DETAILED ACTION
This is the initial Office action for application SN 18/957,557 having an effective date of 22 November 2024 and a Foreign priority date of 24 November 2023 (India). Claims 1-17 are pending. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
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Claims 1-17 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-16 of copending Application No. 18/763,888. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the co-pending application contains claims 1-7 drawn to a process for producing olefins and aromatics from a wide boiling hydrocarbon feedstock wherein the process comprises the same steps as the instantly claimed process for producing olefins and aromatics from wide boiling hydrocarbon feedstock, except that the instantly claimed process further includes the last step of “feeding the aromatics rich naphtha fraction to an aromatics processing unit for processing the C6 to C8 fraction in one or more of an aromatics dealkylation unit, an aromatics extraction unit, and an aromatics saturation unit to recover a non-aromatic hydrocarbon stream”. While not claimed, the co-pending application teaches in [0046] that the aromatics rich naphtha can be withdrawn and sent to an aromatic extraction unit.
System claims 8-16 for producing olefins and aromatics from a wide boiling hydrocarbon feedstock in the co-pending application comprises the same systems as claimed except for an aromatics processing unit. However, the co-pending application teaches in [0046] that the aromatics rich naphtha can be withdrawn and sent to an aromatic extraction unit for processing.
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
Allowable Subject Matter
The closest prior art is Al-Shammari et al (US 2023/0048953) which discloses systems and methods for producing light olefins and aromatics from crude oil. The method comprises the following steps:
separating a crude oil to produce a light naphtha stream and a heavy naphtha stream; subjecting the light naphtha stream to steam cracking in a steam cracking unit wherein the conditions are sufficient to convert hydrocarbons in the light naphtha stream to produce a first effluent stream;
contacting the heavy naphtha stream in a catalytic cracking unit with a catalyst under catalytic cracking conditions sufficient to cause cracking of hydrocarbons in the heavy naphtha stream to form a second effluent stream;
flowing the first effluent stream and the second effluent stream to an oil in water quench tower to produce a quench tower effluent stream;
separating the C2 to C4 stream to form a of plurality streams including a light intermediate stream, an ethylene stream comprising primarily ethylene, a propylene stream comprising primarily propylene;
cracking the light intermediate stream in the steam cracking unit; and
cracking the heavy intermediate stream in the catalytic cracking unit.
Al-Shammari et al also disclose a system for producing light olefins and aromatics comprising: an atmospheric distillation column (101); a catalytic reactor (104); a steam cracker (103); quench towers (108, 109); and a compressor (110).
The process for producing olefins and aromatics from wide boiling hydrocarbon feedstock of independent claim 1 differs from the process disclosed in Al-Shammari et al in comprising a step of fractionating the catalytically cracked effluent to recover at least a wet gas fraction, a naphtha range fraction, and a heavy catalytically cracked fraction to a step of feeding the non-aromatic hydrocarbon stream to a steam cracker unit. The examiner is of the position that none of the features are disclosed in the cited prior art of record, nor are they obvious to a person skilled in the art.
The system for producing olefins and aromatics from a wide boiling hydrocarbon feedstock of independent claim 9 differs from the system disclosed in Al-Shammari et al in the fractionation system, a wet gas compression system, an impurities removal system, a stripper, a flow line, a mixer, a lights separation system, a splitter, a mixer, a hydrogenation system, a heavies separation system, a product recovery section, an aromatics processing unit and a flow line.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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/ELLEN M MCAVOY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1771
EMcAvoy
August 4, 2026
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