The pleaded inventive concepts
50.Argent’s pleaded inventive concept was: “The inventive concept of EP ‘041 is a biodiesel composition having a specific ester profile. The principal feature of the said profile is that it includes a unique relative amount of methyl octadecenoate (from 7% by weight to 10.5% by weight) and methyl cis-9-octadecanoate (from 39% by weight to 41% by weight) … (The said composition thereby having a relatively low density and, unusually, both a relatively high cetane number and a relatively low cold filter plugging point.)” 51.This is the composition set out in claim 1 dressed up a little. Argent also argued that there are six ‘secondary’ inventive concepts devised by Mr Scott, being the compositions set out in claims 2 to 7. These were peripheral to the parties’ arguments. 52.BDI pleaded that the inventive concept was as follows: “1. A method of processing high impurity feedstock (specifically feedstock comprising 20%+ FFA content and/or that colloquially known as ‘sewer grease’) so as to produce a useable biodiesel composition, including the steps of purification, optional high pressure esterification, preesterification and trans-esterification wherein: a.the purification step uses the necessary means to render the resultant mixture usable for the high pressure esterification step; b.the high pressure esterification step (if necessary) reduces the FFA content in the mixture so as to make it suitable for the subsequent steps; and c.the pre-esterification step involves the catalysed esterification of the FFA with an alcohol to provide an ester (and reduces the FFA content in the mixture to 3% by weight or less); and d.the trans-esterification step converts triglycerides to fatty acid methyl esters and includes such purification / separation / distillation steps as are necessary to produce a useable biodiesel composition. 2. The claim relates to a biodiesel composition defined by generalising the product compositions resulting from performing the process on two particular feedstocks, both of which include sewer grease. Claim 1 includes the weight percentages of two of the various methyl esters present in the claimed biodiesel composition, but there is no technical rationale for such a choice and no technical rationale is taught by the application.”