Appeal No. 1996-0864
Application No. 08/181,695
1. A method for oxidizing organic material in an aqueous
stream containing one or more inorganic salts, inorganic salt
precursors or mixtures thereof substantially insoluble in the
aqueous stream under supercritical conditions near the
critical point comprising oxidizing said organic material in
the presence of an oxidant in a reactor at a temperature at
least equal to the critical temperature of the aqueous stream
so as to form a single homogeneous fluid phase and at a
pressure sufficiently high to solubilize said inorganic salts
in said single homogeneous phase.
The examiner has relied upon the following reference as
evidence of obviousness:
Modell 4,543,190 Sep. 24, 1985
This merits panel of the Board cites and discusses the
following reference:
McHugh et al. (McHugh), Supercritical Fluid Extraction, pp. 1-
7, Butterworth Publishers, 1986 (a copy is attached to this
decision).
Claims 1-19 and 21-28 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. §
103 as unpatentable over Modell (Answer, page 3, citing the
final rejection in Paper No. 9). We reverse this rejection
for essentially the reasons set forth in appellants’ Brief and
Reply Brief. We add the following comments for emphasis and
completeness.
OPINION
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