Appeal No. 1996-0864
Application No. 08/181,695
The examiner states that Modell discloses a method of
oxidizing organic material in an aqueous stream “substantially
as claimed” and the claims only differ from Modell “by
reciting that the organic material is oxidized at a specific
pressure which is sufficiently high to solubilize said
inorganic salts in the single homogenous phase.” (Final
Rejection, page 3). The examiner submits that Modell is not
limited to a specific upper pressure limitation (Final
rejection, page 3) and that the specific pressures utilized in
the claimed method are “not excluded from the teachings of
Modell” (Answer, page 5). The examiner concludes that it
would have been obvious to one skilled in the art “to modify
the method of Modell by utilizing a pressure sufficiently high
to increase the solubility of the inorganic salts” (Final
Rejection, page 3). The examiner further concludes that it
would have been obvious to one skilled in the art that “Modell
would have motivated [the artisan] to optimize the reaction
conditions including pressure for oxidation of organic
materials and subsequent precipitation of inorganic
materials”, depending on the specific aqueous stream treated
and the results desired (Answer, page 4, see also page 5).
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