Appeal No. 1996-2320
Application 08/221,224
fully reacted and, because the material at the wall travels
so slowly, product can build up on the wall and possibly
degrade. Koch teaches that “[b]y inducing radial mixing, the
Koch static mixing unit provides plug flow and uniformity in
viscosity, molecular weight, temperature, and degree of
reaction. This eliminates product buildup while raising
throughput and yield.” See id. Another advantage of Koch’s
static mixers, Koch discloses, is that “a homogeneous mix is
achieved in just a few pipe diameters” (page 9). Koch further
teaches that in gas liquid reactions, which is the type in
Guertin’s process, use of a static mixer breaks the gas into
fine bubbles which are uniformly dispersed throughout the
liquid such that there is excellent gas-liquid contact in a
small volume, and mass transfer efficiency is high (page 12).
Koch, therefore, would have fairly suggested, to one of
ordinary skill in the art, using a static mixer in Guertin’s
reactor so that the benefits of use of a static mixer
discussed above, including the benefits resulting from plug
flow, are obtained.
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