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 Objections
Claim 9 is objected to because of the following informalities: “the gas outlet is comprised either by the first chamber or the second chamber” the use of “comprised either by” is confusing how an outlet is comprised by a chamber; examiner suggests using language “the gas outlet is located either in the first chamber or in the second chamber”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wheeler (US 2017/0095790) taken in combination with Ullom (US 2016/0024390) and Rinker (US 2011/0011720).
Regarding claim 1, Wheeler teaches a system and method of providing the system comprising a kiln with moving metal plates 2 that are lifted by narrow shelves 3 on the wall of kiln 1 with heaters 5 on the all (Fig 1-2, [0195]), further embodiment teaches providing the hollow chamber 38 comprising a first chamber and a second chamber divided by screens 36 and support rings 28; with dividing walls 28 in between, leaving open a gap at the center through which a lance 21 extends through the first chamber, said lance having at least one feed outlet 22 into the second chamber (on the right of the figure), wherein both the first chamber and the second chamber are rotatable, a heating system 23, 27 configured to individually heat the first and second chamber, said lance 21 being used for organic liquids such as waste oil in this example of D1, being likewise suitable for comparable (molten) plastic wastes and at least one injector 22, on the left of the figure, capable of injecting at least one sweep fluid, such as a hydrocarbon oil into the first and second chamber in order to form a fluid flow towards at least one gas outlet for collecting a product comprising the at least one sweep fluid and a gas from at least partially pyrolyzed polymer waste (Fig 7,9, [0208-0212]), Wheeler teaches the feeds include hydrocarbons waste oils among others [0002-0003].
However Wheeler does not explicitly teach the feed is a waste plastic, nor explicit separate chambers precisely as claimed.
Ullom teaches a system and providing method of a dual stage zone delineated pyrolysis apparatus for hydrocarbonaceous materials (title, abstract), Ullom teaches the “apparatus for the conversion of polymer waste in successive process environments, in solid and/or liquid form, herein interchangeably described as hydrocarbonaceous material, polymer waste and/or polymeric material, to condensable, non-condensable and solid hydrocarbon products” [0001], Ullom teaches the raw hydrocarbonaceous materials 100 is fed to first stage 20 for compression, melting, and mixing of the feed in extruder 201 that are heated 210 (Figs 1-3, [0025,0026,0040-0048]), then the materials are provided to second stage 30 with thermal kiln reactor 301 having first/second zones 302/303 with respective heating zones 312/313 divided by baffle dam 304, the gradual heating of the melted and mixed plastics in first chamber performs different thermal reactions to final pyrolysis reactions in second zone 304 to thereby produce many simultaneous products from the reactions (Figs 1-3, [0025,0026,0049-0058]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the system and method of providing the system of Wheeler in view of Ullom to process plastics, because both Wheeler and Ullom broadly teach hydrocarbonaceous feed, which Ullom teaches includes plastics, and to modify into a multi-zone delineated pyrolysis reactor as taught by Ullom because Ullom teaches produce many simultaneous products from the reactions [0058].
However Wheeler does not explicitly teach the addition of a sweep gas as claimed.
Rinker teaches a pyrolyzing process (title, abstract) that occurs in a retort chamber 58 that utilizes an oxygen deficient sweep gas in the rotating retort 58, the sweep gas 66 is recovered via the gaseous products 72 that are cleaned in 78/82/83 to recover the sweep gas 102 and compress the sweep gas 104 into sweep gas line 110 that is reintroduced into retort 66 to sweep through feed particles from line 56 introduced into rotary retort, the sweep gas recovered is a mixture of approximately 67.3% H2O, 2.9% N2 and 29.2% CO2, the sweep gas helps remove condensable volatiles as they form in retort 58 to gas outlet line 72 for separation and recovery in absorber/condensers 82/83 of condensable hydrocarbons 100 (see Figs 1-5, [0047-0070]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the system and method of providing the system of Wheeler in view of Rinker to incorporate a sweep gas to more quickly remove volatilized compounds from the pyrolysis reactor more quickly to allow these components to be more controllably removed from the system and recover desired products as taught by Rinker [0061-0064].
Regarding claim 2, in modified Wheeler as set forth above, both Wheeler and Ullom has taught providing separating barrier between zones as set forth above.
Regarding claim 3, in modified Wheeler as set forth above, Rinker has taught providing compressor for sweep gas circulation and product removal.
Regarding claim 4, in modified Wheeler as set forth above, all references has shown housing with the heaters to direct the heating to the central retort in the zoned manner as claimed such as by Ullom.
Regarding claim 5, in modified Wheeler as set forth above, providing further heating zones would be suggested by Ullom as set forth above, to further control products produced by successive ramping up of heating in the reactor via a duplication of parts (see Ullom [0053,0055-0056]).
Regarding claims 6-7, in modified Wheeler as set forth above, Wheeler has taught kiln with moving metal plates 2 that are lifted by narrow shelves 3 on the wall of kiln 1 with heaters 5 on the all (Fig 1-2, [0195]).
Regarding claim 8, in modified Wheeler as set forth above, Wheeler has taught the sweep gas may be a hydrocarbon, and Ullom has taught the sweep gas comprises, steam/water, nitrogen and CO2.
Regarding claim 9, in modified Wheeler as set forth above, the gas outlet in the references generally would be at the end of the pyrolysis chamber, or the second chamber such as outlet 323 in Ullom (Fig 3).
Regarding claim 10, Wheeler teaches a system and method of providing the system comprising a kiln with moving metal plates 2 that are lifted by narrow shelves 3 on the wall of kiln 1 with heaters 5 on the all (Fig 1-2, [0195]), further embodiment teaches providing the hollow chamber 38 comprising a first chamber and a second chamber divided by screens 36 and support rings 28; with dividing walls 28 in between, leaving open a gap at the center through which a lance 21 extends through the first chamber, said lance having at least one feed outlet 22 into the second chamber (on the right of the figure), wherein both the first chamber and the second chamber are rotatable, a heating system 23, 27 configured to individually heat the first and second chamber, said lance 21 being used for organic liquids such as waste oil in this example of D1, being likewise suitable for comparable (molten) plastic wastes and at least one injector 22, on the left of the figure, capable of injecting at least one sweep fluid, such as a hydrocarbon oil into the first and second chamber in order to form a fluid flow towards at least one gas outlet for collecting a product comprising the at least one sweep fluid and a gas from at least partially pyrolyzed polymer waste (Fig 7,9, [0208-0212]), Wheeler teaches the feeds include hydrocarbons waste oils among others [0002-0003].
However Wheeler does not explicitly teach the feed is a waste plastic, nor explicit separate chambers precisely as claimed.
Ullom teaches a system and providing method of a dual stage zone delineated pyrolysis apparatus for hydrocarbonaceous materials (title, abstract), Ullom teaches the “apparatus for the conversion of polymer waste in successive process environments, in solid and/or liquid form, herein interchangeably described as hydrocarbonaceous material, polymer waste and/or polymeric material, to condensable, non-condensable and solid hydrocarbon products” [0001], Ullom teaches the raw hydrocarbonaceous materials 100 is fed to first stage 20 for compression, melting, and mixing of the feed in extruder 201 that are heated 210 (Figs 1-3, [0025,0026,0040-0048]), then the materials are provided to second stage 30 with thermal kiln reactor 301 having first/second zones 302/303 with respective heating zones 312/313 divided by baffle dam 304, the gradual heating of the melted and mixed plastics in first chamber performs different thermal reactions to final pyrolysis reactions in second zone 304 to thereby produce many simultaneous products from the reactions (Figs 1-3, [0025,0026,0049-0058]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the system and method of providing the system of Wheeler in view of Ullom to process plastics, because both Wheeler and Ullom broadly teach hydrocarbonaceous feed, which Ullom teaches includes plastics, and to modify into a multi-zone delineated pyrolysis reactor as taught by Ullom because Ullom teaches produce many simultaneous products from the reactions [0058].
However Wheeler does not explicitly teach the addition of a sweep gas as claimed.
Rinker teaches a pyrolyzing process (title, abstract) that occurs in a retort chamber 58 that utilizes an oxygen deficient sweep gas in the rotating retort 58, the sweep gas 66 is recovered via the gaseous products 72 that are cleaned in 78/82/83 to recover the sweep gas 102 and compress the sweep gas 104 into sweep gas line 110 that is reintroduced into retort 66 to sweep through feed particles from line 56 introduced into rotary retort, the sweep gas recovered is a mixture of approximately 67.3% H2O, 2.9% N2 and 29.2% CO2, the sweep gas helps remove condensable volatiles as they form in retort 58 to gas outlet line 72 for separation and recovery in absorber/condensers 82/83 of condensable hydrocarbons 100 (see Figs 1-5, [0047-0070]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the system and method of providing the system of Wheeler in view of Rinker to incorporate a sweep gas to more quickly remove volatilized compounds from the pyrolysis reactor more quickly to allow these components to be more controllably removed from the system and recover desired products as taught by Rinker [0061-0064].
Regarding claim 11, in modified Wheeler as set forth above, Wheeler substantially teaches overlapping temperature ranges for the pyrolysis chamber [0139-0140].
Regarding claim 12, in modified Wheeler as set forth above, Wheeler teaches heated gas burners 27 in surrounding chamber 26 of central retort 25 as set forth above (Fig 7,9, [0208-0211]).
Regarding claim 13, in modified Wheeler as set forth above, Wheeler has taught the sweep gas may be a hydrocarbon, and Ullom has taught the sweep gas comprises, steam/water, nitrogen and CO2.
Regarding claim 14, in modified Wheeler as set forth above, Rinker has taught providing compressor for sweep gas circulation and product removal, while not explicitly teaching the pressure gradient as claimed, there would be expected to be a pressure drop across the chamber and measuring and reciting this would be routine skill without unexpected results.
Regarding claim 15, in modified Wheeler as set forth above, Ullom as set forth above has substantially taught melting and extruding in stage 20 the feed before providing to the pyrolysis retort in stage 30.
Regarding claim 16, in modified Wheeler as set forth above, Rinker has substantially taught the sweep gas helps remove condensable volatiles as they form in retort 58 to gas outlet line 72 for separation and recovery in absorber/condensers 82/83 of condensable hydrocarbons 100.
Pertinent Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Wilwerding (US 4,439,209) teaches pyrolysis system. Madar (US 6,165,349) teaches pyrolysis system. Bronshtein (US 2012/0006669) teaches pyrolysis system. Further citations to Ullom are cited herein. Ryan (US 12,434,280) teaches waste pyrolysis systems.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JONATHAN MILLER whose telephone number is (571)270-1603. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9 - 5.
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/JONATHAN MILLER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1772
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