Appeal No. 1996-0864
Application No. 08/181,695
Although the examiner is correct in stating that Modell
does not specifically teach an upper pressure limitation, the 3
disclosure as a whole is directed to pressures of 3200-4200
psia (the corrosion tests run in column 10, lines 32-43, to
test the limits of the reactor), with examples run at
pressures of 3200 to 4000 psia (see Examples 1 through 9).
Example 10 of Modell specifically teaches that when the
oxidation reaction pressure began to climb to 5200 psi at
547EC. (a temperature and pressure within the claimed values),
the “feed, hydroxide, and water flows were shut off.
Pressures slowly dropped off as the system was dried with hot
nitrogen for an hour and a half.” (column 22, lines 27-32).
Modell does disclose that higher pressures can be used in the
supercritical region (see Figure 4 and column 8, lines 32-49)
but in all cases Modell uses pressures below those in the
supercritical region (see lines (1) through (4) in Figure 4).
3See column 3, lines 27-28, where the oxidation is at “a
pressure of at least 3200 psia.”; column 3, line 45, “high
pressures (above 200 atmospheres)”; column 26, line 6, “thus
always at least 220 atmospheres.”; and claim 1, last two
lines.
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