Appeal No. 94-2855
Application 07/887,404
hydrotreatment. Secondly, there is no teaching or suggestion in
the prior art that hydrotreating a mixture of an aqueous
alkanolamine solution and hydrocarbon solvent comprising dienes
would result in the conversion of degradation products of
alkanolamines. For instance, the reaction kinetics may strongly
favor the hydrogenation of dienes over the conversion of
alkanolamine degradation products, and the examiner has not
established otherwise. It is well settled that a determination
of inherency cannot be established by probabilities or
possibilities, but only by inevitability. In re Oelrich,
666 F.2d 578, 581, 212 USPQ 323, 326 (CCPA 1981); In re Wilding,
535 F.2d 631, 635-36, 190 USPQ 59, 63-64 (CCPA 1976). Since the
other secondary references applied by the examiner do not remedy
the deficiency of the combination of Kniel and Sze, we will not
sustain the examiner's rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 103.
It is stated on page 1 of the Reply Brief that "[a]pplicant
will not contest the rejection of claims 27, 35, and 45 under
35 U.S.C. 112." Accordingly, perforce, we will sustain the
examiner's § 112 rejections of claims 27, 35 and 45.
In conclusion, based on the foregoing, the examiner's
rejection of claims 27, 35 and 45 under 35 U.S.C. § 112 is
affirmed. The examiner's rejections of the appealed claims under
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