Appeal No. 2000-2079
Application 08/883,634
Hence, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary
skill in the art to add a dehazer to Shubkin’s fuel.
Malec discloses that engine wear caused by deficient
lubricity of a diesel engine fuel can be reduced by adding a wear
inhibiting amount of a fatty acid amide of diethanolamine to the
fuel (col. 1, lines 15-18 and 41-47; col. 2, lines 32-40). The
preferred fatty acids include stearic acid (col. 3, lines 7-11).
Malec teaches that other additives which may be included in the
fuel include demulsifying agents (col. 4, lines 59-61), i.e.,
dehazers. Malec does not disclose that the diesel fuel is low
sulfur diesel fuel. However, given the known need for increased
lubricity of low sulfur diesel fuels as discussed above, it would
have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art
to add Malec’s fatty acid amide of diethanolamine to a low sulfur
diesel fuel to increase its lubricity.
The appellants argue that as indicated by page 7, lines 13-
33 of their specification, dehazers have been found to provide
surprisingly superior water tolerance to their alkanolamides of
aryl-substituted fatty acids (brief, page 12). This argument is
not persuasive as to claims 1, 14, 16, 19 and 29 because the
alkanolamides of fatty acids in these claims are not limited to
alkanolamides of aryl-substituted fatty acids. Also, the
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