Appeal No. 1996-0270
Application 08/118,128
follows, Sun also would have provided one of ordinary skill in
the art with a reasonable expectation of success in doing so.
Sun’s oxidations are carried out at a pH of 6 (page 322).
As acknowledged by appellant (specification, page 8, lines 29-
30), this pH typically is the pH of soil.
Sun’s oxidations take place in aerated aqueous solution
(page 322). Thus, no soil is present in Sun’s tests.
However, appellant states that appellant’s method can be
carried out using a slurry of soil in water, that the amount
of water in which the soil is slurried is not critical, and
that amounts of water which are much larger than 1 part water
per 0.3 to 0.5 parts of soil can be used (specification, page
8, lines 8-18). Thus, when we give appellant’s claims their
broadest reasonable interpretation consistent with the
specification, see In re Zletz, 893 F.2d 319, 321, 13 USPQ2d
1320, 1322 (Fed. Cir. 1989); In re Sneed, 710 F.2d 1544, 1548,
218 USPQ 385, 388 (Fed. Cir. 1983); In re Herz, 537 F.2d 549,
551, 190 USPQ 461, 463 (CCPA 1976); In re Okuzawa, 537 F.2d
545, 548, 190 USPQ 464, 466 (CCPA 1976), we conclude that the
term “decontaminating soil” encompasses carrying out the
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