DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This communication is in response to the election filed 4/17/2026.
Claims 1-26 are pending. Claims 11-26 are withdrawn.
Election/Restrictions
Claim 11-26 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 4/17/2026.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-5 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu (US 11,566,188 B2).
With respect to claim 1-3, Xu teaches a whole crude treating process comprising dementalization in known dementalization reactor process followed by hydrotreating in a hydrotreating reactor for the removal of sulfur (figure 1). The hydrotreated effluent may then be separated by distillation (figure 1).
With respect to claims 4-5, Xu teaches distillation to separate light hydrocarbons from the desulfurized oil to produce marine fuel oil blending component (col. 12). Marine fuel blending component implies adding a hydrocarbon blending stock.
With respect to claim 10, Xu teaches wherein the sulfur content is less than 120 ppm.
Claim(s) 1, 6-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi (US 20210040401 A1).
With respect to claims 1, 6-7, Choi teaches a process for upgrading crude oil, including processing a crude oil feed (0046) in a supercritical water reactor to produce an upgraded feed oil (0048) which includes demetallation. The upgraded feed oil having reduced metals is then processed in a desulfurization reactor, which may be a supercritical water reactor or may be a hydrodesulfurization unit (0064). The desulfurized oil may be further treated to remove gases and gaseous hydrocarbons and can include separating (0066).
Claim(s) 8-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu as applied to claim 1-5 and 10, further in view of Gordon (US 8,747,660).
With respect to claims 8 and 9, Xu teaches where the crude oil is demetalized in a known and hydrotreating but is silent regarding wherein the demetallizing occurs with an alkali material.
Gordon, directed to a process for removing nitrogen, sulfur, and heavy metals from sulfur-, nitrogen-, and metal-bearing shale oil, bitumen, or heavy oil (col. 1), teaches contacting heavy oil with alkali metal optionally in the presence of hydrogen for the reduction of sulfur, nitrogen and heavy metals (col. 13). Gordon teaches the free energy of reaction with organic sulfur, organic nitrogen and organic heavy metals is stronger with alkali metals than with hydrogen, so the reaction more readily occurs without full saturation of the organics with hydrogen (col. 3).
Therefore, before the filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the hydrodemetalation or hydrotreating reactors of Xu by substitution or addition of a reaction with alkali metal reactor of Gordon because both are known for the hydrotreating or metal removal of heavy oil and substitution or addition would do not more than obtain expected results.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Brandi Doyle whose telephone number is (571)270-1141. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Prem Singh can be reached at (571)272-6381. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRANDI M DOYLE/Examiner, Art Unit 1771
/PREM C SINGH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1771
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