IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING FIBRE FROM WOOD AND OTHER VEGETABLE FIBROUS SUBSTANCES FOR THE PURPOSE OF PAPER MAKING, AND IN APPARATUS TO BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Abraham Lec, of the Severn Engineering
Works, near Lydney, in the County of Gloucester, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING FIBRE FROM WOOD AND OTHER VEGETABLE
FIBROUS SUBSTANCES FOR THE PURPOSE OF PAPER MAKING, AND IN APPARATUS
TO BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE."
Scaled the 13th August 1872, and dated the 15th June 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Abraham Lee
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 15th June 1872.
I; JAMES ABRAHAM LEE, of the Severn Engineering Works, near
Lydney, in the County of Gloucester, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING FIBRE FROM WOOD AND
OTHER VEGETABLE FIBROUS SUBSTANCES FOR THE PURPOSE OF PAPER MAKING, AND
IN APPARATUS TO BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE," to be as follows:-
:-
.
Heretofore in order to obtain fibre from wood, straw, esparto, and
such like vegetable fibrous substances, such substances have been boiled
in an alkaline solution in closed boilers under high pressure, and when

page_text: the fibrous substances have been sufficiently acted upon the pressure in
the boiler has been reduced by blowing off steam, and cold water has
then been pumped in to reduce the temperature before running off the
alkaline lyes from the boiler. If the temperature were not reduced
before running off the lyes the fibrous material would be scorched by
the high temperature of the boiler and be rendered uscless. By cooling
down the boiler in this manner not only is a considerable time occupied
in blowing off steam to reduce the pressure sufficiently to allow of cold
water being pumped in, but also as the alkaline lyes have subsequently
to be evaporated to obtain the alkaline from them the water so introduced
into the boiler increases the amount of water to be evaporated, and the
consequent expence of evaporation.
To obviate these inconveniences in place of cooling down the boilers
by introducing cold water into them, I cool them down with spent
alkaline lyes which have previously been used and have been allowed to
cool down. For this purpose such spent alkaline lyes are contained in
a boiler or vessel capable of sustaining a pressure equal to the pressure
in the vessel in which the vegetable materials are boiled. When the
vegetable materials have been sufficiently acted on a valve is opened
into a steam pipe connecting the upper part of the two vessels, so that
both vessels after a time are under the same pressure. When this has
been done the cold lyes in the one vessel are allowed to pass to and mix
with the heated lycs in the other vessel. This may either be effected by
opening valves in other pipes connecting the two vessels to allow of a
circulation between the hot and cold liquids being set up, or by allowing
the cold lyes to flow into the heated boiler at the same time that the hot
lyes are by the opening of a cock run off from it. The heated lyes so
run off may be subsequently cooled down in a pipe cooler or otherwise
to be again used for cooling down the contents of another boiler in
which fibrous materials have been treated. By this means not only may
the heated contents of the boilers be cooled down much more rapidly
than heretofore, but also the amount of water to be evaporated for the
purpose of recovering the alkali will be reduced by the quantity usually
pumped in for the purpose of cooling, and further by the amount of
evaporation caused by the excess heat of the liquid cooled down.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Abraham Lee in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 14th December 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
ABRAHAM LEE, of the Severn Engineering Works, near Lydney, in the
County of Gloucester, 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 seventy-two, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said James Abraham Lee, Her special licensc,
that I, the said James Abraham Lec, my exccutors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said James Abraham Lee, 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, exercisc, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
OBTAINING FIBRE FROM WOOD AND OTHER VEGETABLE FIBROUS SUBSTANCES FOR THE
PURPOSE OF PAPEr Making, and iN APPARATUS TO BE USED FOR THAt Purpose,”
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Abraham
Lee, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of their hands and scals, 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 tho
Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Abraham Lee, 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 thereof, that is to say :-
:-
Heretofore in order to obtain fibre from wood, straw, esparto, and
such like vegetable fibrous substances, such substances have been boiled
in an alkaline solution in closed boilers under high pressure, and when
the fibrous substances have been sufficiently acted upon the pressure in

page_text: the boiler has been reduced by blowing off steam, and cold water has
'then been pumped in to reduce the temperature before running off the
alkaline lyes from the boiler. If the temperature were not reduced
before running off the lyes the fibrous material would be scorched by
the high temperature of the boiler, and be rendered useless. By cooling
down the boiler in this manner not only is a considerable time occupied
in blowing off steam to reduce the pressure sufficiently to allow of cold
water being pumped in, but also as the alkaline lyes have subsequently
to be evaporated to obtain the alkali from them the water so introduced
into the boiler increases the amount of water to be evaporated, and the
consequent expense of evaporation.
To obviate these inconveniences in place of cooling down the
boilers by introducing cold water into them I cool them down with
spent alkaline lyes which have previously been used and have been
allowed to cool down. For this purpose such spent alkaline lyes are
contained in a boiler or vessel capable of sustaining a pressure equal to
the pressure in the vessel in which the vegetable materials are boiled.
When the vegetable materials have been sufficiently acted on a valve is
opened in a steam pipe connecting the upper part of the two vessels,
so that both vessels after a time are under the same pressure. When
this has been done the cold lyes in the one vessel are allowed to pass
to and mix with the heated lycs in the other vessel; this may either be
effected by opening valves in other pipes connecting the two vessels to
allow of a circulation between the hot and cold liquids being set up, or
by allowing the cold lyes to flow into the heated boiler, whilst at the
same time the hot lyes may if desired be run off from it by the opening
of a cock. The heated lyes when run off from the boiler may be sub-
sequently cooled down in a pipe cooler or otherwise to be again useḍ
for cooling down the contents of another boiler in which fibrous
materials have been treated. By this means not only may the heated
contents of the boilers be cooled down much more rapidly than
heretofore, but also the amount of water to be evaporated for the
purpose of recovering the alkali will be reduced by the quantity usually
pumped in for the purpose of cooling, and further by the amount of
evaporation caused by the excess heat of the liquid cooled down.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to
describe more fully the manner in which I carry the same into effect.

page_text: In the Drawings hereunto annexed I have shewn apparatus arranged
as above described in such manner that spent alkaline lyes contained in
a boiler or vessel capable of withstanding heavy pressure can be caused
to flow into and mix with the contents of a boiler in which wood, straw,
esparto, or such like substance has been boiled with an alkaline liquor.
for the purpose of cooling down such boiler previous to running off the
spent lye therefrom and withdrawing the fibrous material.
Figure 1 is a side view of the apparatus, and Figure 2 an end view of
the same.
In these Figures A, A, are two boilers, such as are now used for boiling
wood, straw, esparto, or such like vegetable fibrous substances with
alkaline liquors. Between the boilers A and raised above them is
placed a cylindrical boiler or vessel B, which is made of equal strength
with the boilers A, so that it may be subjected to an equal amount of
pressure. C, C, are pipes for connecting the vessel B with the upper
cylinders or steam chambers of the boilers A; on each of these pipes is
a valve D, by which the passage through it can be closed; E is a pipe
descending from the bottom of the vessel B, and connected by branch
pipes with the lower part of the two boilers A; on these branch pipes,
are also valves F, by which the passage through them can be closed.
During the time that wood or other vegetable fibrous material is being
boiled with alkaline liquor in one of the boilers A this boiler is shut off
from the vessel B by closing the valves D and F, and the vessel B is
filled, or nearly so, with cool spent alkaline lyes from the cooler G by
means of the pump H. When the fibrous material has been sufficiently
acted on the valve D is opened, and the interior of the vessel B is
thereby brought to the same pressure, or nearly so, as the boiler A,
afterwards the valve F is opened, whereby the spent liquor in the
vessel B is allowed to descend into the boiler A and to cool down its
contents. When the boiler and its contents have thus been cooled
down to a temperature sufficiently low to avoid injuring the fibre when
the spent lye is drawn off therefrom, the spent lye is drawn off into the
shallow cooling tank G through the pipe I, which pipe is connected by
branch pipes with the lower part of each of the boilers A, and can be
shut off therefrom by the valves K, as shewn. The vessel B can also be
emptied into this cooling tank through the pipe Land valve M whenever
desired. After that one or other of the boilers A has thus been cooled

page_text: and the liquor has been drawn off therefrom the end cover of the boiler
is taken off as is usual, the vegetable fibrous material is taken out, and
a fresh charge of material is placed into the boiler, to be in like manner
boiled under high pressure with alkaline lyes. The process can thus be
carried on continuously. In the cooling tank G is a system of pipes N,
(as shewn in the plan view of the tank, Figure 3,) through which a
stream of cold water can be caused to flow to assist in cooling down the
heated spent lyes contained in the tank.
In place also of using a cooling tank such as shewn in the Drawing,
any suitable arrangement of cooler might be used in place thercof.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which I prefer to carry the same into effect, I would have it understood
that I claim,-
The employment in conjunction with a boiler used for boiling vegetable
fibrous substances with alkaline liquors under pressure of another boiler
or vessel to contain cool spent lyes, the two being connected by pipes,
as herein described, in such manner that the cool spent lyes may be
allowed to mingle with the contents of the boiler in which the vegetable
fibrous substances have been boiled for the purpose of cooling them.
The combined arrangement of apparatus, substantially as herein.
described and shewn by the Drawings annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Abraham Lee, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day (12th) of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.