IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING PAPER PULP
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Alfred West, of Quenington Mills, near
Fairford, in the County of Gloucester, for the Invention of "IMPROVED
APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING PAPER PULP."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Alfred West.
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 14th December 1865.
I, WILLIAM ALFRED WEST, of Quenington Mills, near Fairford, in the
County of Gloucester, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING PAPER PULP," to be as
follows:-
The object of this Invention is to facilitate the reduction of straw and
other hard fibrous material to pulp for the manufacture of paper by the aid
of steam, generated either from alkaline liquor in the reducing boiler itself or
in a separate boiler, or a combination from these two sources. The reducing
boiler I make by preference spherical, and I mount it in a furnace in such a
manner that it will be free to rotate therein, and may be removed therefrom
The
for charging the boiler and washing and discharging the product.
spherical boiler is constructed to work at a high pressure, and it is divided
into four compartments by two perforated division plates crossing each other
at right angles, but extending only so far as to leave the. compartments in
communication with each other; this arrangement admits of access being
obtained to all the compartments by two man-holes (placed at opposite sides

page_text: of the boiler), for the purpose of charging the boiler with the requisite
materials and discharging the same. The boiler is carried by two hollow
central trunnions, which allow of its rotating on its axis to disturb the contents
of the boiler, and expose continually a fresh heating surface to the flame and
heated gases of the furnace, and which also serve when required to traverse
the boiler out of the furnace and bring it over an adjacent tank for the purpose
of filling, washing, and discharging. These trunnions have ports or passages
in them so arranged that those of one trunnion will admit steam to pipes
which severally reach to the bottom of their respective compartments, and
effect its discharge when the compartment has arrived at the lowest point.
While the ports of the other trunnion admit in like manner water or chemical
ingredients, or serve to draw them off when required, the internal arrange-
ment of the boiler allows the mass of materials employed to be alternately
immersed in the liquor, and the liquor to be drained at each revolution, and
suitable mechanism, to be presently described, is provided for making the
boiler roll or rotate continuously, intermittently, or at a variable speed as
required. The trunnions of the boiler rest on the walls of the furnace, which
form a way for the trunnions to roll over, and the upper part of the boiler is
closed in by a metal hood or cover, a portion of which is removable to allow
of the exit of the boiler from the furnace. The fire or furnace bars are
placed on suitable. bearers which form an inclined plane, the lower end of
which is partly underneath the boiler; by this arrangement of bars the
furnace is almost self-feeding, and a more perfect combustion of fuel is ensured
than in furnaces of the ordinary construction. The furnace is provided with
a shield; which closes the side or end of the furnace next adjacent to the
draining tank; this shield is suspended from a counterbalance chain for the
purpose of facilitating the raising and lowering of the shield, and to the shield
is connected the moveable portion of the cover of the furnace so that it may
rise and fall with the shield to open a passage for the boiler from or to shut
it within the furnace. Upon the walls of the furnace are fixed a pair of racks,
into which gear a pair of pinions loose on the trunnions, but capable of being
fixed by means of clutches when a traverse motion is required to be given to
the boiler. Keyed to one trunnion is a worm wheel, which gears into a
horizontal worm shaft; the rotation of this shaft transmits rotary motion to
the boiler, but when the spur pinions are made fast it will also impart a
traverse motion to the boiler, causing it to move over the racks, and thereby
bring it over an adjacent tank, into which it may discharge its contents, and
where it may be recharged. To the trunnion ends a fixed conical cap is
fitted; one cap is connected with a steam supply pipe, and a steam valve and

page_text: steam gauge are provided to ensure the safety of the boiler; the other cap is
similarly connected with a water supply and discharge pipe. In these caps
the hollow trunnions act as four-way cocks for admitting, cutting off, and
discharging the supply. Boilers constructed and fitted as above described
may be used singly or with greater advantage in groups of two or three,
there being placed between them the washing and discharging tanks; this
arrangement admits of the operation being carried on continuously, one
boiler being in action while another is discharging or filling, or its contents
are being washed previously to discharging. When a single boiler is used it
will be most convenient to place the. discharging tank in rear of the furnace,
but when a group of boilers is required the tanks will be beside the furnaces;
these changes will necessitate a corresponding change in the arrangement of
the driving gear to give the boiler in one case a forward and in the other a
lateral motion. The advantages claimed for this Invention are the boiling
of the materials and liquor directly over the furnace, with or without the
aid of steam from a separate boiler, and as a necessary consequence greater
economy in chemicals and fuel than by the present mode of working..
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Alfred West, in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 14th June 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ALFRED WEST, of Quenington Mills, near Fairford, in the County of
Gloucester, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Alfred West, Her special licence that I, the said Williamı
Alfred West, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Alfred West, 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, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING PAPER PULP,"
upon the condition (amongst others), that I, the said William Alfred

page_text: West, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of their hands aud seals, 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 the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Alfred West, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, 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 Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
The object of this Invention is to facilitate the reduction of straw and
other hard fibrous material to pulp for the manufacture of paper by the aid
of steam generated either from alkaline liquor in the reducing boiler itself or
in a separate boiler, or a combination from these two sources. The reducing
boiler I make by preference spherical, and in such manner that it will bear a
high internal pressure. This boiler I mount in a furnace of peculiar con-
struction, and in such a manner that it will be free to rotate therein in
bearings while the operation of reducing the straw is proceeding, and
may be removed therefrom upon ways provided to receive it for the purpose
of charging the boiler, and washing and discharging the manufactured
product.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus,
and Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same partly in section; Fig. 3 is a vertical
section of the boiler on an enlarged scale; Figure 4 shews in longitudinal
section one of the hollow trunnions, which carry the spherical boiler; and
Fig. 5 is a transverse section of the same taken in the line 1, 2, of Fig. 4.
Figures 6 and 7 represent on a still larger scale the grids through which the
steam and water are discharged into and from the boiler.
A is the furnace, having its fire-place fitted with a set of inclined fire-bars
B. The furnace is built without a roof for the purpose to be presently
explained, and upon its side walls is mounted the spherical boiler C. This
boiler is constructed by preference of plates of wrought iron rivetted together,
and it is divided (see Fig. 3) into four compartments, 1, 2, 3, 4, of equal
capacity by radial division plates a, a', which are perforated to bring the
compartments into communication with each other, and to ensure perfect
circulation of the liquor and steam. To obtain access to all the compartments
for the purpose of charging the boiler with the requisite materials and
discharging the same, I provide two man-holes b, b, at opposite sides of the

page_text: boiler, and in such a position that a line of the division plates a¹ will cut the
centre of the man-holes, and I apply the covers so that while closing the
boilers they will fit against the division plates, and thus prevent the solid
material supplied to the boiler from passing from one chamber to the other
during the rotation of the boiler. The boiler is carried by two hollow trunnions
D, D, which allow of its rotating on its axis to disturb the charge and expose
continually a fresh heating surface to the flame and heated gases of the
furnace. These trunnions have each four ports or passages in them, so
arranged that those of one trunnion will admit water or alkaline liquor by the
pipes c to the boiler, while other and similar pipes d connected with the
passages of the other trunnion convey steam to the boiler. The pipes c and d
extend to the middle of the circumference of the boiler where they connect
with and enter below the grids e which are bolted to the inner face of the
boiler at the bottom of their respective compartments. The discharge of the
steam into the several compartments is effected as they respectively arrive at
the lowest point, as will be readily understood by reference to Fig. 4, which
shows the passages of the steam trunnion closed by a conical cap f. This cap
is formed with two sockets, one of which is tapped internally to receive the
end of the steam supply pipe 9, Fig. 1, connected by a flexible pipe or
telescopic arrangement with the steam supply boiler, while the other socket
is screwed to receive a safety valve box h. The ports of the other trunnion
serve both to admit water or chemical ingredients, and to draw them off
when required. The internal arrangement of the boiler allows the mass of
materials employed to be alternately immersed in the liquor and to be drained
of liquor at each revolution, and suitable mechanism to be presently
described is provided for giving the boiler either a rotating or a rolling motion as
required. Mounted loosely on the trunnions of the boiler are spur pinions i, i,
which are made fast by means of a clutch . These spur pinions gear
into racks, supported on the walls of the furnace, and form ways for the
trunnions to roll over when it is required to remove the boiler from the
furnace. The upper part of the boiler is closed in by a metal hood or
cover A¹, which is hinged to the top of the furnace, and is capable
of being raised at pleasure to allow of the exit of the boiler from the
furnace. The furnace bars are placed on suitable bearers to form
an inclined plane, by which arrangement the furnace is almost self-feed-
ing, and a more perfect combustion of fuel is ensured than in furnaces of
the ordinary construction. The furnace is provided with a shield or sliding
plate A for-closing the end of the furnace and cutting it off from an adjacent
draining tank E. This-shield or plate A works in guides in the furnace

page_text: walls, and is suspended from a counterbalance chain for the purpose of facili-
tating the raising and lowering of the same; its use is to open a passage for
the boiler when it is required to be removed from the furnace and brought
over the draining tank E. The flame and gases after circulating through the
furnace find an exit at A³ into a flue A leading to the chimney. Keyed to
the steam trunnion is a worm wheel D¹, which gears into a horizontal worm
shaft Ds that turns in bearings affixed to the furnace wall and receives rotary
motion from any suitable prime mover. The rotation of this shaft transmits
a slow continuous rotary motion to the boiler, but when the spur pinions are
made fast by means of the clutches it will also impart a traverse motion to
the boiler, causing it, the cover A¹ and the shield A having been raised for
the purpose, to move over the racks and take up a position over the
adjacent tank E, into which it may discharge its contents, and is then
removed to its position over the furnace to be recharged. Stops are provided
on the ends of the racks to limit the traverse of the boiler. I have stated
that to the steam trunnion end a fixed conical cap is fitted, which cap
connects with the steam supply pipe; and I would now further remark that
the other trunnion is similarly fitted with a cap, which is in like manner
connected with water supply and discharge pipes. In these caps it will be
understood that the hollow trunnions act as four-way cocks for admitting,
cutting off, and discharging the supply to or from the several compartments of
the boiler in succession. To prevent the chemical ingredients or viscous
matters contained in the boiler working in between the contact surfaces of the
trunnions and their cones, and thus offering an obstruction to the free rotation
of the boiler, it may be desirable to cut a square thread on the inner periphery
of the caps. This thread will act as a scraper, and the space between the
coils of the thread will serve as a receptacle for the displaced accumulating
matter without interfering with the water and steam-tight property of the
joints.
Boilers constructed and fitted as above described may be used singly or
with greater advantage in groups of two or three, there being placed between
them the washing and discharging tanks, but in the above description and in
the accompanying Drawing I have confined myself (to avoid complexity) to a
single boiler and furnace. The grouped arrangement admits of the operation
being carried on continuously, one boiler being in action while another is
discharging or filling, or its contents are being washed previously to discharg-
ing. When a single boiler is used it will be most convenient to place the
discharging tank in rear of the furnace as shewn in the Drawing, but when a
group of boilers is required the tanks will be beside the furnaces. This

page_text: change will necessitate a corresponding change in the arrangement of the
driving gear to give the boiler a lateral instead of a forward motion.
The advantages which I propose to obtain by the use of this Invention are
the boiling of the materials and liquor directly over the fire with or without
the aid of steam from a separate boiler, and without the risk of burning the
materials, whereby as a necessary consequence I obtain a greater economy in
chemicals and fuel over the present mode of working. By the use of this
improved apparatus a very high temperature may be attained, and the hardest
and least manageable fibre may readily be reduced to pulp. This result is
further aided by the exclusion from the boiler of foreign or auxiliary steam
(except for a short time at the outset of the process), whereby the strength
and energy of the caustic leys are retained, instead of, as heretofore, being
weakened and diluted as the admitted steam became condensed. I would
also remark that I find it convenient to reverse the direction of rotation of
the boiler from time to time, as a continuous motion in the same direction
has a tendency to consolidate the pulp, which tendency is neutralized by
reversing the motion. This may either be effected automatically or by the
attendant.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improved Apparatus
for Manufacturing Paper Pulp," and explained the manner of carrying the
same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part
recited Letters Patent I claim, arranging a rotating boiler in a furnace, so
that it may be traversed to and from the same in the manner and for the
purpose above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Alfred West, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Thirteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six
WILLIAM ALFRED WEST. (L.S.)
Witness,
HENRY JACKSON,
of Thames Villa,
Strand on the Green,
Chiswick,
in the County of Middlesex.