Appeal No. 2003-1674 4
Application No. 09/651,161
The examiner thereafter relies upon Sze purportedly to teach heating of ammonium
terephthalate to form TPA and ammonia and provide the requisite motivation to substitute
that step for the one present in Lamparter. Based upon these considerations, it is the
examiner’s position that, “Sze’s teaching is directed toward the recovery of TPA from its
diammonium salt and thus provides the motivation for the instant use of steam to release
TPA from its diammonium salt.” See Answer, pages 5-6. We disagree.
Sze is directed to a single step process for the production of an acid such as TPA by
hydrolysis of its corresponding nitrile. See column 1, lines 49-53. Although the examiner
points to numerous teachings in Sze as providing basis for the recovery of TPA from its
diammonium salt, we conclude that none of the citations are directed to the recovery of
TPA from its diammonium salt. In this respect, column 4, lines 31-36 of Sze, cited by the
examiner Answer, page 4, makes no mention of an ammonium salt of terephthalic acid.
Furthermore, the exemplification of conversion of terephthalonitrile, (TPN) to TPA at
column 3, line 51 to column 4, liner 12, Example 1, cited by the examiner, Answer, page
8, converts TPN to TPA, likewise fails to suggest or teach the hydrolysis of ammonium
terephthalate to TPA. Although ammonium terephthalate is present throughout the
reaction, it remains completely unchanged in the amount present from the onset of the
reaction to its completion. Stated otherwise 20.3 parts of ammonium terephthalate are
present at the onset of the reaction and the same amount is recovered at the completion of
the reaction.
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