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 § 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.
Claim 12 is 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 12 recites the limitation "separating materials from the battery cathode material e" in which “material e” is not mentioned in the independent claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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) 1,3,15-16, and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wang, Mengmeng, et al. "Efficient separation of aluminum foil and cathode materials from spent lithium-ion batteries using a low-temperature molten salt." ACS sustainable chemistry & engineering 7.9 (2019): 8287-8294. and evidenced by Mamantov, G., and G. Torsi. "Potentiometric study of the dissociation of the tetrachloroaluminate ion in molten sodium chloroaluminates at 175-400. deg." Inorganic Chemistry 10.9 (1971): 1900-1902.
Regarding claim 1, Wang discloses a process of separating battery cathode material by utilizing a molten salt system(Wang[Figure 1]). The system contains NaCl and AlCl3 which are heated till they convert from a solid phase to a liquid phase (Wang[pg. 8291 ¶4). While the prior art does not mention the presence of chloroaluminate ions, evidentiary evidence from Mamantov teaches that a NaCl and AlCl3 melt will result in the formation of AlCl4- ions in the molten salt (Mamantov[Results and Discussion ¶2]). Therefore, the prior art fulfills the limitations set in the instant claim requiring a battery cathode to be reduced in a liquid containing chloroaluminate ions where the materials are separated from the cathode.
Regarding claims 3, Wang does not disclose the type of chloroaluminate ion present in the liquid. However, Mamantov teaches that the presence of an ion within the liquid is a chloroaluminate ion with the formula, AlCl4 -(Mamantov[Results and Discussion ¶2]). Therefore, the disclosure fulfils the limitations set in the instant claim requiring the chloroaluminate anion to be tetrachloroaluminate.
Regarding claim 15, Wang discloses the separation of cathode active material from a spent battery (Wang[Fig 1]). Therefore, this disclosure fulfills the limitations set in the instant claim requiring the extraction of cathode active materials.
Regarding claims 16, while Wang and Mamantov do not disclose whether or not there are emissions in the process, Wang teaches a process of separating battery cathode material by utilizing a molten salt system(Wang[Figure 1]). The system contains NaCl and AlCl3 which are heated till they convert from a solid phase to a liquid phase (Wang[pg. 8291 ¶4). While the prior art does not mention the presence of chloroaluminate ions, Mamantov teaches that a NaCl and AlCl3 melt will result in the formation of AlCl4- ions in the molten salt (Mamantov[Results and Discussion ¶2]). Due to the process in the prior art being substantially the same as those of the claimed invention, one of ordinary skill in the art would be able to identify that they would share properties that are inherent to the process, such as lacking emissions.
Regarding claim 18, Wang discloses that the melted salt is processed and heated into a liquid (Wang[pg. 8291 ¶4). Therefore, the prior art fulfills the limitations set in the instant claim requiring the preparation of a liquid including chloroaluminate ions prior to reducing the lithium-ion battery cathode material.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2,4-9,10-14,17,19-21 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Reasons for Indicating Allowable Subject Matter
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Wang teaches a process of separating battery cathode material by utilizing a molten salt system(Wang[Figure 1]). The system contains NaCl and AlCl3 which are heated till they convert from a solid phase to a liquid phase (Wang[pg. 8291 ¶4). Mamantov teaches that a NaCl and AlCl3 melt will result in the formation of AlCl4- ions in the molten salt (Mamantov[Results and Discussion ¶2]).
Regarding claim 2, while Wang and Mamantov teaches a process of separating battery cathode material by utilizing a molten salt system(Wang[Figure 1]). The prior art does not mention a situation where Lewis neutral chloroaluminate anions exist due to the presence of a Lewis neutral anion indicating that there are no cations for the anions to donate their electrons to in the liquid.
Regarding claims 4,5, and 19- 20, while Wang and Mamantov teaches the process of utilizing a liquid containing chloroaluminate (Wang[Figure 1]). The prior art does not teach or suggest the use of an organic solution in the form of 1 -Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrachloroaluminate ionic liquid, where anhydrous AlCl3 powder is added to EMIMCl at a molar ratio of 1:1.
Regarding claim 6, Wang teaches the addition of cathode material into the ionic liquid. However, the limitation is not met by the prior art as the instant claim requires the ionic liquid to be added on top of the cathode material.
Regarding claims 7-9, the prior art teaches the ratio of molten salt with the cathode to be at 10:1 (Wang[abstract]) which is the inverse of the limitation set in claim 8. The prior art does not teach or suggest that the liquid to cathode material has a molar ratio of 1:2, 1:10, and 1:50.
Regarding claims 10 and 21, while Wang and Mamantov teaches the process of utilizing a liquid containing chloroaluminate (Wang[Figure 1]). The prior art does not teach or suggest the use of ethanol in the ionic liquid.
Regarding claim 11-14 and 17, Wang teaches that the cathode is made of lithium cobalt oxide [8288 material and reagents]. However, the prior art does teach the extraction of lithium or cobalt ions from the cathode, nor does the prior art suggest that the materials are separated using a centrifuge at room temperature.
It is for these reasons claims 2,4-9,10-14,17,19-21 are considered novel and nonobvious.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANNETTE H PHAN whose telephone number is (703)756-4520. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-6:30 EST.
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, Anthony Zimmer can be reached at 5712703591. 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.
/ANNETTE PHAN/Examiner, Art Unit 1736
/ANTHONY J ZIMMER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1736
