MPROVEMENTS IN PREPARING TREATING, AND BLEACHING VEGETABLE FIBROUS MATERIALS FOR THE MANC- FACTURE OF PAPER AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Charles Théodore Blake, of Brixton, in the
County of Surrey, for the Invention of TMPROVEMENTS IN PREPARING
TREATING, AND BLEACHING VEGETABLE FIBROUS MATERIALS FOR THE MANC-
FACTURE OF PAPER AND OTHER PURPOSES."
Sealed the 16th November 1877, and dated the 3rd August 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Charles Théodore
Blake at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 3rd August 1877.
EDWARD CHARLES TRÉODORE BLAKE, of Brixton, in the County of Surrey,
IMPROVEMENTS IN PREPARING, TREATING, AND BLEACHING VEGETABLE FIBROUS
MATERIALS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER AND OTHER PURPOSES."
This Invention relates to improvements in preparing, treating, and bleaching
vegetable fibrous materials for the manufacture of paper, applicable also to other
purposes.
In order to obtain the object of this Invention in preparing treating, and bleaching
jute waste, gunny bags," sacking, old rope, or other kinds of vegetable fibrous
materials for the manufacture of paper or for other purposes. I prefer, first, to pass
the same through a teaser or any other suitable machine commonly used for tearing
up rags, old ropes, or other waste fibrous materials in order that before the process
of boiling the said fibrous materials they may be thoroughly opened and cleansed.
The fibrous materials prepared as above stated are placed in trays, which are then
placed in frames and moved up and down in tanks (as described in the Specification
of Letters Patent granted to William Whitaker and William Tongue, dated 10th
February, 1863. No. 367, for treating China grass and other fibrous materials); the
compartiments of the trays being filled with equal weights of fibrous materials are
then placed into a frame and lowered into a tank filled with a solution of alkali
(advantageously caustic alkali), the strength of which is regulated according to the
state and quality of the fibrous materials to be treated. Steam is passed through a
coil of pipes fixed at the bottom of the tank, and boiled for one hour, more or less;
the solution is then run off, and fresh water run into the tank, the frame of trays

page_text: being moved up and down in the tank constantly during the process of boiling
and washing. The frame of trays is then lifted out of the tank. and the fibrous
materials are well washed and passed through squeezing rollers ready for bleaching.
Jute or other fibrous materials after being treated as before stated are then put
into trays, care being taken to shake and loosen the fibrous materials after they
have been passed through the squeezing rollers. The trays are kept solely for the
bleaching process, and being equally filled by weight as stated in the previous
process, are then put into the frame and lowered into a tank filled with a strong
solution of chloride of lime at a temperature of 105 degrees Fahrenheit.
The quantity of lime used will depend upon the quality of fibrous materials to
he bleached, but I generally use, say, half a pound of chloride of lime (of good
quality). more or less, to two gallons of water to every pound of fibrous materials
to be bleached. The frame containing the trays having been lowered into the tank
steam is passed through a coil of copper or brass pipes fixed at the bottom of the
tank, in order to raise the temperature to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. As soon as the
frame is lowered into the solution, the frame is constantly moved up and down as
in the previous process, the usual time required for bleaching will be from 45 to 60
minutes, but it depends greatly on the quality of the fibrous materials to be bleached.
The frame is then lifted out of the tank, and the fibrous materials are well washed
and passed through squeezing rollers, or squeezed by hydraulic pressure or other-
wise but if the lime contained in the fibrous materials is to be neutralized, in thai
case they are put into a weak solution of sulphuric acid, say, one pint to every
100 galons of water, and left in the solution for about half an hour, and then
washed and passed through rollers as stated above.
I find that by boiling the fibrous materials only. one hour, more or less. I obtain
a better result (with less waste) than in boiling the same a longer time as now
practised.
I find also that the fibrous materials being equally divided by weight, and loose
in each compartment of the trays, and by means of the up-and-down motion during
the process of boiling and bleaching, time, labour, and chemicals are saved, but more
particularly by the quick process of treating the fibrous materials, I obtain a great
saving in the per-centage of waste on any kind of fibrous materials treated by my
improved process.
In treating old ropes
or other fibrous materials for the manufacture of paper
or for other manufacturing purposes (at present the old rope is opened and then
passed through a teaser, as previously described), but the shives and hard nibs are
only partly removed, and therefore cannot be used for the manufacture of a good
quality of paper or for other manufacturing purposes. In order to remove this
difficulty and free the fibrous materials entirely from shives and nibs after the said
process of boiling and bleaching the rope or other fibrous materials as above
described, according to my Invention they are then dried and passed through a
carding machine, the shives and nibs partly destroyed by the process of boiling and
bleaching are entirely removed, and the same fibrous materials are fit for the mann-
facture of-fine white paper, or for other manufacturing purposes.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Edward Charles Théodore Blake in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 2nd February 1878.
EDWARD CHARLES THÉODORE BLAKE, of Brixton, in the County of Surrey.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN PREPARING, TREATING, AND BLEACHING VEGETABLE FIBROrs
MATERIALS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER AND OTHER PURPOSES."
The object of this Invention is to utilize the fibres obtainable from waste jute,
gunny bags, or other articles made of jute, for making paper, and to convert waste
hemp and flax fibres, such as old hemp and flax ropes, sacking, and tow, into
fibrous materials suitable for making paper or for spinning into yarn.
In carrying my Invention into practice I pass the aforesaid materials, when
their fibres require separating, through a teaser or any suitable machine commonly
used for tearing up such articles, in order that the fibres may be thoroughly opened
and cleansed before boiling.
In the next place I make use of an immersing frame (such as is described in the
Specification of Letters Patent granted to William Whitaker and William Tongue,
dated 10th February, 1863. No. 367). The said frame is divided into compartments.
each of which is fitted with a removeable tray. Into each of these trays I place an
equal portion (by weight) of the fibrous material; the whole is then lowered into a
tank filled with an alkaline solution (advantageously caustic alkali), the strength
of which is regulated according to the condition and quality of the fibrous material
to be treated. The solution is kept boiling for one hour, more or less, by means of
steam passed through a coil of pipes at the bottom of the tank. During this process
the frame and trays are kept continually moving up and down, in order that the
loose fibrous material may be constantly brought into contact with fresh portions of
the solution. At the expiration of about one hour the solution is run off and the
tank filled with fresh water, in which the process of moving up and down is
repeated to thoroughly cleanse the fibre, and discharge the colour therefrom.
material is then passed through squeezing rollers to remove the water therefrom
prior to submitting the fibre to the process of bleaching.
The
In the bleaching process an immersing frame (with trays) similar to that above
referred to is used, which frame is kept solely for this purpose. The trays are filled
by transferring the contents of each of the first set of trays to the bleaching trays
filled as before with equal quantifies by weight of the material, care being taken to
shake out and loosen the fibrous material after it has passed through the squeezing
rollers. The trays are then lowered into a tank filled with a strong solution
of chloride of lime at a temperature of 105 degrees Fahrenheit or thereabouts.
The quantity of the chloride of lime will depend as is well understood upon the
quality and description of fibrous material to be bleached, but I generally use, say,
about one-third of a pound of chloride of lime (of good quality), more or less. with
two gallons of water to every pound of the fibrous material under treatment. The
frame and trays being lowered into the tank, steam is passed through a coil of
copper or brass pipes fixed in the bottom of the tank, and the temperature of the
solution is raised to nearly, but not exceeding. 140 degrees Fahrenheit, the frame
and trays being as in the washing process kept moving up and down to facilitate
the access of the liquor to the mass of the fibres. The usual time required for
bleaching is from 45 to 60 minutes, but it depends greatly upon the quality and
nature of the fibrous material.
When the bleaching operation is finished the fibrous material is to be well washed,
and the water squeezed out by rollers, hydraulic pressure, or otherwise.
When it is desired to neutralize the chloride of lime, the fibrous material is to be
immersed for about 30 minutes in a weak solution of sulphuric acid (say, one pint
to 100 gallons of water), and then washed and passed through squeezing rollers or
otherwise as before.
When jute is the fibrous material thus prepared, and it is required for immediate

page_text: manufacture into paper it will not be necessary to dry it, but hemp and flax fibres,
whether intended to be converted into yarn or paper must be thoroughly dried
io prepare them for the carding engine for the reason to be presently explained.
I may here remark that a great saving in the amount of waste with much better
results are obtained by my process of boiling for one hour only than for a longer
time as heretofore practiced.
I find also that by placing an equal weight of material in each tray and using the
up-and-down motion in the tanks. a considerable saving in time, labour, and
chemicals, is effected, and the loss by waste is diminished.
By the method of treating old rope hitherto practiced, viz., by teasing and boiling
the hard woody particles called shives and nibs, which impare the value of the
fibrous material for manufacturing purposes, were not removed. In the case of hemp
and flax fibres overcome this difficulty by subjecting the same after the said
processes of boiling and bleaching in a drying process, and then passing them through
carding engine, which will convert the fibre into loose sheet sliver or ropings, as
may be desired. The shives and nibs already partially destroyed by the processes
of boiling and bleaching are thus entirely removed, and the fibrous material is fit.
for conversion into fine white paper or tinted paper of good quality, or for manu-
facturing into yaru.
Having thus described the nature of my improvements in preparing, treating.
and bleaching vegetable fibrous material for the manufacture of paper and other
purposes, and the manner of performing or carrying the same into practice, I would
remark that I do not claim separately the use of any of the processes or means
which employ in the preparation of fibre as they are severally well known, my
Invention relating to the combined use of the processes and means for treating the
fibres as herein described, but what I do claim under the above in part recited
Letters Patent is.-
First. The means above described for preparing jute fibres obtained from waste
jute, gunny bags, or other articles made of jute for conversion into paper.
Secondly. The means above described for preparing waste hemp and flax fibres.
such as old hemp and flax ropes, sacking, and low, for conversion into fine paper or
inio yarns.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Charles Théodore Blake, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
Wilness.
J. G. TONGUE,
Patent Agent,
84, Southampton Buildings,
W.C.
EP. C. T. BLAKE. (L.S.)