Appeal No. 1996-0270
Application 08/118,128
ferric chelates into soil (brief, pages 4-5; reply brief, page
3). As explained above, one of ordinary skill in the art
would have had a reasonable expectation that Sun’s method
would be applicable to a slurry of soil in water. Because it
was known in the art that the factors referred to by appellant
do not prevent Fenton-type systems from being effective for
oxidizing soil contaminants in a soil slurry, and because Sun
teaches that one of the two mechanisms postulated for his
method involves the Fenton reaction, one of ordinary skill in
the art would have had a reasonable expectation that the
factors referred to by appellant likewise would not prevent
Sun’s method from being effective for oxidizing soil in a
slurry. Appellant refers to the Pignatello declaration (filed
March 23, 1994, paper no. 7) wherein it is stated (page 3)
that “[s]oil contains substances that sorb the pesticide and
potentially inactivate the chelate catalyst, and substances
that destroy hydrogen peroxide by reacting with it (e.g., with
soil organic matter), consuming it (e.g., with microbes), and
decomposing it (e.g., with metal ions in minerals).”
Appellant, however, provides no explanation as to why one of
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