Appeal No. 1997-2263
Application No. 08/266,388
solvent and water, for a sufficient time to disperse the
paraffin,
and then removing the dispersed paraffin from the well (col. 2,
lines 46-58; example 2). Walton teaches that this process also
minimizes residual seed crystals which promote additional
paraffin formation (col. 2, lines 41-42).
Sugier discloses a process for reducing the agglomeration
tendency of hydrates of gases such as natural gas and petroleum
gas when water is in the presence of such a gas in the free
state or dissolved in a liquid phase such as a hydrocarbon, by
adding to the gas or liquid an amphiphilic compound which,
appellants acknowledge (brief, page 5), can be a fatty acid
oligo-dialkanolamide (col. 1, lines 6-20; col. 2, lines 19-26;
col. 3, lines 1-4).
The Walton and Sugier compositions, therefore, do not
appear to be for the same use as in Kerkhoven. Regardless, even
if the compositions are considered to both be incrustation
inhibiting compositions, the examiner’s argument is not well
taken for the following reason.
In the Walton process, the composition containing a
polyoxyalkylene phosphate ester is pumped into a well which has
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