IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION OF PULP FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER
Year: 1867

page_text: Sealed the 19th November 1867, and dated the 15th June 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
15th June 1867.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION OF PULP FOR THE
MANUFACTURE OF PAPER," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object the preparation of pulp from wood for the
manufacture of paper, and consists in submitting wood (cut up into small
pieces or shavings) to the action of steam in a close vessel. By this means
the wood is disintegrated partially by the simultaneous action of the pressure,
the high temperature, and the dissolving properties of the steam. The dis-
[Price 8d.1

page_text: integration is completed by grinding or other suitable mechanical means. By
the operations above described the bleaching process is facilitated, and is
rendered less costly by previously immersing the wood in a solution of soda or
potash whereby the coloring matter of the wood is extracted by the same
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Ollice
on the 14th December 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Edward Newton, Her special licence, that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
1, the said William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and
at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION OF PULP FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER,"
being a communication to me from abroad by Alexander Aussedot, Rue St.
Sebastien, Paris, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Edward Newton, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed
in the Great Seal Patent Office, within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that J, the said William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement ;-

page_text: This Invention has for its object the preparation of pulp from wood for the
manufacture of paper, and consists in submitting wood cut up into small
pieces or shavings to the action of steam in a close vessel. The wood
is first reduced to small fragments in the direction of its fibres either
by sawing it perpendicularly to the grain, or by planing it parallel to the
grain, or by any other mechanical means which does not injure the fibrous
nature of the wood; the wood is then placed in a vessel or other receptacle
capable of being hermetically sealed. This receptacle communicates with a
steam boiler by means of a pipe furnished with a tap; it should be able to
support the internal pressure at which the work is carried on; it should
also be provided with a neck with many openings, which should be sufficiently
large and conveniently placed to allow of the wood being introduced to
undergo the operation and to take it out when it has been acted upon. Each
opening is hermetically closed by a stopper during the operation; the vessel
has also a wasic cock at its lower part. This receptacle can be made in any
form whatever and of any suitable material, provided that the above-named
conditions be complied with; but in order to give some idea of the kind of
apparatus that would be most suitable I would remark that a boiler may be
used similar to the lye pans used in paper manufactories, or a cylinder having
a stopper at each end or at only one of its ends, the other end being closed.
When the vessel (filled with the wood to be operated on) is hermetically
sealed, and the steam in the boiler is at the requisite pressure, the communica-
ting tap is opened and the vessel is filled with steam which penetrates between
the fragments of wood and partially condenses. From time to time the waste
cock should be opened to allow the water of condensation to flow out, taking
care to shut it immediately the steam begins to escape. A constant stream
may be allowed to flow by opening the cock just enough to oppose sufficient
resistance to the internal pressure. A workman will learn in a very short
time to manage the opening of the cock in such a way that water could not
accumulate in the vessel, and at the same time to allow no steam to escape,
and thus to maintain the internal pressure. It is very essential that great
care should be observed during this operation as the wood that remains in the
water would not be properly prepared. If desired the vessel containing the
wood may be divided into two parts by means of a wicker partition. The
wood should be placed on the top of this partition, and the water would.
percolate through it to the bottom of the vessel, from whence it may be drawn
off from time to time by means of the waste cock. A smaller vessel hermeti-
cally closed and placed beneath the larger vessel, but communicating with it,

page_text: may be made to receive the water of condensation, from whence it may be
withdrawn from time to time by means of a waste cock.
In working this Invention on a large scale several similar vessels may be
advantageously placed in close proximity and in communication with a large
steam boiler; the same attendant will then suffice to superintend the fire
of the boiler and the operation going on in the vessels. During the operation
the pressure and the temperature of the steam acts upon the wood and
causes first a cleansing effect, which removes all extraneous matters inherent
in the wood; it penetrates the pores of the wood; the water also that is
contained in the wood becomes vaporized. The non-fibrous vegetable matter
contained in it is attacked and becomes separated from the fibrous part. The
water of condensation also has a very strong smell, due to the organic matters
contained in the wood; it comes out first black and charged with extraneous
matter, but as the operation progresses its opaqueness and black color
gradually diminish. The operation being finished the tap communicating
with the boiler should be shut and the wood taken out, except when it
requires a thorough and immediate cleansing, which may be done by the
introduction of warm water to fill the vessels, and which is afterwards sub-
mitted to the action of steam from the boiler. The duration of the operation,
and also the pressure required in the vessel during the operation, depend
entirely on the nature of the wood to be acted upon, on the thickness of the
pieces, and the degree of perfection required to be given to the pulp. Discs
of pine wood one or two centimetres thick treated in the above way during
four or five hours, and under a pressure of from four to six atmospheres, will
give good results; then on being subjected to the action of vertical millstones
or other mechanical means it easily becomes transformed into a fibrous mass
of a gray or brown color like tow or oakum. This matter is obtained in a
dry state and may be sent to a distance with advantage to paper manufacturers,
this fibrous mass is then treated in the same way as rags in rag engines. It
is not necessary to altogether disintegrate the fibres of the wood in the
vertical mill, the fibres that have not been entirely separated in the mills will
speedily be reduced to pulp in the engine. Thin wood cuttings obtained by
planing and operated upon in the vessel as above described can when taken
out of the vessel be put directly into the rag engine without going first into
the vertical mill. This fibrous matter on being subjected to an ordinary
paper manufacturing process and either mixed or not with rag pulp makes a
folding or packing paper having a beautiful natural yellow color. By the
usual process any other color may also be obtained. If the pulp is intended

page_text: for the manufacture of white paper it should be submitted to a bleaching
operation; this will become easier and more economical by adopting the
following process:-The pieces of wood before being treated in the close
vessel should be immersed for several hours in a vat filled with a solution of
soda or potash or any other alkaline or oxydizing substance. The wood
ought to remain sufficiently long in the solution to allow the latter to thoroughly
penetrate into all its pores; the wood should then be put into the close
vessel and subjected to the above described process; the water of con-
densation will then be thicker, blacker, and smell stronger, and the wood will
be more fit for the bleaching process. The black water extracted during the
operation is very useful in agriculture; but it is better when part of the
water is evaporated, and the liquor is reduced to the consistency of syrup or
even till it is quite dry; it is also an excellent article for painting and
dyeing and similar operations. When highly colored wood, such as chestnuts
or oak, is acted upon the matter extracted is very valuable; the colors
extracted from different woods have different shades and properties.
The advantages of this system are,-
First, to thoroughly disintegrate the fibres of wood without impairing their
strength.
Second, a greater economy of fuel than when the wood is submitted to the
action of any liquid maintained at the boiling point.
Third, prompt and economical action.
Fourth, the non-employment of acid matters which would act upon the
vessels, and all the parts of paper machinery, and be detrimental to the
operation of bleaching, and would produce a paper of less strength and
durability.
Fifth, the production of a dry pulp easily transportable.
Sixth, the utilization of the coloring matter contained in the wood.
Having now described this Invention, and explained the manner of carrying
the same into effect, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, I
desire it to be understood that I do not confine myself to the method or
details above described or to any other details; but that which I claim under
the above in part recited Letters Patent is, submitting wood reduced to
fragments to the action of steam in a close vessel, the temperature of the
steam being greater or less according to circumstances, and causing the
disintegration of the wood by the simultaneous action of the pressure,
temperature, and the dissolving properties contained in the steam, which
disintegration is finally effected by ordinary mechanical means, also rendering

page_text: the bleaching operation cheaper and easier by the previous immersion of the
wood in any suitable solution in order to extract the coloring matter from
the wood and at the same time to reduce it to the consistency of paper pulp.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Thirteenth day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
T