Appeal No. 1997-1461
Application 08/388,915
stream.
Claim 1 is illustrative and reads as follows:
1. Method for recovering particulate silicon from a
liquid by-product stream, the method comprising:
(A) substantially separately a liquid stream comprising
particulate silicon, a metal salt, and a high-boiling silicon
containing compound having a boiling point higher than the
sublimation temperature of the metal salt, into a liquid
component and a particulate component where the particulate
component comprises the particulate silicon, the metal salt,
and residual high-boiling silicon containing compound;
(B) washing the particulate component with a solvent
having a boiling point lower than the sublimation temperature
of the metal salt, thereby essentially separating the residual
high-boiling silicon containing compound from the particulate
component, and
(C) recovering the particulate component by spray drying
at a temperature lower than the sublimation temperature of the
metal salt.
The references relied upon by the examiner are:
Kotval et al. (Kotval) 4,195,067 Mar. 25,
1980
Ritzer et al. (Ritzer) 4,892,694 Jan. 9,
1990
Burgie et al. (Burgie) 5,118,486 Jun. 2,
1992
Chadwick et al. (Chadwick) 5,326,896 Jul. 5,
1994
Claims 1, 2, 4, 5 and 9 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. §
103 as being unpatentable over Chadwick and appellant’s
2
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