Appeal No. 1997-0005
Application 08/340,966
tion of water from the hydrogenated polymer solution or sus-
pension (referred to as a “polymer cement”) is necessary for
the effective removal of metals (catalytic metal residues)
because such metals are often concentrated in a small amount
of water entrained within the polymer cement. See the speci-
fication at page 2, lines 15-22.
Appellants’ method requires exposing a polymer solution or
suspension containing a known hydrogenation catalyst, i.e., a
Group VIII metal alkoxide or carboxylate and metal alkyl such
as the reaction product of nickel 2-ethyl-hexanoate with
triethylaluminum, to a partial pressure of hydrogen for a time
sufficient to hydrogenate greater than about 90 percent of the
ethylenic unsaturation. Thereafter, additional hydrogenation
catalyst is added to the “greater than 90 percent” hydroge-
nated polymer solution or suspension in an amount “effective
to improve separation of hydrogenation catalyst metal from the
polymer solution” (claim 1, lines 13-15), and the resulting
hydrogenated polymer solution is mixed with an aqueous acid
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