Europäisches
Patentamt
European
Patent Office
Office européen
des brevets
Principal Directorate Tools / Documentation
EP modified Definition proposal
Project: A001
(A62D 3/00)
Subclass: A62D
27 September 2006
Title - A62D 3/00
Processes for making harmful chemical substances harmless, or less
harmful, by effecting a chemical change in the substances
Definition statement
This group covers:
Processes for chemically altering harmful chemical substances into safe or lessdangerous substances.
These processes can be chemical, bio-chemical, or physico-chemical processes, e.g. use of
special chemical reagents for chemical fixing, which result in the decomposition or
transformation of the harmful chemical substances into harmless or less harmful
substances because of a change in their chemical structure.
These processes can comprise the step of dissolving or dispersing the harmful chemical
substances in water for the purpose of treating them, or the step of producing, for
treatment, a gaseous product from a non-gaseous harmful chemical substance.
The harmful chemical substance can be one component of a mixture, e.g. a component
in contaminated sludge.
Relationship between large subject matter areas
The disposal of solid waste or the reclamation of contaminated soil is classified elsewhere, i.e.
in class B09. However, the treatment of a specific harmful chemical substance in solid waste
resulting in the change of its chemical constitution to make it harmless or less harmful is
covered by A62D 3/00.
In the same way, treatment of sludge is not classified here with the exception of the treatment
of a specific harmful chemical substance in the sludge, e.g. in residues from industrial
processes (excluding contaminants from municipal sewage treatment) resulting in the change
of its chemical constitution to make it harmless or less harmful.
Preventive chemical treatments, e.g. to prevent the formation of harmful chemical substances
are classified elsewhere, depending on the kind of treatment or the context of application.
Processes using enzymes or micro-organisms classified in A62D 3/00 are also classified in
subclass C12S.
References relevant to classification in this group
This group does not cover:
Detoxification of foods or foodstuffs
A23L 1/015
Apparatus for chemical, physical or physico-chemical processes
in general
B01
Treatment of gases, e.g.:

Chemical or biological purification of smoke or
fumes, e.g. flue gas
B01D 53/34

Purification or modifying the chemical compositions
of combustible gases containing carbon monoxide
C10K

Exhaust or silencing apparatus heaving means for
purifying, rendering innocuous, or otherwise treating
exhaust

Consuming noxious gases by combustion
F01N 3/00
F23G 7/06
Chemical processes resulting in the production of a useful
product, e.g.:

using untreated contaminated fly ash as raw material
in the manufacture of cement

metals obtained from residues or scrap
Treatment of radioactively-contaminated waste
C04B 7/26
C22B
G21F 9/00
Examples of places where the subject matter of this group is covered when specially adapted,
used for a particular purpose, or incorporated in a larger system:
Treatment of waste water, sewage or sludge
C02F
Making explosives harmless by detonation
F42D 5/04
Informative references
Attention is drawn to the following places, which may be of interest for search:
Disinfection or sterilizing methods specially adapted for refuse
A61L 11/00
Waste or refuse as compounding ingredient for glass, cement,
mortar, concrete, artificial stone or ceramics
C03C, C04B
Materials for absorbing liquids to remove pollution, e.g. oil,
gasoline, fat
C09K 3/32
Destructive distillation of carbonaceous materials
C10B
Destructive hydrogenation of carbonaceous materials
C19G 1/06
Micro-organisms, enzymes or compositions thereof
C12N
Consuming waste by combustion
F23G
Removal or treatment of combustion products or combustion
residues
F23J
Special rules of classification within this group
In this main group, at each hierarchical level, in the absence of an indication to the contrary
classification is made in the first appropriate place.
When classifying in groups A62D 3/00 to A62D 3/40,a harmful chemical substance which is
considered to represent information of interest for search, may be indexed in one or more of
groups A62D 101/00 to A62D 101/49.
Glossary of terms
In this group the following terms or expressions are used with the meaning indicated:
Catalyst
Substance which either increases or decreases the speed
of a chemical reaction, without itself undergoing a
permanent chemical change
Chalcogen
Also known as chalcogenides, specifically O, S, Se, Te
Harmful
Directly toxic to living organisms, with the exception of
toxic to plants only
Harmful chemical
substances
Chemical waste substances which are too hazardous or
toxic to be discarded in an ordinary municipal landfill
Halogens
The elements F, Cl, Br, I, At
Physico-chemical
Having at least one chemical step and one physical step
Sludge
Residue (normally viscous) from an industrial,
residential, or agricultural process
Title - A62D 3/11
Electrochemical processes, e.g. electrodialysis
Definition statement
This group covers:
Processes for making harmful chemical substances harmless, or less harmful, by
effecting a chemical change in the substances, including at least one eletrochemical step,
e.g. electrodialysis, electrophoresis or electro-osmosis.
Title - A62D 3/13
by subjecting to sonic energy
Definition statement
This group covers:
Processes for making harmful chemical substances harmless, or less harmful, by
effecting a chemical change in the substances, including at least one step utilizing wave
energy in the form of pressure waves moving through a gaseous medium.
Title - A62D 3/15
by subjecting to particle radiation, e.g. electron beam radiation
Definition statement
This group covers:
Processes for making harmful chemical substances harmless, or less harmful, by
effecting a chemical change in the substances, including at least one step utilizing
particle type radiation, i.e. the radiation of energy by means of small fast-moving
particles that have energy and mass such as molecules, atoms, protons, and electrons.
Title - A62D 3/19
by subjecting to plasma
Definition statement
This group covers:
Processes for making harmful chemical substances harmless, or less harmful, by
effecting a chemical change in the substances, including at least one step utilizing the
chemical action of the substance with either:

highly ionized matter in equilibrium of positive or negative ions which is at an
extremely high temperature, i.e. hot plasma, or

highly ionized matter in equilibrium of positive or negative ions within a vacuum,
i.e. cold plasma.
Title - A62D 3/20
by hydropyrolysis or destructive steam gasification, e.g. by using water and
heat to effect chemical change
Definition statement
This group covers:
Processes for making harmful chemical substances harmless, or less harmful, by
effecting a chemical change in the substances, including at least one step utilizing the
thermal property of water and heat, e.g. vapor and hot air mixture, hot water, super
critical water, super heated water, or steam, directly on the harmful chemical substance
to cause chemical change.
Title - A62D 3/30
by reacting with chemical agents
Definition statement
This group covers:
Processes for making harmful chemical substances harmless, or less harmful, by
effecting a chemical change in the substances, including at least one step where at least
one distinct chemical material is added to the environment of the harmful chemical
substance to react with it.
The actual harmful chemical substances being treated by the process may be combined
within a mixture of waste including in addition non-hazardous or nontoxic substances.
However, to be proper for this group, the harmful chemical substances must react with
the added chemical agents to render it harmless or less harmful, or be an intermediate
step in rendering the substance harmless or less harmful.
Title - A62D 3/32
by treatment in molten chemical reagents, e.g. salts or metals
Definition statement
This group covers:
Processes for making harmful chemical substances harmless, or less harmful, by
effecting a chemical change in the substances, wherein the harmful chemical substances
react with a distinct chemical reagent which is normally a solid at room temperature but
is added to the environment where the reaction takes place in its molten state or is
caused to become molten for reaction with the harmful chemical substance.
Title - A62D 3/33
by chemical fixing the harmful substance, e.g. by chelation or complexation
Definition statement
This group covers:
Processes for making harmful chemical substances harmless, or less harmful, by
effecting a chemical change in the substances, including a process step wherein IPC
ADVANCED LEVEL SUBCOMMITTEE a distinct chemical material is added which
either

reacts with the harmful chemical substances to chemically change its composition
and fix it in its changed state or

reacts with chemically altered residue of the harmful chemical substances from a
previous process step to fix the residue in its present state.
Title - A62D 3/34
Dehalogenation using reactive chemical agents able to degrade
Definition statement
This group covers:
Processes for making harmful chemical substances harmless, or less harmful, by
effecting a chemical change in the substances, wherein the harmful chemical substances
include halogen and wherein the process includes a process step in which a distinct
chemical material (e.g. alkali metal alcoholates, etc.) is added which reacts with the
harmful chemical substance in a manner that removes the halogen from the harmful
chemical substance.
The removal of halogen from the harmful chemical substance may render it harmless or
less harmful, or be an intermediate step in rendering the substance harmless or less
harmful.
References relevant to classification in this group
This group does not cover:
Electrolytic degradation of harmful substances
A62D 3/115
Dehalogenation in molten chemical reagents
A62D 3/32
Title - A62D 3/35
by hydrolysis
Definition statement
This group covers:
Processes for making harmful chemical substances harmless, or less harmful, by
effecting a chemical change in the substances, including a process step wherein a distinct
chemical material is added which contains water in its ionic form that chemically reacts
with the harmful chemical substances to decompose it.
References relevant to classification in this group
This group does not cover:
Electrolytic degradation of harmful substances
A62D 3/115
Title - A62D 3/36
Detoxification by using acid or alkaline reagents
Definition statement
This group covers:
Processes for making harmful chemical substances harmless, or less harmful, by
effecting a chemical change in the substances, including a process step wherein a distinct
chemical material is added, which is an acidic or basic reagent that chemically reacts
with the harmful chemical substance to render it harmless or less harmful by changing
its composition.
The acidic or alkaline reagent may either react with the harmful chemical substance to
render it harmless or less harmful, or be an intermediate step in rendering the substance
harmless or less harmful.
Title - A62D 3/37
by reduction, e.g. hydrogenation
Definition statement
This group covers:
Processes for making harmful chemical substances harmless, or less harmful, by
effecting a chemical change in the substances, including a process step wherein a distinct
chemical material is used in a reductive-type reaction with the harmful chemical
substance, i.e. to decrease the positive valence (oxidation state) of the harmful chemical
substance.
The reduction reaction splits up the harmful chemical substance into two or more of its
components) which is caused by the transfer of one or more electrons from the distinct
chemical material to the substance, i.e. the distinct chemical material is oxidized (loses
electrons) and the harmful chemical substance is reduced (gains electrons).
Title - A62D 3/38
by oxidation; by combustion
Definition statement
This group covers:
Processes for making harmful chemical substances harmless, or less harmful, by
effecting a chemical change in the substances, including a process step wherein a distinct
chemical material is used in an oxidative-type reaction with the harmful chemical
substance, i.e. to increase the positive valence (oxidation state) of the harmful chemical
substance.
The reduction reaction splits up the harmful chemical substance into two or more of its
components which is caused by the transfer of one or more electrons from the harmful
chemical substance to the distinct chemical material, i.e. the harmful chemical substance
is oxidized (loses electrons) and the distinct chemical material is reduced (gains
electrons).
Title - A62D 3/40
by heating to effect the chemical change, e.g. by pyrolysis
Definition statement
This group covers:
Processes for making harmful chemical substances harmless, or less harmful, by
effecting a chemical change in the substances, including at least one step that uses heat
and the thermal properties of the harmful chemical substance to effect the chemical
degradation of the harmful chemical substance.
Title – A62D101/00
Harmful chemical substances made harmless, or less harmful, by effecting
chemical change
Definition statement
This group covers:
Specific harmful chemical substances made harmless, or less harmful , by effecting
chemical change by processes which as such are already classified in main group
A62D3/00
Relationship between large subject matter areas
Group A62D 101/00 is used to index the harmful chemical substances, if of interest, in order
to allow the search of combination of process with substances. This indexing scheme can be
used only in combination with group A62D 3/00 including its subgroups (?)
Special rules of indexing within this group
When indexing a substance in groups A62D 101/02 to A62D 101/08, indexing according to
its chemical structure is also made in one or more of the groups A62D 101/20 to A62D
101/40 of interest.
Title - A62D 101/02
Chemical warfare substances, e.g. cholinesterase inhibitors
Definition statement
This group covers:
These substances include nerve, blister, vesicant, blood, and pulmonary affecting
substances.
Informative References
Title - A62D 101/04
Pesticides, e.g. insecticides, herbicides, fungicides or nematicides
Definition statement
This group covers:
Harmful chemical substances intended to prevent, repel, destroy, or mitigate pests.
A pest is a plant or animal which is detrimental to humans or human concerns, e.g.
agriculture or livestock production.
Title - A62D 101/06
Explosives, propellants or pyrotechnics, e.g. rocket fuel or napalm
Definition statement
This group covers:
Harmful chemical substances consisting of chemical compounds or mixtures in a gas,
liquid, or solid state that are explosive, e.g. bombs or TNT, a chemical reaction
propellant, e.g. for rockets or bullets, or a pyrotechnic, e.g. fireworks, flares or napalm.
Title - A62D 101/08
Toxic combustion residues, e.g. toxic substances contained in fly ash from
waste incineration
Definition statement
This group covers:
Harmful chemical substances consisting of chemical compounds that are by-products of
combustion or can be components of mixtures that are by-products of combustion.
Title - A62D 101/22
Organic substances containing halogen
Definition statement
This group covers:
Harmful organic chemical substances containing halogens, i.e. fluorine, chlorine,
bromine, iodine, or astatine.
Title - A62D 101/24
Organic substances containing heavy metals
Definition statement
This group covers:
Harmful organic substances containing one or more metals other than: Lithium (Li),
Sodium (Na), Potassium (K), Rubidium (Rb), Cesium (Cs), Francium (Fr), Calcium
(Ca), Strontium (Sr), Barium (Ba), Radium (Ra), Beryllium (Be), Magnesium (Mg), and
Aluminum (Al).
The harmful chemical substances may contain lithium (Li), sodium (Na), Potassium (K),
Rubidium (Rb), Cesium (Cs), Francium (Fr), Calcium (Ca), Strontium (Sr), Barium
(Ba), Radium (Ra), Beryllium (Be), Magnesium (Mg), or Aluminum (Al) if they also
have a metal appropriate for this group.
Title - A62D 101/41
Inorganic fibers, e.g. asbestos
Definition statement
This group covers:
Harmful inorganic substances containing one or more components that are fibrous.
The fibers may be naturally occurring or man-made from inorganic substances, e.g.
made primarily from rock, clay, slag or glass.
Title - A62D 101/43
Inorganic substances containing heavy metals, in the bonded or free state
Definition statement
This group covers:
Harmful inorganic substances containing one or more metals other than: lithium (Li),
sodium (Na), Potassium (K), Rubidium (Rb), Cesium (Cs), Francium (Fr), Calcium
(Ca), Strontium (Sr), Barium (Ba), Radium (Ra), Beryllium (Be), Magnesium (Mg), and
Aluminum (Al).
The harmful chemical substances may contain lithium (Li), sodium (Na), Potassium (K),
Rubidium (Rb), Cesium (Cs), Francium (Fr), Calcium (Ca), Strontium (Sr), Barium
(Ba), Radium (Ra), Beryllium (Be), Magnesium (Mg), or Aluminum (Al) if they also
have a metal appropriate for this group.
Title - A62D 101/49
Inorganic substances containing halogen
Definition statement
This group covers:
Harmful inorganic substances containing a halogen, i.e. fluorine, chlorine, bromine,
iodine, or astatine.
Title – C09K 3/32
for treating liquid pollutants, e.g. oil, gasoline, fat
References relevant to classification in this group
Places in relation to which this group is residual:
Materials for treatment of water, waste water, or sewage
C02F
Informative references
Attention is drawn to the following places, which may be of interest for search:
Processes for making harmful chemical substances harmless, or
less harmful, by effecting a chemical change in the substances
A62D 3/00
Solid sorbent compositions
B01J 20/00