Appeal No. 1997-2936
Application No. 08/360,335
Page 2
1. A process for concentrating an aqueous solution of an
alkali metal hydroxide, in an electrodialysis cell
containing three compartments, comprising:
circulating an aqueous alkali metal halide solution in
a saline compartment of the cell, delimited between an
anionic membrane and a cationic membrane,
introducing an alkali metal halide into an acidic
compartment of the cell, which is delimited between the
anionic membrane and a cationic face of a bipolar membrane,
and
extracting a more concentrated aqueous alkali metal
hydroxide solution from an alkaline compartment of the cell,
delimited between the cationic membrane and an anionic face
of the bipolar membrane, and extracting an aqueous solution
of a hydrohalic acid and an alkali metal halide from said
acidic compartment.
The prior art references of record relied upon by the
examiner in rejecting the appealed claims are:
Mani 4,976,838 Dec. 11, 1990
Oda 2,829,095 Apr. 01, 1958
Claims 1 to 4, 7, and 9 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C.
§ 102(b) as being anticipated by Mani.
Claims 5 and 6 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being
unpatentable over Mani.1
Claim 8 stands rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being
unpatentable over Mani in view of Oda.
Rather than reiterate the conflicting viewpoints advanced by
the examiner and the appellants regarding the above-noted
rejections, we make reference to the examiner's answer, the
examiner's second answer, and the examiner’s response to the
remand, for the examiner's complete reasoning in support of the
1 We recognize that a remand was issued in this case (Paper No. 23) regarding
whether claim 6 is under rejection. The examiner’s response to the remand
(Paper No. 24) indicates that claim 6 is under rejection. Hence, claim 6 is
rejected as indicated above.
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