A NEW OR IMPROVED PROCESS OF SCOURING AND WASHING WOOL AND MATERIALS, AND APPARATUS FOR THE PURPOSE
Year: 1884

page_text: I, ERNEST DE PASS, of 68 Fleet Street, in the City of London, Fellow of the
Institute of Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature of said Invention for
A NEW OR IMPROVED PROCESS OF SCOURING AND WASHING WOOL AND
MATERIALS, AND APPARATUS FOR THE PURPOSE, to be as follows:-
OTHER
This Invention relates to the scouring and washing of certain materials,
especially raw or worked wools, by the successive action-of any solvent for
fatty bodies capable of ready separation from water, other than the sulphuret of
carbon, (for example, one of the light oils of coal, or, of petroleum, distilling
under 120° to 140° C);-of water, as a solvent for materials soluble therein (when
necessary to collect these matters); the said successive action being constantly
aided by a vacuum. The constant aid of a vacuum is an essential and necessary
factor of this new process. Amongst the light oils above mentioned, I employ, by
preference, toluene, which is a hydrocarbon distilling at between 108° and 112° C,
and which gives no waste in distillations to which it may be successively submitted.
This improved process permits of obtaining separately, 1st, A perfectly scoured
and washed material; 2nd, the fatty bodies, and 3rd, the matters soluble in water.
Furthermore, the scouring and washing in water of the material to be treated
being operated in a medium rarefied at will, there is maintained, during the
working, a sufficiently low temperature in order not to injure, in any wise, the
material under treatment.
According to the case, I can use water and a solvent for the fatty bodies either
in a liquid state, or in the state of vapour, or in both conditions, and, in any case,
I obtain, at the termination of the operation, the complete removal of the solvents
impregnating the material, and recover them, almost without loss, for a fresh
operation.
In order that the nature and the general working of the process may be
understood, I proceed to describe a special arrangement of a double acting
apparatus, in which greasy wool is to be treated, for instance, in order to extract

page_text: therefrom all the fatty bodies and alkaline salts. From the following, a single
acting apparatus will be readily understood without any special description of same.
In the operations, the degree of the vacuum which has given. good results for
wool, corresponds to an interior effective pressure of from 10 to 20 centimetres of
mercury; the more complete the vacuum, the lower the temperature may be ; and
inversely in certain instances, or for certain materials, it might be advantageous to
work with a less depression, and then at consequently higher temperature.
The wool is placed in a closed air tight vessel, and this vessel is placed in
communication with a vacuum apparatus through a vessel furnished with baffling
plates (hereinafter called baffling vessel), two worms, and a safety box. The
airtight vessel is also in double communication with a vessel which contains the
solvent for the fatty bodies, on the one hand, by the baffling vessel, and on
the other, by a worm, and a plunger tube. The solvent containing vessel is heated
by a closed coiled pipe. The solvent, in a state of vapour, rises into the baffling
vessel and partly condensing in the two first named worins, falls back into the
baffling vessel, and then into the airtight vessel, becomes charged with the fatty
bodies which impregnate the wool, and re-enters the solvent containing vessel
where it is evaporated afresh, leaving therein the fatty bodies, and so on. The two
first named worms operate as valves, with regard to the solvent; nevertheless, to
avoid all loss, the safety box is interposed between the said worms and the vacuum
apparatus. If, for any reason, such as a too high exterior pressure, or too hot a
water of condensation, loss of the solvent is still to be feared, the gases might be
freed under a stratum of oil, or other suitable liquid, before introducing them into
the vacuum apparatus. The baffling vessel is also destined to re-heat, by the
vapour of the rising solvent, the liquid solvent which may have become too cool in
the two first named worms.
When the wool has been quite scoured, the communications are closed between
the air tight vessel and the baffling vessel, and a worm, which is between the air
tight vessel and the vessel containing the solvent, and the communications are
opened between a second baffling vessel, and its corresponding worm; and the
operations performed by the first named baffling vessel, the two first named worms,
the safety box, the vacuum apparatus, and the worm between the air tight vessel
and the solvent containing vessel, are repeated in the same way for the water,
through the second baffling vessel and its corresponding worms, its safety box, vacuum
apparatus, and another worm between the air tight vessel and a receiving vessel,
hereinafter mentioned. The vacuum is created to the desired degree and steam is
introduced into a vessel, where, mixing with water therein, it takes up the
temperature corresponding to the said degree of the vacuum maintained in the
apparatus. The partly condensed steam passes into the air tight vessel with
the water of condensation, finishes being condensed therein, displaces the solvent
which has remained in the wool, dissolves out the soluble salts, and cooled entirely
by the worm, last mentioned, enters the receiving vessel before mentioned. This
washing by steam may be completed, or in part replaced by the use of a certain
quantity of water introduced into the second baffling vessel, passing into the
airtight vessel on to the wool, and collected in the receiving vessel above named, or
into a supplementary vessel for the purpose.
When the wool has lost all its fatty bodies by the first operation, and the excess
solvent, and the bodies soluble in water, by the second operation, the air tight
vessel is placed in communication with the atmosphere, it is then opened and the
wool taken out. In this double acting arrangement the air tight vessel effects the
scouring, while a second and similar air tight vessel effects the washing, and vice
versa.
When there is a sufficient quantity of fatty bodies in the solvent containing
vessel, the communication between this vessel and the airtight scouring vessel is
closed, and communication between the solvent-containing vessel, the first baffling
vessel, and another receiving vessel is established, and the heating is effected in the
solvent containing vessel. The solvent distils, is condensed in the two first named

page_text: worms, and passes into the last mentioned receiving vessel, whence it is caused to
pass into the solvent containing vessel after having run off the fatty bodies from
the solvent containing vessel into another vessel. In this vessel, these fatty bodies
are deprived of the solvent which they may still have retained, by means of a
steam stirrer. This portion of the solvent having passed out through a coiled pipe,
the fatty bodies are discharged ready for use.
The liquids, in the first named receiving vessel, form two strata. The lower
stratum which is water, slightly charged with the solvent for the fatty bodies, and
which has dissolved out the alkaline salts, is decanted in a suitable vessel, from
which a steam stirrer drives out the solvent through a worm. The water in
question is then carried into the evaporators and potash ovens. The upper stratum,
formed by the solvent for the fatty bodies, is likewise decanted and is carried into
another vessel, which vessel serves for the first charge of the solvent for the fatty
bodies, and receives likewise the portions of the solvent which have been collected
in certain of the worms. The action of the vacuum causes the solvent to pass
from this last named vessel into the second named receiving vessel. The solvent
enters by its own weight into the solvent containing vessel from the second named
receiving vessel. The first named receiving vessel may be made to communicate
with the vacuum otherwise than through the wool, as for instance, by means of a
pipe.
By the means described I obtain wool perfectly scoured and washed, without its
fibres being injured; perfectly separated fatty bodies; and liquors only containing
salts, soluble in water, and in excellent condition of concentration, the whole
without loss of solvent. The result also of the foregoing is that I obtain a
circulation of the solvents so that the same quantity of the solvents serves a great
number of times in the same operation, and this permits of the use of a small
quantity of solvents, consequently diminishing loss, and finally rendering the use
of relatively high priced solvents practical.
Dated thin th ..
1001
DIECIFICATION.
I, ERNEST DE PASS, of 68 Fleet Street in the City of London, Fellow of the
Institute of Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature of said Invention for
A NEW OR IMPROVED PROCESS OF SCOURING AND WASHING WOOL AND OTHER
MATERIALS, AND APPARATUS FOR THE PURPOSE, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the drawings and to the letters and
figures marked thereon, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, that
is to say :-
This Invention relates to the scouring and washing of certain materials, especially
raw or worked wools fabrics leather, skins, &c. by the successive action :
1 Of any solvent of fatty bodies capable of ready separation from water, and
other than the sulphuret of carbon, (for example one of the various light oils of
goal or of petroleum distilling below 120° to 140° C.

page_text: "
The constant aid of the vacuum, as ascertained from numerous experiments, and
which moreover may be the explanation of the excellent result obtained, is an
essential and necessary factor of this new process. Amongst the light oils above
mentioned Toluene is employed, by preference, which is a hydrocarbon distilling
between 108° and 112° C, and which gives no waste in the distillations to which it
may be successively submitted.
By this improved process there is obtained, separately:
1. A perfectly scoured and washed material.
2. The fatty bodies, and
3. The matters soluble in water.
Furthermore, the scouring and washing in water of the material to be treated
being effected in a medium rarefied at will, a sufficiently low temperature can be
maintained during the working so as not to injure, in any way, the material under
treatment.
According to the case, water and a solvent of fatty bodies may be used either in
a liquid state, or in the state of vapour, or in both conditions; and, in any case
there is obtained, [at the termination of the operation, the complete removal of the
solvents impregnating the material, and they are recovered almost without loss for
a fresh operation.
In order that the nature and general working of the process may be understood
I proceed to describe, with reference to the accompanying drawings, a special
arrangement of double acting apparatus in which, let it be supposed greasy wool is
to be treated in order extract therefrom all the fatty bodies and all the alkaline
salts. From the following a single acting apparatus will be readily understood
without any special description of same..
and
Figure 1, is an elevation and Figure 2, a view in plan; on the diagrams of these
two figures the pipes are indicated in full lines, the cocks by simple dots
the steam inlets by the signs X
In the operations the degree of the vacuum which has given good results for
wool, corresponds to an interior effective pressure of from 10 to 20 centimetres of
mercury; the more complete the vacuum the lower the temperature will be, and
inversely in certain cases, or for certain materials it may be advantageous to work
with a less depression so as to keep a higher temperature. In other cases again
and in the course of a same operation, it may be useful to work with depressions
sensibly variable at different moments of the said operation.
The wool is placed in a vessel A which is then closed air tight, it is then put in
communication with a vacuum apparatus W, V, (supposing it, in this instance, to
be a Westinghouse pump) through a baffling vessel B, worms S1 Su, between
which the vessel P is placed, and a safety box N; the vessel P receives and forces
back, either into A or into A¹, (the latter being a similar vessel to A and serving
the same purpose) the portion of the solvent of the fatty bodies which, through the
action of the vacuum might have gone beyond Su The air tight vessel A, is also
in double communication with the vessel C, which contains the solvent of the fatty
bodies, on the one hand by the baffling vessel B and worm SIV, and on the other,
by the worin S' and a plunger tube. The vessel C, is heated by a closed coiled
pipe. The solvent, in a state of vapour rises into the worm SIV wherein it partially
condenses, then passes into the baffling vessel B, and completes its condensation
upon the wool and in the worms S" Sin; the portions condensed in the worms
SS fall back into the air tight vessel A, either through the baffling vessel B,
or through the vessel P, and its syphon p. The solvent thus becomes charged with
the fatty bodies which impregnate the wool and enters the vessel C, where it is
evaporated afresh, leaving therein the fatty bodies, and so on. The worms Sll Sill,
perform the office of valves with regard to the volatile solvent of the fatty bodies;
nevertheless, to avoid all loss the safety box N, is interposed between these worms
.

page_text: and the vacuum apparatus. If, for any reason whatever, such as: too high
exterior temperature, too hot a condensation water &c., &c., loss of the solvent is
still to be feared, the gases may be freed under a stratum of oil, or other suitable
liquid, or preferably in a column containing porous substances sprinkled with a
suitable liquid. The baffling vessel B, is also destined to re-heat, by the vapour of
the rising solvent, the liquid solvent which might have become too cool in the
worms SI SI
When the wool has been quite scoured the communications from A with B
and S¹ are closed, and the communications with O and SV are opened. The
vacuum being maintained at the desired degree the water contained in the vessel O,
is heated by steam. The steam thus produced passes into the air tight vessel A,
where it condenses by displacing the solvent which still impregnates the wool,
dissolves out the salts soluble in water, and cooled in the worm SV, enters either
the vessel J, or the vessel I¹, which vessels communicate with the vacuum apparatus
by means of the worm SVI and the vessel N.
This washing by steam may be completed, or in part replaced, by the use of a
certain quantity of water taken from the reservoir R, and introduced into the
vessel A, either at the bottom by the way of R, cock 1, vessel A, cock 3, SV, I
(or 1) SI, N and V, or at the top by the way of R, cock 4, A, SV, I, (or I¹) SVI, N,
and V. The greasy liquors, of a former operation, collected in the vessel I or I¹
may also be used for this washing. For this purpose air is admitted into one of
these two vessels, the contents of which are to be utilized, the cock 6, or the cock 7,
is opened according to which of the vessels, I or I¹ is to be used, and the chosen
vessel put into communication with A, by means of the cock 2; the liquors
which run out of I, for instance, therefore pass over the wool and enter the vessel I',
or inversely.
The drawing off of the solvents may also be partly effected by a circulation of
air. After having allowed the air to enter into the apparatus the following circuit
is formed V, cock 5, A, SV, I (or 1¹) SVI, N, V, and the worm SVI, condenses the
solvent as fast as the latter is carried off from the wool, by the air.
:
When the wool has lost, by the first operation, all its fatty bodies, and by the
second, the excess solvent and the bodies soluble in water, the air tight vessel A,
is placed in communication with the atmosphere, it is then opened and the wool
taken out, by causing the vessel A to revolve on its trunnions a. a. In the double
acting arrangement herein described, the air tight vessel A, effects the scouring
while a second and similar airtight vessel A', also furnished with trunnions a¹, a¹,
effects the washing, and vice versa. It is of course understood that the contents
of a whole series of vessels A suitably grouped can be submitted to treatment by
the solvent of fatty bodies, also that the contents of another series of vessels, A¹,
also suitably grouped, may be submitted to the treatment by water.
When the vessel C contains a sufficient quantity of fatty bodies, communication
with the vessel A is closed and communication between C, SIV, B, SVI established
and the heating is effected in the vessel C. The solvent distils and is condensed
in the worms SIV, S", S, SV, and falls back into G where it is stored and whence
it is forced by the action of the vacuum either into A or A¹. The fatty, bodies
are run off from C into E. In this vessel these fatty bodies are, by means of a
steam stirrer, deprived of the solvent which they may still have retained. This
portion of the solvent having passed out through the worm SVIII, the fatty bodies
are discharged ready for use industrially.
The liquids which are either in the vessel I or I¹, form two strata. The lower
stratum, which is water slightly charged with the solvent of the fatty bodies and
which has dissolved out the alkaline salts, is decanted in the vessel M, from which
a steam stirrer drives out the solvent through the worm SIX. The water in question
is then carried into the evaporators and potash ovens. The upper stratum, formed
by the solvent of the fatty bodies is likewise decanted and is carried into the
vessel G, which vessel serves for the first charge of the solvent of the fatty bodies
and receives likewise the portions of the solvent which have been collected in the

page_text: worms SVIII, SIX. The action of the vacuum causes the solvent to pass from G,
into either A or A¹. The solvent enters by its own weight, from A or A¹, into C.
If, as it has been supposed at the beginning of the specification, the vacuum
apparatus to consist of Westinghouse pump, the exhaust steam of the steam
cylinder of the pump may be used for heating the vessels C and O.
By the means above described wool being treated as an example I obtain wool
perfectly scoured and washed without its fibres being injured;-perfectly separated
fatty bodies; and liquors only containing salts soluble in water and in excellent
The result also
condition of concentration,-the whole without loss of solvent.
of the foregoing is, by reason of the apparatus adopted, that I obtain a circulation
of the solvents so that the same quantity of these solvents serves a great number
of times in the same operation, and this permits of the use of a small quantity of
solvents, consequently diminishing loss, and finally rendering the use of relatively
high priced solvents practical.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:
1. The herein described process of scouring and washing materials, especially
such as raw or worked wool, fabrics, leather and skins, by the constant aid of a
vacuum, more or less complete, existing throughout the entire apparatus & by the
use 1. of a solvent of fatty bodies, other than sulphuret of carbon, and capable
of ready separation from water, by preference, toluene, the said solvent of fatty
bodies acting in a complete cycle, either in a liquid state, or in a state of vapour or
in these two conditions at the same time; 2, of water as a solvent of substances
other than fatty bodies, the said water acting either in a liquid state or in a state
of steam, or in both these conditions, at the same time.
2. For the practical carrying out of the said process of scouring and washing,
by the successive action, in a constantly. rarefied medium, of a solvent of fatty
bodies readily separated from water, and of water, employed either in a liquid
state or in a state of steam, or in these two conditions at the same time, the
arrangement of single or double acting apparatus characterized by the use, in
combination, of the vessels A, A¹; B, C, E, G, I, 1¹, M, O, P, R; of the safety
vessel N; of the vacuum apparatus W, V; and of the several worms for cooling
and heating, substantially as herein described and as illustrated in the drawings.
Dated this 8th day of October 1884.