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 U.S.C. § 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 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, 9, 13-16, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by the abstract “Immobilization of a perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) molecularly imprinted polymer adsorbent on spent coffee ground biochar for targeted PFOS removal” presented at ACS Fall 2021 (herein “Steigerwald”).
As to claims 1, 9, 14-15, and 18: Steigerwald describes a method comprising modifying coffee ground biochar, corresponding to the recited activated carbon; and performing radical initiated polymerization of the vinylbenzyltrimethylammonium with a perflurooctanesulfonate template, corresponding to the recited coordinating and polymerizing steps. Steigerwald further discloses a step of regeneration of the resulting MIP, corresponding to the recited step of extracting the PFAS template.
As to claims 13 and 16: Steigerwald further discloses a step of modifying the coffee ground biochar with nitric acid and a reduction reaction to increase amine functional groups.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-8, 10-12, 17, and 19-21 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but they would be allowable if written in independent form.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RICHARD A. HUHN whose telephone number is (571)270-7345. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 6 PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Arrie (Lanee) Reuther can be reached at (571) 270-7026. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RICHARD A. HUHN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1764
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