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 III, Claims 23-27 & 29-39, in the reply filed on July 8, 2026 is acknowledged. Claims 1, 3-6, 8-10, & 12-22 are withdrawn as a result.
Thus, Claims 23-27 & 29-39 are the present set of claims for examination.
Specification
The abstract of the disclosure does not commence on a separate sheet in accordance with 37 CFR 1.52(b)(4) and 1.72(b). A new abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text.
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: please also insert the PCT application number/date and WIPO publication number/date in the Cross-Reference to Related Applications section.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 32 is objected to because of the following informalities: the phrase “of the of the” on the last line is repeated twice. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 24, 25, 39 and any of their dependent claims are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 24 recites the limitation “multiple permeates” on line 5. It is not clear if this limitation is the same group as “the one or more additional permeates” already recited in claim 23, or not. Examiner interprets them to belong to the same group. Claim 25 recites this limitation on line 3.
Claim 25 recites the limitation “the permeate from the second array” on line 16. It is not clear if this limitation is the same as “a third permeate” on line 14 of the claim, or not.
Claim 39 recites the limitation “the filtered seawater” on line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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 text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
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) 23-27 & 29-39 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saugmann et al., (“Saugmann”, US 5,685,990), in view of Jani, (US 2021/0198136), and in further view of Macintosh et al., (“Macintosh”, US 2013/0264285).
Regarding Claims 23-27 & 29-39, Saugmann discloses a method for reducing at least one of magnesium, calcium and/or sulfate from sodium chloride brine, the method comprising: feeding at least filtered seawater to a first nanofiltration (NF) system, (NF 120, See Figure 3, See column 10, lines 8-31), thereby producing a first retentate and a first permeate, (); feeding the first permeate from the first NF system to a first reverse osmosis (RO) system, (RO 126, See Figure 3, See column 10, lines 8-31), thereby producing at least a second retentate and desalinated water; feeding the second retentate from the first RO system to a first progressive nanofiltration (PNF) system, (second NF 120 downstream from UF (recirculated from lines 114/116) using retentate 106, See Figure 3 & 2, See column 10, lines 8-31, in particular lines 28-31, See column 9, lines 62-66), thereby producing one or more additional permeates; feeding at least one permeate of the one or more additional permeates from the first PNF system to a second RO system, (second RO 126 from second NF 120, See Figure 3 & 2, See column 10, lines 8-31, in particular lines 28-31, See column 9, lines 62-66), thereby producing at least a retentate and additional desalinated water; and feeding at least the retentate from the second RO system to a second PNF system, (third NF 120 downstream from second UF (recirculated from lines 114/116) using retentate 106, See Figure 3 & 2, See column 10, lines 8-31, in particular lines 28-31, See column 9, lines 62-66), thereby producing one or more further permeates and a final retentate that is substantially free of ions, (Retentate and Permeate 112 at final stage, See Figures 3 & 2, See column 6, lines 23-33, See column 11, lines 65-67, column 12, lines 1-3).
Saugmann does not explicitly disclose that the method is reducing at least one of magnesium, calcium and/or sulfate from sodium chloride brine, or that the first nanofiltration system or second nanofiltration system are a first progressive nanofiltration PNF system or a second progressive nanofiltration PNF system, or removing divalent ions.
Jani discloses reducing at least one of magnesium, calcium and/or sulfate from sodium chloride brine, and removing ions that are inherently divalent, (See paragraph [0028], [0005], Jani; seawater brine inherently has sodium chloride, magnesium is divalent).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have modified the method of Saugmann by incorporating reducing at least one of magnesium, calcium and/or sulfate from sodium chloride brine and removing ions that are divalent as in Jani because “recovery of product water…eliminates often harmful multicomponent feed contaminants interaction with RO, NF” and “significantly reduces the complex issue of fouling and scaling even for some of the most complex wastewater”, (See paragraphs [0015] & [0016], Jani), in which such systems can be applied to both “”food processing and beverage industries” such as “milk, milk whey, cheese brine” etc., (See paragraph [0024], Jani), and “purification of saline water including sea water”, (See paragraph [0018], Jani), to produce “WHO standards for drinking water conditions”, (See paragraph [0073], Jani).
Macintosh discloses that a nanofiltration system can be a progressive nanofiltration (PNF) system, such that the first nanofiltration system and second nanofiltration system are a first progressive nanofiltration PNF system and a second progressive nanofiltration PNF system, (NF Plant 113 which has a grouping of three different banks, each of which are connected in parallel, See Figure 3, See paragraph [0059], [0060], [0063] & [0064], Macintosh).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have modified the method of modified Saugmann by incorporating the first nanofiltration system and second nanofiltration system are a first progressive nanofiltration PNF system and a second progressive nanofiltration PNF system as in Macintosh for “delivering water at appropriate concentrations for discharge”, (See paragraph [0088], Macintosh), in which “the present process and plant can be used to retain ionic values in a form where they can be recovered and reused” instead of “the ionic values being locked up in a form in which it is not economically viable to recover, creating disposal problems”, (See paragraph [0089], Macintosh), which is applicable to Saugmann which discusses obtaining “a high yield…and to reduce the amount of by-products which are difficult to dispose”, (See column 12, lines 12-14, Saugmann).
Additional Disclosures Included:
Claim 24: The method of claim 23, wherein feeding a second retentate from the first RO system to a first PNF system, thereby producing one or more additional permeates includes: feeding the second retentate from the first RO system to the first PNF system including multiple arrays, thereby producing multiple permeates, (NF Plant 113 which has a grouping of three different banks (arrays), each of which are connected in parallel, See Figure 3, See paragraph [0059], [0060], [0063] & [0064], Macintosh).
Claim 25: The method of claim 24, further comprising: wherein feeding the second retentate from the first RO system to the first PNF system including multiple arrays, thereby producing multiple permeates includes: feeding the second retentate from the first RO system to a first array of PNF elements element of the first PNF system, thereby producing a retentate of the first array of PNF elements of the first PNF system and a permeate of the first array of PNF elements of the first PNF system, (First Bank/Array in NF Plant 113 , each of which are connected in parallel, and produce permeate/concentrate, See Figure 3, See paragraph [0059], [0060], [0063] & [0064], Macintosh); feeding the retentate from of the first array of PNF elements of the first PNF system to a second array of PNF elements of the first PNF system, thereby producing a retentate of the second array of PNF elements of the first PNF system and a permeate, (See paragraph [0063], Macintosh),; and feeding the retentate from of the second array of PNF elements of the first PNF system to a third array of PNF elements in the first PNF system, thereby producing a third retentate and a second third permeate, (See paragraph [0063], Macintosh),; and combining the permeate from the first array of PNF elements in the first PNF system with the permeate from the second array of PNF elements in the first PNF system, thereby producing a fourth permeate, (Permeate from Banks/Arrays/Trains 191/193/195 all combine in stream leading to Permeate Tank 133 and Stream E, See Figure 3, See paragraph [0058], Macintosh).
Claim 26: The method of claim 25, wherein: the first array of PNF elements includes multiples banks in parallel and multiple elements in series per bank of the multiple banks of the first array of PNF elements, (Stage 191 has NF housings x 13 in parallel, See Figure 3, See paragraph [0063]; each housing has 6 membrane elements in series, See paragraph [0062], Macintosh); the second array of PNF elements includes multiple banks in parallel and multiple elements in series per bank of the multiple banks of the second array of PNF elements, (Stage 193 has NF housings x 9 in parallel, See Figure 3, See paragraph [0063]; each housing has 6 membrane elements in series, See paragraph [0062], Macintosh); and the third array of PNF elements includes multiple elements in series, (Stage 195 has NF housings x 8 in parallel, See Figure 3, See paragraph [0063]; each housing has 6 membrane elements in series, See paragraph [0062], Macintosh).
Claim 27: The method of claim 26, wherein the second array of PNF elements includes fewer banks in parallel than the first array of PNF elements, (NF x 13 in Stage 191, NF x 9 in Stage 193, See Figure 3, See paragraph [0064], Macintosh).
Claim 29: The method of claim 25, wherein feeding at least one permeate of the one or more additional permeates from the first PNF system to a second RO system includes feeding at least the fourth permeate from the first PNF system to the second RO system, (Stream E leads to RO Plants, See Figure 4, See paragraph [0074], Macintosh).
Claim 30: The method of claim 29, wherein feeding at least the retentate from the second RO system to a second PNF system, thereby producing one or more further permeates includes: feeding the retentate from the second RO system to the second PNF system including multiple arrays, thereby producing multiple further permeates, (NF Plant 113 which has a grouping of three different banks (arrays), each of which are connected in parallel, See Figure 3, See paragraph [0059], [0060], [0063] & [0064], Macintosh; each NF unit of Saugmann is modified into NF plant as in Macintosh).
Claim 31: The method of claim 30, wherein feeding the retentate from the second RO system to the second PNF system including multiple arrays, thereby producing multiple further permeates includes: feeding at least the retentate from the second RO system to a first array of PNF elements element of the second PNF system, thereby producing a retentate and a fifth permeate, (third NF 120 downstream from second UF (recirculated from lines 114/116) using retentate 106, See Figure 3 & 2, See column 10, lines 8-31, in particular lines 28-31, See column 9, lines 62-66; Saugmann); feeding the retentate from the first array of PNF elements of the second PNF system to a second array of PNF elements in the second PNF system, thereby producing a retentate and a sixth permeate, (See paragraph [0063], Macintosh); and feeding the retentate from the second array of PNF elements of the second PNF system to a third array of PNF elements in the second PNF system, thereby producing a seventh permeate and the final retentate that is substantially free of divalent ions, (See paragraph [0063], Macintosh; See paragraph [0028], Jani).
Claim 32: The method of claim 31, wherein: the first array of PNF elements of the second PNF system includes multiples banks in parallel and multiple elements in series per bank of the multiple banks of the first array of PNF elements of the second PNF system, (Stage 191 has NF housings x 13 in parallel, See Figure 3, See paragraph [0063]; each housing has 6 membrane elements in series, See paragraph [0062], Macintosh); the second array of PNF elements of the second PNF system includes multiple banks in parallel and multiple elements in series per bank of the multiple banks of the second array of PNF elements of the second PNF system, (Stage 193 has NF housings x 9 in parallel, See Figure 3, See paragraph [0063]; each housing has 6 membrane elements in series, See paragraph [0062], Macintosh); and the third array of PNF elements of the second PNF system includes multiple banks in parallel and multiple elements in series per bank of the multiple elements of the third array of PNF elements of the second PNF system, (Stage 195 has NF housings x 8 in parallel, See Figure 3, See paragraph [0063]; each housing has 6 membrane elements in series, See paragraph [0062], Macintosh).
Claim 33: The method of claim 32, wherein: the second array of PNF elements of the second PNF system includes fewer banks in parallel than the first array of PNF elements of the second PNF system; and the third array of PNF elements of the second PNF system includes fewer banks in parallel than the second array of PNF elements of the second PNF system, (NF x 13 in Stage 191, NF x 9 in Stage 193, NF x 8 in Stage 195, See Figure 3, See paragraph [0064], Macintosh).
Claim 34: The method of claim 31, further comprising: combining the fifth permeate from the first array of PNF elements in the second PNF system with the fourth permeate; and wherein feeding at least one permeate of the one or more additional permeates from the first PNF system to a second RO system includes feeding the fourth permeate and the fifth permeate as combined to the second RO system, (Stream E leads to RO Plants, See Figure 4, See paragraph [0074], Macintosh).
Claim 35: The method of claim 31, further comprising: combining the sixth permeate from the second array of PNF elements in the second PNF system with the retentate from the second RO system, (2nd array of RO Plant 115 concentrate is combined together and sent to recycle 225, See Figure 4, to UF permeate (which is then directed to successive NF and RO systems again as in Figure 2, See paragraph [0032], Macintosh); and wherein feeding at least the retentate from the second RO system to a first array of PNF elements of the second PNF system includes feeding the sixth permeate and the retentate from the second RO system as combined to the first array of PNF elements in the second PNF system, (Stream 225 to UF tank 121 leads to NF system to RO system and beyond, See Figure 2-4, See paragraph [0032], Macintosh).
Claim 36: The method of claim 31, further comprising: combining the third permeate from the third array of PNF elements in the first PNF system with the retentate from the first array of PNF elements in the second PNF system, (1nd array of RO Plant 115 concentrate is combined together and sent to recycle 225, See Figure 4, to UF permeate (which is then directed to successive NF and RO systems again as in Figure 2), See paragraph [0032], Macintosh, which means that this stream is fed upstream to first progressive NF system, producing a permeate that is also directed back to UF permeate and successively the streams combine and split before returning to the 2nd progressive NF system downstream); and feeding the third permeate and the retentate from the first array of PNF elements in the second PNF system as combined to the second array of PNF elements in the second PNF system, (Stream 225 to UF tank 121 leads to NF system to RO system and beyond, See Figure 2-4, See paragraph [0032], Macintosh; successively the streams combine and split before returning to the 2nd progressive NF system downstream).
Claim 37: The method of claim 31, further comprising: combining the seventh permeate from the third array of PNF elements in the second PNF system with the retentate from the first array of PNF elements in the second PNF system, (2nd array of RO Plant 115 concentrate is combined together and sent to recycle 225, See Figure 4, to UF permeate (which is then directed to successive NF and RO systems again as in Figure 2), See paragraph [0032], Macintosh; in the context of Saugmann the streams split and combine until it reaches a 3rd or 4th successive PNF system, as in its Figure 2); and feeding the seventh permeate and the retentate from the first array of PNF elements in the second PNF system as combined to the second array of PNF elements in the second PNF system, (Stream 225 to UF tank 121 leads to NF system to RO system and beyond, See Figure 2-4, See paragraph [0032], Macintosh; successively the streams combine and split before returning to the 2nd progressive NF system downstream).
Claim 38: The method of claim 31, further comprising: combining the third permeate from the third array of PNF elements in the first PNF system, the seventh permeate from the third array of PNF elements in the second PNF system, and the retentate from the first array of PNF elements in the second PNF system, 2nd array of RO Plant 115 concentrate is combined together and sent to recycle 225, See Figure 4, to UF permeate (which is then directed to successive NF and RO systems again as in Figure 2), See paragraph [0032], Macintosh; in the context of Saugmann the streams split and combine until it reaches a 3rd or 4th successive PNF system, as in its Figure 2); and feeding the third permeate, the seventh permeate, and the retentate from the first array of PNF elements in the second PNF system as combined to the second array of PNF elements in the second PNF system, (Stream 225 to UF tank 121 leads to NF system to RO system and beyond, See Figure 2-4, See paragraph [0032], Macintosh; successively the streams combine and split before returning to the 2nd progressive NF system downstream).
Claim 39: The method of claim 23, further comprising combining the filtered seawater with an antiscalant before feeding the filtered seawater to the first NF system, (See paragraph [0031], [0080], Macintosh).
Conclusion
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/JONATHAN M PEO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1779
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