Appeal No. 20006-1116
Application No. 10/450,439
With the above precedents in mind, we turn to the examiner’s
Section 103(a) rejection. As indicated by the examiner at page 3
of the Answer, the appellants acknowledge(the Specification, page
2, lines 23-35 and page 3, lines 4-18) that:
It is known from DE-A 19 740 252, DE-A 19 740 253, DE-A
19 833 049, DE-A 19 814 375, DE-A 19 814 421, DE-A 19
814 449, DE-A 10 053 086, DE-A 10 039 025, DE-A 19 924
533 and DE-A 19 924 532 that a basic separation of the
(meth)acrylic acid present in the hot product gas
mixture from heterogeneously catalyzed gas-phase
partial oxidations of C3/C4 precursors of (meth)acrylic
acid can be carried out by subjecting the hot product
gas mixture to direct precooling (quenching) by means
of a cooling liquid and then partially or fully
condensing it or absorbing it in a suitable absorption
medium (e.g.[,] water, (meth)acrylic acid, oligomeric
(meth)acrylic acid....).
...
To carry out the direct cooling of the hot product gas
mixture from the heterogeneously catalyzed gas-phase
partial oxidation of C3/C4 precursors of (meth) acrylic
acid by means of a cooling liquid, DE-A 19 924 533
recommends the use of spray coolers which are free of
internals.
To atomize the cooling liquid, DE-A 19 924 533 provides
for the use of atomizer nozzles. The cooling liquid
can, for example, be introduced under pressure into
such nozzles. The cooling liquid is atomized by being
pressurized in the orifice of the nozzle after reaching
a certain minimum velocity. Furthermore, single-fluid
nozzles such as swirl chamber nozzles (hollow cone or
solid cone nozzles) are available for the
abovementioned purpose... (Emphasis added.)
The examiner recognizes that the appellants do not acknowledge
that the use of the claimed impingement atomizer is known in the
art. See the Answer, page 3.
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