DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to the application filed on 8/12/2024.
Claims 1-19 are pending.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The references listed on the Information Disclosure Statement submitted on 8/12/2024 has/have been considered by the examiner (see attached PTO-1449).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 15-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because the claims are not clearly limited to the non-transitory medium. The specification also does not clearly define the computer readable medium as being limited to a non-transitory medium.
Claim Mapping Notation
In this office action, following notations are being used to refer to the paragraph numbers or column number and lines of portions of the cited reference.
In this office action, following notations are being used to refer to the paragraph numbers or column number and lines of portions of the cited reference.
[0005] (Paragraph number [0005])
C5 (Column 5)
Pa5 (Page 5)
S5 (Section 5)
Furthermore, unless necessary to distinguish from other references in this action, “et al.” will be omitted when referring to the reference.
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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3 8-10, 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) and (a2) as being anticipated by McKinnon et al. (US 5252060 A)
1.A method of determining a methane destruction and removal efficiency (DRE) of an elevated flare receiving at least one waste gas stream and having a flame and a plume, comprising the steps of:
C9 “The present invention details an analysis of optical methods for the detection of upset conditions in the incineration of hazardous waste. On-line detection of upsets is extremely important to avoid sending untreated waste out the stack plume or the formation of hazardous PICs (e.g., dioxins). The analysis was conducted by running numerical simulations of hazardous waste combustion using detailed elementary chemical kinetic mechanisms. The results of the simulations were examined to select the components which had strong correlations with poor combustion. It was found that small hydrocarbons are the strongest candidates for in situ monitoring of combustion efficiency.”
determining, by a processing unit, a signal strength for each carbon-containing species in the plume using passive Fourier transform infrared remote sensing over a period of time;
C13 “In both flame systems the extinction of the infrared laser beam through the flame for spectral scans across a number of individual rotational lines for carbon monoxide and methane was monitored. Absorption of infrared light by a molecule in the laser beam is described by the Bouger-Lambert law which, for a uniform line-of-sight measurement, can be expressed as: ##EQU2## In this equation, T.sub..nu. is the transmissivity at frequency .nu.; I.degree. and I are the beam intensities before and after the absorbing sample, respectively; S is the line strength for the absorption transition; g(.nu.-.nu..degree.) is the line shape factor (typically described assuming either a Voigt or a Lorentzian profile for the wavelength dependence of the absorption); P.sub.j is the partial pressure of the absorbing species; and L is the path length.”
measuring a volumetric flow rate for each of the at least one waste gas stream during the period of time;
C13 “In both flame systems the extinction of the infrared laser beam through the flame for spectral scans across a number of individual rotational lines for carbon monoxide and methane was monitored. Absorption of infrared light by a molecule in the laser beam is described by the Bouger-Lambert law which, for a uniform line-of-sight measurement, can be expressed as: ##EQU2## In this equation, T.sub..nu. is the transmissivity at frequency .nu.; I.degree. and I are the beam intensities before and after the absorbing sample, respectively; S is the line strength for the absorption transition; g(.nu.-.nu..degree.) is the line shape factor (typically described assuming either a Voigt or a Lorentzian profile for the wavelength dependence of the absorption); P.sub.j is the partial pressure of the absorbing species; and L is the path length.”
calculating, by the processing unit, a methane carbon fraction for the at least one waste gas stream using a predetermined gas composition for each of the at least one waste gas stream;
C14 “One of the selection criteria for monitoring species identified above was a high sensitivity of species concentration to equivalence ratio, .phi.. In this regard it is instructive to compare the behavior of the carbon monoxide and methane to .phi. in the two flame systems: the overall equivalence ratio of the fuel/air mixture in the premixed flame and the local equivalence ratio in the diffusion flame study. For the latter, the local equivalence ratio is defined in terms of the mixture fraction as: ##EQU4## where .xi..sub.s is the stoichiometric mixture fraction (0.055 for methane) and the mixture fraction is calculated using the combining rule of Bilger, R.W., and Starner, S.H. (1990). On reduced mechanisms for methane-air combustion in nonpremixed flames. Combust. Flame 80, 135.”
calculating, by the processing unit, a methane carbon fraction for the plume; and
C11 “Based on the elementary reaction mechanism as shown in Table 1, it was unanticipatedly concluded that the best on line diagnostic method to use to avoid production of hazardous chlorinated products of incomplete combustion (PICs) is not to monitor the PICs themselves, but to monitor their hydrocarbon precursors in the combustion zone. If the hydrocarbon concentrations are kept low, then the CHC compounds cannot form in the cooler stack gas because there are no carbon backbones on which to build. While hydrocarbons were found in this model to be the best subjects for monitoring, the method of the present invention is not limited to monitoring small hydrocarbons. Any emission intermediates showing a strong correlation to destruction and removal efficiency can be monitored. These materials may be free radicals, chlorine-containing molecules, and oxygen-containing molecules, for example. If they meet the criteria of Equation 1 above and have concentrations of at least 1 ppm, they are candidates for monitoring.”
calculating, by the processing unit, the methane DRE using the calculated methane carbon fraction for each of the at least one waste gas stream and the calculated methane carbon fraction for the plume.
C11 “Based on the elementary reaction mechanism as shown in Table 1, it was unanticipatedly concluded that the best on line diagnostic method to use to avoid production of hazardous chlorinated products of incomplete combustion (PICs) is not to monitor the PICs themselves, but to monitor their hydrocarbon precursors in the combustion zone. If the hydrocarbon concentrations are kept low, then the CHC compounds cannot form in the cooler stack gas because there are no carbon backbones on which to build. While hydrocarbons were found in this model to be the best subjects for monitoring, the method of the present invention is not limited to monitoring small hydrocarbons. Any emission intermediates showing a strong correlation to destruction and removal efficiency can be monitored. These materials may be free radicals, chlorine-containing molecules, and oxygen-containing molecules, for example. If they meet the criteria of Equation 1 above and have concentrations of at least 1 ppm, they are candidates for monitoring.”
2. The method of determining a methane DRE of claim 1, wherein the at least one waste gas stream is conducted to the flame at least partially through the flare.
C6 “To demonstrate the application of tunable diode lasers to the detection of hydrocarbon species in combustion systems, preliminary measurements have been made of the concentrations of both carbon monoxide and methane in both a laminar methane/air diffusion flame, supported on a Wolfhard-Parker slot burner, and in a premixed methane/air flame supported on a water-cooled, porous-plug burner. These two systems provide ideal circumstances for the application of TDL diagnostics. They each have a long, homogeneous (in temperature and composition) optical path and each system has been extensively studied, so that the accuracy of the TDL results can be verified.”
3. The method of determining a methane DRE of claim 1, further comprising the step of determining a gas composition for each of the at least one waste gas stream.
C11 “Based on the elementary reaction mechanism as shown in Table 1, it was unanticipatedly concluded that the best on line diagnostic method to use to avoid production of hazardous chlorinated products of incomplete combustion (PICs) is not to monitor the PICs themselves, but to monitor their hydrocarbon precursors in the combustion zone. If the hydrocarbon concentrations are kept low, then the CHC compounds cannot form in the cooler stack gas because there are no carbon backbones on which to build. While hydrocarbons were found in this model to be the best subjects for monitoring, the method of the present invention is not limited to monitoring small hydrocarbons. Any emission intermediates showing a strong correlation to destruction and removal efficiency can be monitored. These materials may be free radicals, chlorine-containing molecules, and oxygen-containing molecules, for example. If they meet the criteria of Equation 1 above and have concentrations of at least 1 ppm, they are candidates for monitoring.”
8. A method of determining a methane destruction and removal efficiency (DRE) of an elevated flare receiving at least two waste gas streams and having a flame and a plume, utilizing a computing device, comprising the steps of:
determining a gas composition for each of the at least one waste gas stream;
C14 “One of the selection criteria for monitoring species identified above was a high sensitivity of species concentration to equivalence ratio, .phi.. In this regard it is instructive to compare the behavior of the carbon monoxide and methane to .phi. in the two flame systems: the overall equivalence ratio of the fuel/air mixture in the premixed flame and the local equivalence ratio in the diffusion flame study. For the latter, the local equivalence ratio is defined in terms of the mixture fraction as: ##EQU4## where .xi..sub.s is the stoichiometric mixture fraction (0.055 for methane) and the mixture fraction is calculated using the combining rule of Bilger, R.W., and Starner, S.H. (1990). On reduced mechanisms for methane-air combustion in nonpremixed flames. Combust. Flame 80, 135.”
determining a signal strength for each carbon-containing species in the plume using passive Fourier transform infrared remote sensing;
C9 “The present invention details an analysis of optical methods for the detection of upset conditions in the incineration of hazardous waste. On-line detection of upsets is extremely important to avoid sending untreated waste out the stack plume or the formation of hazardous PICs (e.g., dioxins). The analysis was conducted by running numerical simulations of hazardous waste combustion using detailed elementary chemical kinetic mechanisms. The results of the simulations were examined to select the components which had strong correlations with poor combustion. It was found that small hydrocarbons are the strongest candidates for in situ monitoring of combustion efficiency.”
measuring a volumetric flow rate for each of the at least two waste gas streams;
C13 “In both flame systems the extinction of the infrared laser beam through the flame for spectral scans across a number of individual rotational lines for carbon monoxide and methane was monitored. Absorption of infrared light by a molecule in the laser beam is described by the Bouger-Lambert law which, for a uniform line-of-sight measurement, can be expressed as: ##EQU2## In this equation, T.sub..nu. is the transmissivity at frequency .nu.; I.degree. and I are the beam intensities before and after the absorbing sample, respectively; S is the line strength for the absorption transition; g(.nu.-.nu..degree.) is the line shape factor (typically described assuming either a Voigt or a Lorentzian profile for the wavelength dependence of the absorption); P.sub.j is the partial pressure of the absorbing species; and L is the path length.”
calculating a methane carbon fraction for the at least one waste gas stream using the determined gas composition for each of the at least two waste gas streams;
C14 “One of the selection criteria for monitoring species identified above was a high sensitivity of species concentration to equivalence ratio, .phi.. In this regard it is instructive to compare the behavior of the carbon monoxide and methane to .phi. in the two flame systems: the overall equivalence ratio of the fuel/air mixture in the premixed flame and the local equivalence ratio in the diffusion flame study. For the latter, the local equivalence ratio is defined in terms of the mixture fraction as: ##EQU4## where .xi..sub.s is the stoichiometric mixture fraction (0.055 for methane) and the mixture fraction is calculated using the combining rule of Bilger, R.W., and Starner, S.H. (1990). On reduced mechanisms for methane-air combustion in nonpremixed flames. Combust. Flame 80, 135.”
calculating a methane carbon fraction for the plume; and
C11 “Based on the elementary reaction mechanism as shown in Table 1, it was unanticipatedly concluded that the best on line diagnostic method to use to avoid production of hazardous chlorinated products of incomplete combustion (PICs) is not to monitor the PICs themselves, but to monitor their hydrocarbon precursors in the combustion zone. If the hydrocarbon concentrations are kept low, then the CHC compounds cannot form in the cooler stack gas because there are no carbon backbones on which to build. While hydrocarbons were found in this model to be the best subjects for monitoring, the method of the present invention is not limited to monitoring small hydrocarbons. Any emission intermediates showing a strong correlation to destruction and removal efficiency can be monitored. These materials may be free radicals, chlorine-containing molecules, and oxygen-containing molecules, for example. If they meet the criteria of Equation 1 above and have concentrations of at least 1 ppm, they are candidates for monitoring.”
calculating the methane DRE using the calculated methane carbon fraction for each of the at least two waste gas streams and the calculated methane carbon fraction for the plume.
C11 “Based on the elementary reaction mechanism as shown in Table 1, it was unanticipatedly concluded that the best on line diagnostic method to use to avoid production of hazardous chlorinated products of incomplete combustion (PICs) is not to monitor the PICs themselves, but to monitor their hydrocarbon precursors in the combustion zone. If the hydrocarbon concentrations are kept low, then the CHC compounds cannot form in the cooler stack gas because there are no carbon backbones on which to build. While hydrocarbons were found in this model to be the best subjects for monitoring, the method of the present invention is not limited to monitoring small hydrocarbons. Any emission intermediates showing a strong correlation to destruction and removal efficiency can be monitored. These materials may be free radicals, chlorine-containing molecules, and oxygen-containing molecules, for example. If they meet the criteria of Equation 1 above and have concentrations of at least 1 ppm, they are candidates for monitoring.”
9. The method of determining a methane DRE of claim 8, wherein each of the at least two waste gas streams is conducted to the flame at least partially through the flare.
C6 “To demonstrate the application of tunable diode lasers to the detection of hydrocarbon species in combustion systems, preliminary measurements have been made of the concentrations of both carbon monoxide and methane in both a laminar methane/air diffusion flame, supported on a Wolfhard-Parker slot burner, and in a premixed methane/air flame supported on a water-cooled, porous-plug burner. These two systems provide ideal circumstances for the application of TDL diagnostics. They each have a long, homogeneous (in temperature and composition) optical path and each system has been extensively studied, so that the accuracy of the TDL results can be verified.”
10. The method of determining a methane DRE of claim 9, further comprising the step of mixing the at least two waste gas streams with air conducted through the flare.
C6 “To demonstrate the application of tunable diode lasers to the detection of hydrocarbon species in combustion systems, preliminary measurements have been made of the concentrations of both carbon monoxide and methane in both a laminar methane/air diffusion flame, supported on a Wolfhard-Parker slot burner, and in a premixed methane/air flame supported on a water-cooled, porous-plug burner. These two systems provide ideal circumstances for the application of TDL diagnostics. They each have a long, homogeneous (in temperature and composition) optical path and each system has been extensively studied, so that the accuracy of the TDL results can be verified.”
15. A system comprising: a computing device; a computer-readable medium coupled to the computing device having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:
calculating a methane carbon fraction for the plume using a determined signal strength for each carbon-containing species in the plume using passive Fourier transform infrared remote sensing over a period of time;
C9 “The present invention details an analysis of optical methods for the detection of upset conditions in the incineration of hazardous waste. On-line detection of upsets is extremely important to avoid sending untreated waste out the stack plume or the formation of hazardous PICs (e.g., dioxins). The analysis was conducted by running numerical simulations of hazardous waste combustion using detailed elementary chemical kinetic mechanisms. The results of the simulations were examined to select the components which had strong correlations with poor combustion. It was found that small hydrocarbons are the strongest candidates for in situ monitoring of combustion efficiency.”
calculating a methane carbon fraction for at least one waste gas stream conducted at least partially through an elevated flare having a flame and a plume using a predetermined gas composition for each of the at least one waste gas stream and a measured volumetric flow rate for each of the at least one waste gas stream over the period of time; and
C14 “One of the selection criteria for monitoring species identified above was a high sensitivity of species concentration to equivalence ratio, .phi.. In this regard it is instructive to compare the behavior of the carbon monoxide and methane to .phi. in the two flame systems: the overall equivalence ratio of the fuel/air mixture in the premixed flame and the local equivalence ratio in the diffusion flame study. For the latter, the local equivalence ratio is defined in terms of the mixture fraction as: ##EQU4## where .xi..sub.s is the stoichiometric mixture fraction (0.055 for methane) and the mixture fraction is calculated using the combining rule of Bilger, R.W., and Starner, S.H. (1990). On reduced mechanisms for methane-air combustion in nonpremixed flames. Combust. Flame 80, 135.”
calculating the methane DRE using the calculated methane carbon fraction for each of the at least one waste gas stream and the calculated methane carbon fraction for the plume.
C11 “Based on the elementary reaction mechanism as shown in Table 1, it was unanticipatedly concluded that the best on line diagnostic method to use to avoid production of hazardous chlorinated products of incomplete combustion (PICs) is not to monitor the PICs themselves, but to monitor their hydrocarbon precursors in the combustion zone. If the hydrocarbon concentrations are kept low, then the CHC compounds cannot form in the cooler stack gas because there are no carbon backbones on which to build. While hydrocarbons were found in this model to be the best subjects for monitoring, the method of the present invention is not limited to monitoring small hydrocarbons. Any emission intermediates showing a strong correlation to destruction and removal efficiency can be monitored. These materials may be free radicals, chlorine-containing molecules, and oxygen-containing molecules, for example. If they meet the criteria of Equation 1 above and have concentrations of at least 1 ppm, they are candidates for monitoring.”
16. The system of claim 15, further comprising a flow meter for each of the at least one waste gas stream for measuring a volumetric flow rate for each of the at least one waste gas stream.
C13 “In both flame systems the extinction of the infrared laser beam through the flame for spectral scans across a number of individual rotational lines for carbon monoxide and methane was monitored. Absorption of infrared light by a molecule in the laser beam is described by the Bouger-Lambert law which, for a uniform line-of-sight measurement, can be expressed as: ##EQU2## In this equation, T.sub..nu. is the transmissivity at frequency .nu.; I.degree. and I are the beam intensities before and after the absorbing sample, respectively; S is the line strength for the absorption transition; g(.nu.-.nu..degree.) is the line shape factor (typically described assuming either a Voigt or a Lorentzian profile for the wavelength dependence of the absorption); P.sub.j is the partial pressure of the absorbing species; and L is the path length.”
17. The system of claim 16, further comprising an PFTIR instrument for determining a signal strength for each carbon-containing species in the plume using passive Fourier transform infrared remote sensing over a period of time.
C13 “In both flame systems the extinction of the infrared laser beam through the flame for spectral scans across a number of individual rotational lines for carbon monoxide and methane was monitored. Absorption of infrared light by a molecule in the laser beam is described by the Bouger-Lambert law which, for a uniform line-of-sight measurement, can be expressed as: ##EQU2## In this equation, T.sub..nu. is the transmissivity at frequency .nu.; I.degree. and I are the beam intensities before and after the absorbing sample, respectively; S is the line strength for the absorption transition; g(.nu.-.nu..degree.) is the line shape factor (typically described assuming either a Voigt or a Lorentzian profile for the wavelength dependence of the absorption); P.sub.j is the partial pressure of the absorbing species; and L is the path length.”
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-7, 11-14 are 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.
4. The method of determining a methane DRE of claim 1, wherein the step of calculating a methane carbon fraction for the at least one waste gas stream, by the processing unit, utilizes Equation 8 if the at least one waste gas stream includes a single waste gas stream, Equation 9 if the at least one waste gas stream includes two waste gas streams, and Equation 10 if the at least one waste gas stream includes more than two waste gas streams.
5. The method of determining a methane DRE of claim 1, wherein the step of calculating a methane carbon fraction for the plume, by the processing unit, utilizes Equation 5.
6. The method of determining a methane DRE of claim 1, wherein the step of determining a signal strength for each carbon-containing species in the plume includes the steps of measuring radiation data based on radiation from the plume and a background radiance,
calculating, by the processing unit, a difference of a measured radiance of the plume and a measured background radiance, and calculating, by the processing unit, based on the difference, a transmissivity of the plume such that the calculated transmissivity of the plume is defined for flare combustion temperatures.
7. The method of determining a methane DRE of claim 6, wherein the step of determining a signal strength for each carbon-containing species in the plume includes the steps of calculating a correction factor based on atmospheric transmissivity, and wherein the step of calculating transmissivity of the plume further includes the step of calculating, based on the calculated correction factor, the transmissivity of the plume.
11. The method of determining a methane DRE of claim 8, wherein the step of determining a gas composition for each of the at least two waste gas streams includes the steps of collecting waste gas samples for each of the at least two waste gas streams and analyzing the collected waste gas samples before performing the step of determining a signal strength for each carbon-containing species in the plume using passive Fourier transform infrared remote sensing.
12. The method of determining a methane DRE of claim 8, wherein the step of calculating a methane carbon fraction for the at least two waste gas streams utilizes Equation 9 if the at least two waste gas streams include two waste gas streams and Equation 10 if the at least two waste gas streams include more than two waste gas streams.
13. The method of determining a methane DRE of claim 12, wherein the step of calculating a methane carbon fraction for the plume utilizes Equation 5.
14. The method of determining a methane DRE of claim 8, wherein the step of determining a signal strength for each carbon-containing species in the plume includes the steps of measuring radiation data based on radiation from the plume and a background radiance, and calculating a transmissivity of the plume based on a calculated difference of a measured radiance of the plume and a measured background radiance.
18. The system of claim 15, wherein the operation of calculating a methane carbon fraction for the at least one waste gas stream utilizes Equation 8 if the at least one waste gas stream includes a single waste gas stream, Equation 9 if the at least one waste gas stream includes two waste gas streams, and Equation 10 if the at least one waste gas stream includes more than two waste gas streams.
19. The system of claim 15, wherein the operation of calculating a methane carbon fraction for the plume, by the processing unit, utilizes Equation 5.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding the claims 6, 17 and 23, applicants uniquely claimed distinct features, which are not found in the prior art, either singularly or in an obvious combination of all the limitation of the claim, the distinct features being… the processor is further configured to.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. CAJAUSKIS et al. (US-20210187142-A1) and Kurani et al. (US-20210188541-A1) disclose relevant art related to the subject matter of the present invention.
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/JAE N NOH/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2481
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