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 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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 8, 10, 13-16, 19, 20, 22-26, and 30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kar et al. (Accounts of Chemical Research, 2019).
The claims are drawn to a method for the conversion of a carbonate/formate components comprising contacting the carbonate/formate with hydrogen to produce methanol, methane, carbon monoxide, or hydrocarbons, or a mixture thereof, over a catalyst in a solvent, the catalyst including a transition metal, a post-transition metal, a lanthanide, or combinations thereof.
Kar et al. discloses a process wherein a metal hydroxide, e.g. sodium or potassium hydroxide, and carbon dioxide are reacted to form the corresponding metal carbonate or bicarbonate, and reaction of the carbonate or bicarbonate with hydrogen, in the presence of a catalyst, thereby producing methanol, water, and metal hydroxide (Fig. 1, page B). The reference also discloses that hydrogenation of carbonate to obtain methanol may be conducted in the presence of an amine, such as dimethylamine. The reduction proceeds via the formation of carbamate, formate, and formamide intermediates in the presence of a catalyst, e.g. Ru-Macho-BH. The hydrogenation is performed in the presence of a 2-methyltetrahydrofuran/water solvent system. The catalyst and amine components may be recycled by immobilizing the amine onto a solid support, such as silica (pages D-E). This process disclosed by Kar et al. anticipates the instant claims.
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.
Claim(s) 5-7, 9, 27-29, 31 and 32 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kar et al.
The instant claims further limit the process of the present invention to specific metal carbonates and bicarbonates, a specific metal formats; to specific alcohol/diol solvents, and to a method for the conversion of carbonate or bicarbonate components to methanol, methane, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, or a mixture thereof, wherein the carbonate or bicarbonates are produced by capturing carbon dioxide with a metal hydroxide.
Kar et al. broadly teaches the carbonates and bicarbonates salts without specifically mentioning a specific metal salt. However, the reference teaches the use of alkali-metal hydroxide bases for capturing carbon dioxide in the process for producing methanol, and that carbonate/bicarbonate salts are formed during carbon dioxide capture. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill that the alkali metal hydroxide used for capturing carbon dioxide would produce the corresponding alkali metal carbonate or bicarbonate salt during the carbon dioxide capture.
The reference also teaches that during carbon dioxide capture by amines, the presence of glycols during the capture was crucial to stabilize the bicarbonate intermediate (p. B, second col.) The instant claims are therefore rendered obvious by the method(s) taught by Kar et al.
Claim(s) 11, 12, and 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kar et al. as applied to claims 5-7, 9, 27-29, 31, and 32 above, and further in view of Lux et al. (ChemSuSChem, 2018).
The instant claims limit the invention such that the carbonate/formate component includes naturally occurring minerals, and wherein the catalyst comprises Fischer-Tropsch type catalysts based on iron, cobalt, and/or ruthenium and catalysts based on iron, copper, molybdenum, cobalt, metal carbides, zeolites, or mixtures thereof.
Lux et al. teach the hydrogenation of inorganic metal carbonates and its potential for carbon dioxide utilization, and more specifically, Lux et al. teach that carbonates may be formed from calcite, magnesite, and siderite, and that transition metals are well established catalysts in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, e.g. catalytic polymerization and hydrogenation of carbon monoxide (page 2).
The instant claims are rendered obvious in view of the combined reference teachings, as Lux et al. teach that the carbonates used in the process taught by Kar et al. may also be sources from naturally occurring minerals, and that transition metals are known to be useful in reactions including, inter alia, polymerization and hydrogenation or carbon monoxide/carbon dioxide.
Claim(s) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kar et al. as applied to claims 5-7, 9, 27, 29, 31, and 32 above, and further in view of Frei et al. (Catalysis, 2020).
The instant claim further limits the catalyst used in the present invention to an indium-based catalyst. Kar et al. does not teach such catalysts; however, Frei et al. teaches the production or methanol utilizing captured carbon dioxide, wherein the catalyst used us a zirconium-supported indium oxide catalyst.
The instant claim is rendered obvious by the combined reference teachings, as Frei et al. teaches that indium oxide catalyst may also be used in the process taught by Kar et al.
Claim 18 is 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SIKARL A WITHERSPOON whose telephone number is (571)272-0649. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-9pm IFP.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Scarlett Goon can be reached at 571-270-5241. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/SIKARL A WITHERSPOON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1692
Prosecution Insights