Appeal No. 94-3479
Application 07/917,261
and neutral. To obtain highly acidic alumina, appellants must
acidify commercially alumina with an acid. Thus in reading the
claim, we must interpret appellants’ alumina as having a pHpzc
less than 3.0.
Bearing in mind the proper construction of appellants’
claims, we have reviewed the references. Missing from the
references is any teaching or suggestion that alumina catalyst
must be highly acidic. Notwithstanding this, the Examiner urges
on page 7 of his Answer that the acidity of the alumina recited
in appellants’ claim 15 does not distinguish from the acidity of
Kintaichi’s catalyst comprising silica and alumina. A fair
reading of Kintaichi shows that Kintaichi recognizes that as he
increases the alumina content of his catalyst, its acidity
increases, silica not being acidic. This increase in acidity is
attributed to the presence of alumina. Although Kintaichi
recognizes that the acidity of the catalyst is one of the main
factors that determines catalytic activity, Kintaichi does not
contemplate the use of alumina other than that commercially
available. In other words, Kintaichi does not teach the use of a
highly acidic alumina having a pH of less than 3.0.
pzc
-4-
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007