IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING OR RECOVERING THE FIBRES OF WOOL FROM FABRICS OR MATERIALS COMPOSED OF WOOL COMBINED WITH COTTON OR OTHER FIBRES
Year: 1864

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Rowley at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 26th November
1864.
I, JOHN ROWLEY, of Leeds, in the County of York, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
FOR SEPARATING OR RECOVERING THE FIBRES OF WOOL FROM FABRICS OR MATERIALS
COMPOSED OF WOOL COMBINED WITH COTTON OR OTHER FIBRES," to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements in machinery or apparatus for
treating and operating upon waste or old pieces of woven or other fabrics or
fibrous materials composed chiefly of wool combined with cotton or other
fibrous materials for the purpose of recovering the wool contained in such
mixed fabrics or fibrous materials.
Part of my improvements have for their object improved mechanical means
of subjecting the mixed or combined fibrous materials after being saturated
with and subjected to the action of dilute sulphuric or other acid, or chemical
solution (in order to destroy the vegetable fibrous material combined with
the wool as is understood in the process of recovering wool from mixed
fabrics) to the action by preference of heated sand or other suitable granu-
lated material in order to obtain a similar result (by more simple means) to
that described in the Specification of a Patent granted to me, dated April 29th
1863, No. 1075, in which the mode described of applying the heated sand
was by embedding the fibrous materials therein. Now, I have found this

page_text: mode of applying the heated sand to the fibrous materials previously prepared
very difficult in practice, and the object of the first part of my improvements
is to facilitate the process of applying the heated sand or other suitable granu-
lated material to the fibrous materials after they have been chemically treated
to aid in effecting the carbonization of the vegetable fibres. For this purpose
when the fibrous materials have been cleaned, treated, and partially dried
they are placed in a metal drum or cylinder supported and revolving on axes
within a case or chamber containing sand or other suitable granulated material
heated by a furnace below, or by other convenient means. The rotating
cylinder is formed with slits or openings on its circumference, and having
projecting lips or flaps which enter the heated sand (when the cylinder is
caused to revolve in one direction), and conduct it into the interior of the
drum or cylinder, and thus intimately combine it with the fibrous materials
contained therein so as to act upon and destroy the vegetable fibrous material
combined with the wool. By reversing the direction in which the drum or
cylinder revolves, the heated sand will be readily discharged into the sand
bath. This operation can be repeated until all the cotton or other vegetable
fibre is destroyed and discharged, and nothing but the woollen fibre remains
without injury thereto. The rotating drum or cylinder is so mounted on its
axes that it can be readily transferred from the heated sand bath, and placed
in suitable bearings upon or within a vessel containing water, in which the
cylinder is caused to revolve to neutralize and discharge the acid or chemical
matters from the wool. The wool is then placed in a hydro-extractor, and
afterwards dried in any convenient manner.
The drum or cylinder may be
employed for scouring the fibrous materials contained therein if desired, by
causing it to revolve in a bath of hot water at any suitable temperature with
sand or any suitable detergent or cleansing material, the direction of the
cylinder being reversed from time to time as required. The fibrous materials
may then be discharged into a bleaching bath, the bleaching liquor being
afterwards discharged by centrifugal action, or otherwise dried, or the cylinder
above described may be employed for the purpose of discharging the moisture,
and drying the fibrous materials after being treated as previously described.