Application of John B. Dwyer, Joseph W. Jewell, William B. Johnson, Henry G. McGrath and Louis C. Rubin

WORLEY, Chief Judge.

This is an appeal from the decision of the Board of Appeals affirming the examiner’s rejection of claims 1 through 8 in appellants’ application 1 entitled “Reforming of Gaseous Hydrocarbons” as unpatentable over the prior art.

The application discloses a process for converting normally gaseous hydrocarbons such as methane or natural gas with steam and/or carbon dioxide to produce hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Appellants concede that process, referred to as hydrocarbon reforming, to be old. They say, however, that it has been the desire of the art to achieve reforming at…