Appeal No. 95-0565
Application 07/867,089
hydrogen gas, McDaniel ‘918 decolorizes alkyl glycosides by
treatment with hydrogen gas in the presence of an
hydrogenation catalyst, i.e., by catalytic hydrogenation.
Thus, the examiner’s finding that
“the chemical reaction which takes place in the McDaniel ‘918
reference is within the scope of the process set forth in the
instant claims” is based more on speculation than objective
evidence.
Moreover, other than the teaching in appellants’ own
specification, we find no evidence which reasonably would have
suggested contacting a mixture of alkyl glycosides and
hydrogen peroxide with sodium borohydride to persons having
ordinary skill in the art. To the contrary, McDaniel ‘918
teaches away from the addition of reducing acids to an alkyl
glycoside composition because “the acidic material must be
neutralized or removed from the end products” (McDaniel ‘918,
col. 1, l. 38-40). We find in McDaniel ‘918 no reason or
incentive to contact a mixture of alkyl glycosides and
hydrogen peroxide with an alkali metal, Ca, Zn, or ammonium
borohydride. Nor has the examiner pointed to any prior art
evidence which reasonably would have led persons skilled in
the art to modify the decolorization process McDaniel ‘918
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