IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR AND METHODS OF BLEACHING AND DRYING COTTON, FLAX, AND OTHER VEGETABLE MATERIALS AND FABRICS, PARTLY APPLICABLE ALSO TO DYEING
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Bingham Alliott, of Radford, in the County of Not-
tingham, and John Charles Vanlohe, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR AND METHODS OF
BLEACHING AND DRYING COTTON, FLAX, AND OTHER VEGETABLE MATERIALS
AND FABRICS, PARTLY APPLICABLE ALSO TO DYEING." Partly a communication
from abroad by Jean Martin Bickel, of Wildegg, Switzerland, and Charles Weber
Jacquel of Mulhouse. Alsace.
Sealed the 21st February 1879, and dated the 20th December 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Bingham Alliott and
John Charles Vanlohe at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 20th
December 1878.
JAMES BINGHAM ALLIOTT, of Radford, in the County of Nottingham, and JOHN
CHARLES VANLOHE, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR AND METHODS OF BLEACHING AND DRYING COTTON, FLAX, AND
OTHER VEGETABLE MATERIALS AND FABRICS, PARTLY APPLICABLE ALSO TO DYEING.”
Partly a communication from abroad by Jean Martin Bickel, of Wildegg, Switzer-
land, and Charles Weber Jacquel, of Mulhouse, Alsace.
Our improvements relate more especially to the construction of bleaching kiers
suitable for bleaching in vacuo, as described in Letters Patent granted to Charles
Toussaint, of Saint Dié, and dated 5th February 1876, and numbered 468, and in
improved methods of and apparatus for treating and drying the materials to be
bleached;
such improved methods and apparatus being in part communicated to us
from abroad by Jean Martin Bickel, of Wildegg, Switzerland, and Charles Weber
Jacquel, of Mulhouse, Alsace.
Inasmuch as this process of bleaching is conducted in vacuo the kiers for it need
to be strong enough to withstand the pressure of the atmosphere upon them when
exhausted of air or nearly so, and they need to be free from leakage, which, by ad-
mitting air, would quickly destroy the vacuum, while it is necessary for convenience
[Price 8d1

page_text: in working that they should be furnished with very large and easily removable
manholes or lids. At the same time it is undesirable that the metals ordinarily
employed for such structures should be brought into direct contact with the liquors
used in the process of bleaching.
In order to obtain the requisite strength we construct the outer casing of our
bleaching vessel or kier of metal, preferably of cast iron.
We prefer also for the sake of strength and convenience in working to make it in
the shape of a vertical cylinder having the bottom closed and the top open, or rather
closed only by a removable cover as hereinbefore described, but the same may also
be made square, oblong, or any other shape.
In some cases we introduce within this outer casing, which when thus used be-
comes simply a vacuum chamber, a loose bleaching vat open at the top.
This vat may be made of any material capable of withstanding the action of the
bleaching or dyeing liquors.
As this bleaching vat simply stands in the vacuum chamber, so that when a
vacuum is produced in this chamber there is a vacuum outside the vat as well as
within it, its strength needs only to be sufficient to hold the bleaching or dyeing
liquor and the goods which are undergoing treatment.
The pipes conveying the bleaching or dyeing liquors into or out of the kier are
jointed securely to this interior vat, while an air tight joint is made around them
where they pass through the outer casing.
The connection for the air pipe leading to the air pump or other means of
producing a vacuum is made direct to the outer casing forming the vacuum chamber.
Thus the bleaching liquors are admitted into the loose vat and do not come at all
into contact with the outer casing, which accordingly may be made of the ma-
terial best suited to withstand the strain arising from the formation of a vacuum
within it.
In other cases we line the outer casing of the kier made of a material readily
attacked by the bleaching or dyeing liquors, so as to preserve it from their action.
This may be effected in any of the following ways:-
We introduce within this vessel or kier an inner vessel formed of wood impreg-
nated with paraffin. We effect the impregnation by immersing wood in liquid
paraffin having a temperature somewhat higher than the boiling point of water.
The wood is allowed to remain in the hot paraffin until the air and moisture have
been expelled from its pores and the whole is then allowed to cool, but the wood
may be withdrawn before the paraffin solidifies.
The penetration of the paraffin into the wood may be aided either by conducting
the operation in vacuuo, thus aiding the escape of vapour from the pores of the
wood, or by effecting the impregnation under pressure, thus forcing the paraffin into
its pores.
This vessel of wood fits loosely within the one of iron, and the space between
them is then filled up by pouring in liquid paraffin, which may be effected while
the iron (the wood also if desired) is slightly heated. In order to ensure that no
air bubbles are caught and retained by this paraffin packing the vessel may be
exhausted of air while the paraffin is being introduced. All danger of leakage
through the wooden inner vessel is thus avoided, and as the bleaching liquors need
never reach within several inches of the top of this wooden casing the metal is
effectually preserved from contact with these liquors.
Openings for the introduction and exit of liquor and for other purposes may be
formed by means of pipes passing through both the outer and the inner casing and
bedding on the inner side of the wooden casing, so as to form a sound joint with
it; or jointed to it in any other well known way. The paraffin packing between
the inner and outer casings will also help to render the joint tight.
In other cases, especially where the outer casing of the kier is of cast iron, we
coat its inner surface with cement of good quality, or with plaster of Paris, and in
this cement or plaster of Paris we imbed glazed bricks or tiles in such a way that

page_text: their glazed surfaces shall be presented to the bleaching liquors, the iron being
thus preserved from contact with them while it lends its own rigidity to the
structure.
Sometimes instead of imbedding glazed bricks or tiles in the cement we simply
coat it with a petrifying solution (soluble silica, for example), which renders it im-
pervious and non absorbent, and in such cases we usually embed coarse can-
vass within the cement to give it greater tenacity and remove the liability to
crack.
Sometimes too instead of cement or plaster of Paris we make use of molten
sulphur or resin, pitch, or pitch and tar, in which to imbed the bricks or tiles, which
may either be glazed or simply indurated with the sulphur, resin, pitch, or pitch
and tar to render them non-absorbent. When pitch is used a little creosote oil may
be added to it to render it less brittle. The best method of protecting the inside of the
kier from the action of the bleaching liquors would be to glaze or enamel its whole
surface, but hitherto no one has succeeded in thus coating metallic vessels of the
large size usually required for bleaching.
Around the top of the kier, lined in any of the above described ways, we arrange
a broad groove in which we place an india rubber pad or washer. A little water
may also be introduced if desired.
The cover which is rather larger in diameter than the interior of the kier (indeed
of such a size as to cover the india rubber pad or washer, already described), and
which is furnished with a plane surface corresponding in size with this pad is
simply dropped upon the pad. Its own weight pressing upon the pad forms an
approximate joint in the first instance, and as soon as a vacuum is formed inside the
kier the difference of pressure causes the cover to be pressed down with great force
upon the rubber pad, which will thus be bedded into any of the irregularities of the
surfaces of the cover or the groove and a sound joint will be made. If a little water
be used around the joint any leakage which may take place, before the pressure has
caused the india rubber pad to bed to the irregularities so as to make a sound joint,
will only be a leakage of water and so will not interfere with the vacuum.
cover is raised when the kier is opened and may either be lifted by blocks and
tackle or other lifting gear to such a height as to be out of the way of the men en-
gaged in putting the material to be bleached into or lifting it out of the kier; or it
may be slightly raised by lifting gear attached to a carriage running on rails, and
when thus raised be pushed on one side, A single carriage and line of rails may be
used for lifting the covers of several kiers, especially if these are arranged in a row,
and the cover is raised to such a height that it will pass over the closed covers of the
other kiers in the same row.
The
The carriage and lifting gear which we usually employ are constructed as
follows:-Two pairs of wheels and axles are arranged to run on rails on each side
of and near the level of the top of the kiers.
These pairs of wheels are connected together by two brackets, which at the same
time keep them apart (preferably at such a distance that the cover may be drawn
up between the axles) and also support the lifting gear. This gear consists of two
parallel shafts supported by the brackets already described, and free to turn in
bearings in them.
Each of these shafts is fitted with two arms or levers securely attached to it and
at right angles or nearly so to one another.
One of the levers on each shaft (preferably the longer) is furnished with a nut,
one of these nuts having a right hand thread, and the other a left hand thread cut
in it. These two levers are connected by a shaft having threads cut upon it to
correspond with those in the nuts.
It is obvious that as this shaft is turned in the one direction the lever ends will
be drawn together by the action of the screws, and when the shaft is turned in the
other direction they will be forced further apart, and the motion of the levers will
cause the shafts to revolve through a small portion of a revolution.
The nuts are so arranged that while they they draw the lever ends together or force

page_text: them apart, their own axis can yet remain concentric with that of the screwed shaft.
They are however not free to turn.
In order that each of the parallel shafts may turn through a like portion of a
revolution, the screwed shaft is secured to the carriage in such a way that while it
is free to revolve or to move slightly vertically, it cannot move endways. The
shorter lever arms on the shafts are attached to the cover by hooks or in any other
convenient way.
As the longer lever arms are drawn together by the right and left hand screw the
rotation of the shafts thus produced raises the ends of the shorter lever arms and
the cover with them.
Sometimes we invert the kier which in this case rests upon some soft padding,
say sheet india rubber, placed beneath it. The materials to be treated are stacked
upon the base plate to such a height as the kier can conveniently contain, and then
the kier, which is lined as before described with material resisting the action of the
chemicals employed is dropped over the goods as a bell might be. The required
joint is formed by the combined weight of the kier, and pressure due to the vacuum
within it pressing down upon the soft pad. The air and liquor connections are
made through the base, care being taken to carry up the air pipe within the
kier to such a height that the liquids employed for bleaching cannot flow into it.
In order to remove the goods when the operation of bleaching is concluded, the
kier itself must be raised, suitable lifting gear being provided for this purpose.
If cops are to be bleached and are to be put into the kier either loose or in bags
it is desirable to put pirns into them to keep them in shape. These pirns we
prefer to make of vulcanite or similar material, or of toughened glass, and to make
fluted so that the bleaching liquor may more readily find access to the inside of
the cops.
In most cases, however, to avoid the necessity of using pirns, and for the purpose
of avoiding the cost and mischief arising from handling we place the cops at once in
boxes formed of perforated sheets (preferably of vulcanite) sewn or otherwise attached
together at their edges.
One of the sheets forms a cover and is attached to the box only at one side, being
tied down or otherwise fastened at the other when closed. These boxes are of such
a shape that they fit into the revolving basket of the hydro-extractor, which may
be made either without any internal annular rim at its upper part or having this
rim movable to allow of their more easy introduction into the basket and removal
from it.
These boxes are filled with the cops or other material requiring bleaching, and the
covers are closed. The boxes are then placed in the kier and the materials within
them bleached, and when this process is concluded the boxes are removed from the
kier and placed in the hydro-extractor where their contents receive a final washing
and are partially dried. The cops are only removed from these boxes when ready
to be passed into the drying stove.
Sometimes we construct a single box of vulcanite of such size and shape as to fit
into and fill the revolving cylinder or basket of the hydro extractor, which in this
case must be either altogether without an internal annular rim at its upper part or,
this ring if present must be movable. The cops are packed into this as before
described, are bleached in it, drained in the hydro-extractor in it, and only removed
from it in order to pass into the stove.
In some cases still further to avoid risk of injury from handling or from pressure
while being dried in the hydro-extractor, we place the cops or other materials in
cases or boxes made to fit the kier. These cases may be made of a light framework
supporting an openwork bottom usually formed of woven strips of cane, or it may be
formed of any openwork, the materials of which are not too rapidly destroyed or
injured by the chemical re-agents employed in bleaching or by the heat of the stove.
These cases or boxes are made of such a depth as to hold a quantity of goods readily
movable and easily penetrated by the bleaching reagents and by the heat of the
stove, and they are so formed as to rest one upon the other until the kier is full.

page_text: The cops or other materials are placed in these cases or boxes before being bleached,
are bleached in them, put into the drying stove in them (none of the moisture being
extracted in the hydro-extractor), and are only removed from them to be packed
for delivery.
It is obvious that much of the apparatus described is also applicable where it is
desired to dye the goods undergoing treatment as where it is desired to bleach
them.
The process of bleaching as conducted in these kiers is as follows:-
To make the chloride mixture or liquor for the bleaching process we prefer to
employ an apparatus or "mixer" consisting of a trough in which is a revolving
perforated cylinder or drum, but the mixture may be made in any other convenient
manner.
In using the "mixer" we first dissolve about one hundred and thirty two pounds
of chloride of lime in the drum or cylinder, and after having refastened the lid and
filled the iron reservoir or trough (in which this drum bangs), say three quarters
with clean water, we keep the drum revolving during an hour.
We then leave this liquid to settle during twelve hours and run it off into the
chlorine liquor tank, passing it previously through a calico or other sieve; this
liquid must be reduced to the strength of two degrees of the hygrometer by adding
water and keeping it stirred up for a while. The bleaching process is as follows:-
Kier No. 1 being filled with cotton or other material to be bleached, leaving say
nine inches space, we fasten the lid on and make a vacuum. We then turn on the
tap to let in the chlorine so that the whole contents are covered, and say four
inches above the yarn.
Kier No. 2 being filled with cotton or other material the same as kier No. 1,
we inake a vacuum therein. Then we turn the tap in the lid of kier No. 1 by
which air is introduced, and the chlorine out of kier No. 1 has to play now in kier
No. 2, always taking care that the contents are fully covered with liquid, the same
as it was at the first operation in kier No. 1. We then make a vacuum in kier
No. 1 and turn on air No. 2. We next draw off the liquid from kier No. 2
into kier No. 1, always taking care that the contents are fully covered with
liquid.
"This operation is repeated ten to twelve times, and vice versa, and we then open.
kier No. 1 to ascertain whether the contents are perfectly bleached. To do this
effectually we select the cops which are the most difficult to bleach, viz., Egyptian
cotton, or fine numbers, or very hard built cops which are best kept at the top to
be easier of access. If these are sufficiently bleached then the whole contents are
bleached perfectly, but in case these have not the desired white then we continue
the same operations as before until we succeed. Meanwhile we prepare the acidu-
lated bath by putting about eight pints and three quarters of sulphuric acid (of
66 degrees) in the tank appropriated for this liquid, which must be previously filled
with clean water, and we keep stirring this continually and well all the while.
We then decant the chlorine from kier No. 1 into kier No. 2, and turn on the tap of the
acidulated liquor on the kier No. 1, always of course in vacuo. We leave it in that
state for an hour, then draw off the chlorine of kier No. 2 into the chlorine tank,
and decant into the acidulated liquor tank the liquor out of kier No. 1, and add
about four pints and a half more of sulphuric acid, stirring it well all the time.
We now let this liquor play on kier No. 2 and make a vacuum in kier No. 1, and
keep playing this acidulated liquor from one kier into the other. We repeat this
four times and then leave this liquid for an hour on kier No. 2. We then remake
a vacuum in kier No. 1 and play on it alternately with clean water every quarter
of an hour and then leave the fifth water in this kier No. 1. Then we repeat the
same manœuvre on kier No. 2 and leave the water on the contents until the same
is taken out for the bydro-extractor. In case we cannot pass the contents through
the extractor shortly, we then keep renewing the water every three or four hours.
In placing the bags or boxes in the hydro-extractor care must be taken to have the
bottoms of the cops downwards. We set the extractor in motion, and after a while

page_text: turn on the besprinkling tube. Keep this all the while going until the water which
comes out is entirely free from chlorine (tasteless and colorless); we then continue.
with the extractor only to get as much water out as possible, and in no case remove
it as long as there is more than fifty per cent. of water left in. On being taken out
of the hydro-extractor pincops can be used at once in the looms, or if preferred they
can be taken to the hot chamber to be dried, as hereinbefore described.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said James Bingham Alliott and John Charles Vanlohe in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 20th June 1879.
JAMES BINGHAM ALLIOTT, of Radford, in the County of Nottingham, and JOHN
CHARLES VANLOHE, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR AND METHODS OF BLEACHING AND DRYING COTTON, FLAX, AND
OTHER VEGETABLE MATERIALS AND FABRICS, PARTLY APPLICABLE ALSO TO DYEING."
Partly a communication from abroad by Jean Martin Bickel, of Wildegg, Switzer-
land, and Charles Weber Jacquel, of Mulhouse, Alsace.
Our improvements relate more especially to the construction of bleaching kiers
suitable for bleaching in vacuo, as described in Letters Patent granted to Charles
Toussaint, of Saint Die, and dated 5th February 1876, and numbered 468, and in
improved methods of and apparatus for treating and drying the materials to be
bleached, such improved methods and apparatus being in part communicated to us
from abroad by Jean Martin Bickel, of Wildegg, Switzerland, and Charles Weber
Jacquel, of Mulhouse, Alsace.
Inasmuch as this process of bleaching is conducted in vacuo the kiers for it need
to be strong enough to withstand the pressure of the atmosphere upon then when
exhausted of air, or nearly so, and they need to be free from leakage, which by
admitting air would quickly destroy the vacuum, while it is necessary for con-
venience in working that they should be furnished with very large and easily
removable manholes or lids.
At the same time it is undesirable that the metals ordinarily employed for such
structures should be brought into direct contact with the liquors used in the process
of bleaching.
In order to obtain the requisite strength we construct the outer casing of our
bleaching vessel or kier of metal, preferably of cast iron. We prefer also for the
sake of strength and convenience in working to make it in the shape of a vertical
cylinder having the bottom closed and the top open, or rather closed only by a
removable cover, as hereinafter described, but the same may also be made square,
oblong, or any other shape.
In some cases we introduce within this outer casing, which when thus used
becomes simply a vacuum chamber, a loose bleaching vat open at the top. This
vat may be made of any material capable of withstanding the action of the
bleaching or dyeing liquors. As this bleaching vat simply stands in the vacuum

page_text: chamber, so that when a vacuum is produced in this chamber there is a vacuum
outside the vat as well as within it, its strength needs only to be sufficient to hold
the bleaching or dyeing liquor and the goods which are undergoing treatment.
The pipes conveying the bleaching or dyeing liquors into or out of the kier are
jointed securely to this interior vat, while an airtight joint is made around them
where they pass through the outer casing. The connection for the air pipe leading
to the air pump or other means of producing a vacuum is made direct to the outer
casing forming the vacuum chamber. Thus the bleaching liquors are admitted into
the loose vat, and do not come at all into contact with the outer casing, which
accordingly may be made of the material best suited to withstand the strain arising
from the formation of a vacuum within it.
In other cases, especially where the outer casing of the kier is of cast iron, we
coat its inner surface with cement of good quality or with plaster of Paris, and in
this cement or plaster of Paris we imbed glazed bricks or tiles in such a way that
their glazed surfaces shall be presented to the bleaching liquors, the iron being
thus preserved from contact with them, while it lends its own rigidity to the
structure.
Sometimes instead of imbedding glazed bricks or tiles in the cement we simply
coat it with a petrifying solution (soluble silica for example), which renders it
impervious and non absorbent, and in such cases we usually imbed coarse canvas
within the cement to give it greater tenacity and remove the liability to crack.
Sometimes, too, instead of cement or plaster of Paris, we make use of molten
sulphur or resin, pitch, or pitch and tar, in which we imbed the bricks or tiles,
which may either be glazed or simply indurated with the sulphur, resin, or pitch
and tar to render them non absorbent. When pitch is used a little creosote oil may
be added to it to render it less brittle. The best method of protecting the inside
of the kier from the action of the bleaching liquors would be to glaze or enamel its
whole surface, but hitherto no one has succeeded in thus coating metallic vessels of
the large size usually required for bleaching. The interior of the vessel or kier
might also be protected from the action of the bleaching liquors by platinizing or
by electro plating with a metal capable of resisting the action of the said
liquors.
Around the top of the kier lined or protected in any of the above described ways
we arrange a broad groove, in which we place an india rubber pad or washer.
In the Drawing annexed to this Specification Fig. 1 is a vertical section and
Fig. 2 an exterior elevation of the upper part of a kier constructed according to our
Invention; a, a, is the kier; b, b, the lining; and c, c, the cover.
The cover c, c, which is rather larger in diameter than the interior of the kier
(indeed, of such size as to cover the india rubber pad or washer already described),
and which is furnished with a plane surface corresponding in size with this pad, is
simply dropped upon the pad. Its own weight pressing upon the pad forms an
approximate joint in the first instance, and as soon as a vacuum is formed inside
the kier a, a, the difference of pressure causes the cover c, c, to be pressed down
with great force upon the rubber pad d, d, which will thus be bedded into any of
the irregularities of the surface of the cover or the groove, and a sound joint will
be made. The cover c, c, is raised when the kier a, a, is opened, and may either be
lifted by blocks and tackle or other lifting gear to such a height as to be out of the
way of the men engaged in putting the material to be bleached into or lifting it
out of the kier, or it may be slightly raised by lifting gear attached to a carriage
e, e, running on rails f,f, and when thus raised be pushed on one side. A single
carriage and line of rails may be used for lifting the covers of several kiers,
especially if these are arranged in a row and the cover is raised to such a height
that it will pass over the closed covers of the other kiers in the same row.
The carriage and lifting gear which we usually employ are constructed as
follows:-
Two pairs of wheels g, g, are arranged to run on the rails f, f, on each side of
and near the level of the top of the kiers.

page_text: These pairs of wheels are connected together by two brackets forming the
carriage e, e, which at the same time keep them apart (preferably at such a distance
that the cover may be drawn up between the axle), and also support the lifting
gear. The gear consists of two parallel shafts h, h, supported by the brackets
already described, and free to turn in bearings in them. These shafts also form the
axles on which the wheels g, g, turn freely.
Each of these shafts is fitted with a bell crank lever i, i, and a horizontal
arm k, k.
The vertical arm of each bell crank lever i, i, is furnished with a nut t, t, one of
theso nuts having a right hand thread and the other a left hand thread cut in it.
These two levers i, i, are then connected by a shaft m, m, having threads cut upon
it to correspond with those on the nuts.
It is obvious that as this shaft m, m, is turned in one direction the vertical arms
of the levers will be drawn together by the action of the screws, and when the
shaft is turned in the other direction they will be forced further apart, and the
motion of the levers will cause the shafts h, h, to revolve through a small portion of
a revolution.
The nuts are so arranged that while they draw the lever ends together or force
them apart their own axis can yet remain concentric with that of the screwed shaft.
They are however not free to turn.
In order that each of the parallel shafts may turn through a like portion of a
revolution the screwed shaft is secured to the carriage in the centre in such a way
that while it is free to revolve or to move slightly vertically it cannot move endways.
The horizontal arms of the levers i, i, on the shafts are provided with hooks n, n,
to catch in staples o, o, in the cover.
As the vertical arms of the levers i, i, are drawn together by the right and left
hand screws m, m, their horizontal arms descend and the hooks n, n, catch hold of
the staples o, o, on the cover.
The shaft m, m, is then turned in the reverse direction by the hand wheel p, p,
and the levers i, i, moving in the opposite direction will raise the cover c, c.
The hand wheel q, q, and spur gearing 7, 7, are for the purpose of traversing the
cover.
Sometimes we invert the kier, which in this case rests upon some soft padding,
say sheet india rubber, placed beneath it. The materials to be treated are stacked
upon the base plate to such a height as the kier can conveniently contain, and then
the kier, which is lined as before described with material resisting the action of the
chemicals employed, is dropped over the goods as a bell might be.
The required joint is formed by the combined weight of the kier and pressure
due to the vacuum within it pressing down upon the soft pad.
The air and liquor
connections are made through the base, care being taken to carry up the air pipe
within the kier to such a height that the liquids employed for bleaching cannot
flow into it. In order to remove the goods when the operation of bleaching is
concluded, the kier itself must be raised, suitable lifting gear being provided for this
purpose.
either loose or in bags,
These pirns we prefer
glass, and to make
If cops are to be bleached and are to be put into the kier
it is desirable to put pirns into them to keep them in shape.
to make of vulcanite or similar material, or of toughened
fluted or perforated so that the bleaching liquor may more readily find access to the
inside of the cops.
In most cases however to avoid the necessity of using pirns, and for the purpose
of avoiding the cost and mischief arising from handling, we place the cops at once
in boxes formed of perforated sheets (preferably of vulcanite) sewn or otherwise
attached together at their edges. One of the sheets forms a cover and is attached
to the box only at one side, being tied down or otherwise fastened at the other
when closed.
These boxes are of such a shape that the fit into the revolving basket of the
hydro extractor which may be made either without any internal annular rim at its

page_text: upper part, or having this rim movable to allow of their more easy introduction into
the basket and removal from it.
These boxes are filled with the cops or other material requiring bleaching, and the
covers are closed. The boxes are then placed in the kier and the materials within
them bleached, and when the process is concluded the boxes are removed from the
kier and placed in the hydro-extractor where their contents receive a final washing
and are partially dried. The cops are only removed from these boxes when ready
to be passed into the drying stove. Sometimes we construct a single box of vulcanite
of such a size and shape as to fit into and fill the revolving cylinder or basket of the
hydro-extractor which in this case must be either altogether without an internal
annular rim at its upper part, or this rim if present must be movable.
The cops are packed into this as before described, are bleached in it, drained
in the hydro-extractor in it, and only removed from it in order to pass into the
stove.
In some cases, still further to avoid risk or injury from handling or from pressure
while being dried in the hydro-extractor, we place the cops or other materials in.
cases or boxes made to fit the kier.
These cases may be made of a tight framework supporting an openwork bottom
usually formed of woven strips of cane; or it may be formed of any openwork, the
materials of which are not too rapidly destroyed or injured by the chemical reagents
employed in bleaching, or by the heat of the stove.
These cases or boxes are made of such a depth as to hold a quantity of goods
readily moveable and easily penetrated by the bleaching reagents and by the heat
of the stove, and they are so formed as to rest one upon the other until the kier is
full.
It is obvious that much of the apparatus described is also applicable where it
is desired to dye the goods undergoing treatment, as where it is desired to bleach
them.
The process as conducted in these kiers is as follows:-
To make the chlorine mixture or liquor for the bleaching process we prefer to
employ an apparatus or "mixer" consisting of a trough in which is a revolving
perforated cylinder or drum, but the mixture may be made in any other convenient
manner.
In using the "mixer" we first dissolve about one hundred and thirty two pounds
(more or less) of chloride of lime in the drum or cylinder, and after having refastened
the lid and filled the iron reservoir or trough (in which this drum hangs) say three.
quarters with clean water, we keep the drum revolving during an hour.
We then leave this liquid to settle during twelve hours and run it off into the
chlorine liquor tank, passing it previously through a calico or other sieve. This
liquid must be reduced to the strength of two degrees of Twaddle's hydrometer by
adding water and keeping it stirred up for a while, but for some purposes we may
reduce the strength even lower, according to the nature of the material to be
operated upon.
The bleaching process is as follows:-Kier No. 1 being filled with cotton or other
material to be bleached, leaving say nine inches space, we fasten the lid on and make
a vacuum. We then (without any previous boiling or other preparation) turn on
the tap to led in the chlorine liquor so that the whole contents are covered, and say
four inches above the yarn.
Kier No. 2 being filled with cotton or other material the same as kier No. 1, we
make a vacuum therein; then we turn the tap in the lid of kier No. 1, by which.
air is introduced, and the chlorine liquor out of kier No. 1 has to play now on
kier No. 2, always taking care that the contents are left fully covered with liquid,
We then make a vacuum in
the same as it was at the first operation in kier No. 1.
kier No. 1, and turn on air in No. 2. We next draw off the liquid from kier No. 2
into kier No. 1, always taking care that the contents are left fully covered with
liquid.
This operation is repeated several times, and if necessary ten to twelve times, and

page_text: we then open kier No. 1 to ascertain whether the contents are perfectly bleached.
To do this effectually we select the cops or materials which are the most difficult to
bleach, viz., Egyptian cotton, or fine numbers, or very hard built cops which are best
kept at the top to be easier of access. If theso are sufficiently bleached then the
whole contents are bleached perfectly, but in case these have not the desired white
then we continue the same operations as before until we succeed.
If we have materials which require to be bleached more effectually than can be
done by chlorine liquor alone, then we prepare the acidulated bath by putting about
eight pints and three quarters of sulphuric acid (of about 66 degrees) in the tank
appropriated for this liquid which must be previously filled with clean water, and
we keep stirring this continually and well all the while. We then decant the chlorine
from kier No. 1 into kier No. 2, and turn on the tap of the acidulated liquor on the
kier No. 1, always of course in vacuo. We leave it in that state for an hour, then
draw off the chlorine of kier No. 2 into the chlorine tank, and decant into the
acidulated liquor tank the liquor out of kier No. 1 and add about four pints and a
half more of sulphuric acid, stirring it well all the time.
We now let this liquor play on kier No. 2 and make a vacuum in kier No. 1 and
keep playing this acidulated liquor from one kier into the other. We repeat this
as frequently as necessary and then leave this liquid for about an hour on kier No. 2.
We then remake a vacuum in kier No. 1 and play on kier No. 2, and on it alternately
with clean water every quarter of an hour during one hour, and then leave the last
water in this kier.No. 1. Then we repeat the same manœuvre on kier No. 2 and
leave the water on the contents until the same are taken out for the hydro-
extractor.
In case we cannot pass the contents through the extractor shortly, we then keep
renewing the water every three or four hours.
In placing the bags or boxes in the hydro-extractor care must be taken to have
the bottoms of the cops downwards. We set the extractor in motion and after a
while turn on the besprinkling tube, keeping this all the while going until the
water which comes out is entirely free from chlorine (tasteless and colorless).
We then continue with the extractor only to get as much water out as possible.
On being taken out of the hydro-extractor, pincops can be used at once in the
looms, or if preferred they can be taken to the hot chamber to be dried, as herein-
before explained.
Having now described the nature and object of our said Invention, together with
the manner in which the same is to be or may be performed or carried into practical
effect, we wish it to be understood that we claim as our Invention,
-
First. The construction of bleaching kiers or vessels of metal lined with cement,
plaster of Paris, bricks, or tiles, or coated with petrifying solutions (with or without
canvas), or glazed, enamelled, platinized, or electro plated, substantially as herein-
before described.
Secondly. The construction of the covers of such vessels, substantially as above
described, with an india rubber pad or washer, together with the method of and
apparatus for raising and transporting the said covers.
Thirdly. The construction and use of the loose inner bleaching vat open at the
top, as herein before described.
Fourthly. The construction and use of an inverted kier as described.
Fifthly. Constructing boxes of perforated vulcanite, cane, basket work, or other
suitable rigid material, to contain the substances to be bleached when in the kier,
and also in the centrifugal drying machine.
Sixthly. Constructing the pirns (for bleaching or dyeing cops) of vulcanite,
ebonite, or other hard preparation of india rubber, or of toughened glass, either
plain, perforated, or fluted, as described.
Seventhly. The process herein before described of bleaching cotton, flax, and other
vegetable materials and fabrics in vacuo, and in the cold (ie., without any previous
boiling) by means of the apparatus above described, or of any other analogous
apparatus,

page_text: Eighthly. The use, substantially as above described, of two kiers operating alter-
nately and in connection with each other in the manner above referred to.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Charles Vanlohe (on behalf of myself
and the said James Bingham Alliott), have hereunto set my hand and seal,
this Eighteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and seventy nine.
JOHN C. VANLOHE. (L.S.)