DETAILED ACTION
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-20 are 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.
Regarding claim 1, in the phrase “separating the cyrogenic feed in a knock-out drum” appears to conflict with “reducing a temperature of the cyrogenic feed in a cyrogenic cooler to produce a cyrogenic stream…” In the specification, it is cyrogenic stream 50 that is sent to the knockout drum 52. It is unclear whether the material separated in the drum is the cyrogenic feed from the exchanger or the cyrogenic stream from the cyrogenic cooler.
Regarding claim 14, the phrase “the exhaust” lacks antecedent basis. It should depend on claim 7, which introduces “to produce an exhaust”, instead of claim 1.
Regarding claim 17, the phrases “a cryogenic cooler fluidically connected to the exhaust exchanger, the cryogenic cooler configured to reduce a temperature of the cryogenic feed to produce a cryogenic stream” and “a knock-drum fluidically connected to the cryogenic cooler, the knock-out drum configured separate the cryogenic feed to produce a liquid carbon dioxide and membrane feed” appear to conflict. In the specification, it is cyrogenic stream 50 that is sent to the knockout drum 52. It is unclear whether the material separated in the drum is the cyrogenic feed from the exchanger or the cyrogenic stream from the cyrogenic cooler.
In further regards to claim 17, the phrase “the glassy membrane in the 3rd paragraph lacks antecedent basis. The claim subsequently describes a “membrane selective to carbon dioxide and hydrogen…” Thus, it is unclear if ‘the glassy membrane’ and ‘a membrane’ refer to the same component and whether the claimed system requires a glassy membrane.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-20 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The closest prior art is Hasse et al. US 8,734,569 who teaches a system for obtaining carbon dioxide comprising:
a) Sending a tail gas stream 1 to a compressor 20 to produce a compressed tail gas stream 5;
b) Sending the compressed tail gas stream 5 to a pretreatment 10 to produce dry stream 15;
c) Separating the dry stream (15 to 31) in a membrane separation unit 40 to produce a permeate stream 45 of carbon dioxide and a retentate stream 42;
d) Reducing the temperature of the permeate stream in a heat exchanger 30;
e) Expanding the retentate stream (42 to 32) in expander 50 to produce expanded stream 55;
f) Sending the expanded stream 55 to the heat exchanger 30 then recovering a lean CO-2 stream 56;
g) The permeate stream 45 is compressed at 21 then sent to the heat exchanger 30 to cool;
h) The cooled permeate stream 36 is sent to separator 60 to recover product stream 75.
Thus, Hasse teaches a different sequence of cooling and expanding and further does not teach a second membrane unit.
Hasse does not teach cooling the compressed permeate stream in a permeate exchanger to produce a cooled permeate stream;
reducing a temperature of the cooled permeate stream in an exhaust exchanger to produce a cryogenic feed, where the temperature of the cooled permeate stream is reduced by heat exchange with the expanded stream;
reducing a temperature of the cryogenic feed in a cryogenic cooler to produce a cryogenic stream, where a temperature of the cryogenic stream induces precipitation of carbon dioxide at the pressure of the cryogenic stream;
separating the cryogenic feed in a knock-drum to produce a liquid carbon dioxide and membrane feed, where the knock-out drum is at the temperature and pressure of the cryogenic stream, where the liquid carbon dioxide comprises the precipitated liquid carbon dioxide, where the membrane feed comprises carbon dioxide and hydrogen;
separating the membrane feed in a second stage membrane unit to produce a rubbery membrane permeate and a rubbery membrane retentate, where the second stage membrane unit comprises a membrane selective to carbon dioxide over hydrogen, where the rubbery membrane permeate comprises carbon dioxide, where the rubbery membrane retentate comprises hydrogen; and
treating the rubbery membrane retentate in a hydrogen recovery process to produce a hydrogen product stream and a carbon dioxide lean stream, where the hydrogen recovery process is selected from the group consisting of a pressure swing adsorption unit, a hydrogen recovery membrane, a molecular centrifuge, and combinations of the same, where the hydrogen product comprises hydrogen.
Conclusion
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/SHARON PREGLER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1772
