses gas-based direct reduction ironmaking using reducing gas including more than 99% in volume of hydrogen (pure hydrogen) ([0010]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in the process of Luo to replace the reducing syngas with pure (100%) hydrogen to improve production efficiency ([0010]). The fact that a “combination would not be made by businessmen for economic reasons” does not mean that a person of ordinary skill in the art would not make the combination because of some technological incompatibility. The associated additional expense would not discourage one of ordinary skill from seeking the convenience expected therefrom. MPEP 2145(VII).
Claims 15 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Luo (CN 102392093 machine translation with paragraph citations from attached Espacenet translation) as applied to claim 13 above, and further in view of Li (CN 110423854 machine translation).
Regarding claims 15 and 16, Luo discloses the method as recited in claim 13 as cited above.
Luo is silent to the hydrogen of the reducing gas being at least partly produced by electrolysis.
Li discloses a method for manufacturing direct reduced iron ([0002]) wherein hydrogen reducing gas is at least partly produced by electrolysis ([0011]-[0012], [0024], [0032], [0048]-[0049]) wherein the electrolysis is powered by renewable energy ([0034]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in the process of Luo for the hydrogen reducing gas to be at least partly produced by electrolysis powered by renewable energy to provide a clean energy source that helps to alleviate the energy shortage problem (Li [0034]) using alle-electric and avoiding non-renewable energy sources, such that it is pollution-free (Li [0032]), where producing hydrogen by electrolysis allows for recycling of the water vapor produced during reduction by hydrogen, reducing the environmental burden and achieving clean production (Li [0035]).
Claims 17 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Luo (CN 102392093 machine translation with paragraph citations from attached Espacenet translation) as applied to claim 10 above, and further in view of Aaslepp (DE 10217006067 machine translation) and Hyl (DE 202020100640U1 machine translation).
Regarding claim 17, Luo discloses the method as recited in claim 10 as cited above.
Luo is silent to capturing a top reduction gas at an exit of the direct reduction furnace.
Aaslepp discloses a method for manufacturing direct reduced iron ([0001]), wherein a top reduction gas is captured at an exit of the direct reduction furnace and subjected to at least one separation step so as to be split between CO2-rich gas and an H2-rich gas (CO2 separation) ([0003], [0012], [0018])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in the process of Luo to capture a top reduction gas at an exit and to split the exhaust gas between CO2-rich gas and H2-rich gas for minimal CO2 emissions (Aaslepp [0003]) by capturing CO2 and converting it with hydrogen to methane (Aaslepp [0012]).
Luo in view of Aaslepp is silent to said H2-rich gas being at least partly used as the reducing gas.
Hyl discloses a top reduction gas is captured at an exit of the direct reduction furnace (exhaust gas) (Hyl [0010]) and includes a C02-rich gas and an H2-rich gas (exhaust gas exiting the reactor includes CO2 and unreacted H2 and undergoes cleaning to remove unwanted accumulations) (Hyl [0002], [0004], [0010], [0014], [0046]), said H2-rich gas being at least partly used as the reducing gas (mixing treated exhaust gas with fresh reduction gas) (Hyl [0023], [0028], [0030], [0046]-[0047]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in the process of Luo in view of Aaslepp to at least partly use the captured H2-rich gas as the reducing gas enabling a reduction in emissions (Hyl [0022]) and recycling the waste gas.
Regarding claim 18, Luo in view of Aaslepp and Hyl discloses the method as recited in claim 17 as cited above, wherein the C02-rich gas (Aaslepp [0003], [0018]; Hyl [0006]) is subjected to a methanation step (Aaslepp [0012]).
Related Art
Spelier (WO 2018/229520)
Spelier discloses iron making in a DRI furnace requiring the use of a carbon containing material ([002]) in which biocoal replaces traditional coal or fossil coal as carbon source to improve the overall carbon balance ([0021]-[0022]).
Schwab (DE 102012109284 machine translation)
Schwab discloses a method for producing steel ([0001], [0014]) that is CO2-neutral ([0010]) using renewable energy ([0012]) and producing hydrogen from water by means of electrolysis ([0013]).
Roberts (US 3,822,125)
Roberts discloses heating iron ore with hydrogen in the presence of a carbon source (1:10-16) in which the off gases are processed to produce carbon dioxide and hydrogen and the hydrogen is recirculated (3:35-56, 5:3-18).
Tenova (WO 2020/245070)
Tenova discloses producing steel (1:1) using a reducing gas of hydrogen produced by electrolysis (2:4) to minimize CO2 emissions (2:5).
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEPHANI HILL whose telephone number is (571)272-2523. The examiner can normally be reached Monday, Wednesday-Friday 7am-12pm.
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/STEPHANI HILL/Examiner, Art Unit 1735
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