Appeal No. 2004-2118 Page 9
Application 09/329,502
hydration level is enough water to increase the water content of
the sieve by 0.5%,5 not 5 weight percent added as appellants’
calculations at page 9 of the brief seemingly assume as being
required. Additionally, appellants’ arguments with respect to
the effect of hydration on surface area appear to be undercut by
the disclosure in appellants’ specification at page 15, lines 1
and 2. That last mentioned disclosure in appellants’
specification suggests that appellants’ claimed catalyst
characteristics that are under consideration here, including the
surface area, are also based on measurements made on a catalyst
precursor (“zeolite-Y catalyst as it exists in the crystallite
form”). Accordingly, we agree with the examiner that West
reasonably suggests the use of a transalkylation catalyst as
herein claimed.
With respect to the claim requirement that the alkylation
catalyst has a lesser average pore size than the transalkylation
catalyst, we agree with the examiner that it would have been
obvious to modify the alkylation/transalkylation process of West
5 Example 1 of West suggests an unhydrated or dry molecular
sieve catalyst may have a water content of about 3 weight
percent.
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