Appeal No. 1997-3889
Application No. 08/553,733
3 of answer). In response to appellants' argument that there
is no teaching or
suggestion in the cited references that silica gel
preferentially
adsorbs hydrocarbons over a halosilane, the examiner cites the
disclosure of Bothe Almquist that the hydrocarbon adsorbent is
generally characterized by the following properties: (1)
hydro-phobic, (2) organophilic, (3) neutral surface, and (4)
no
polarizable pendent groups. The examiner concludes that the
stated criteria for the adsorbent material disclosed by Bothe
Almquist "is ample teaching to utilize the silica gel of
Johnson et al. in the process of Bothe Almquist et al." (page
4 of answer).
The flaw in the examiner's reasoning is that it is well
known in the art that silica gel is a hydrophilic desiccant
that is used as a drying agent for adsorbing water.
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