AN IMPROVED PROCESS OF TREATING PEAT TO OBTAIN PEAT FIBRE, AND IMPROVED MACHINERY THEREFOR " IN PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Browne Junior, of Cookstown, County Tyrone,
and Henry Gregg, of Belfast, County Antrim, Kingdom of Ireland, for an
Invention of "AN IMPROVED PROCESS OF TREATING PEAT TO OBTAIN PEAT
FIBRE, AND IMPROVED MACHINERY THEREFOR
"
IN
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Brownė, J, and
Henry Gregg at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the
2nd November 1883.
WILLIAM BROWNE Junior, of Cookstown, County Tyrone, and HENRY Gregg, of
Belfast, County Antrim, Kingdom of Ireland, "AN IMPROVED PROCESS OF
TREATING PEAT TO OBTAIN PEAT FIBRE, AND IMPROVED MACHINERY THEREFOR
9
The object of our invention is to effect the disintegration of Peat so as to obtain
therefrom a clean fibre suitable for the manufacture of Felt and other useful
purposes.
We are aware that Peat has been disintegrated by tearing, beating and
screening, by suitable machinery; but these operations have hitherto failed to
produce a fibre suitable for manufacturing purposes, and we attribute this failure
mainly to the fact that the invariable practise has been to more or less dry the
Peat before submitting it to the disintegrating machiney and to carry on the process.
without a simultaneous washing.
Our improved process consists in submitting the Peat to the action of water
during the operations of softening, disintegrating and cleaning, which we propose
to effect as follows:-
We place the Peat as it is obtained from the Bog, in a trough constantly supplied
with water and in which it is kept in constant agitation by hand, or by a rotating
screw, or otherwise, until saturated with water and thus softened; the Peat then
passes to a second trough, also constantly supplied with water, and in which it is
torn and disintegrated by revolving cylinders armed with teeth or cutters passing
between fixed teeth on the bottom of the trough, or by other suitable tearing or

page_text: separating device; the Peat then passes to a beater and elevator, the blades of
which deliver the wet mass of Pent onto a shoot leading it to a revolving sieve, or
other suitable screening apparatus; the Peat being subjected to the action of jets
of water while passing over this screen; and the fibre is thus finally freed from all
extraneous matter and simply requires to be dried to become a marketable product. 5
We would here observe that we do not purpose claiming any of the machinery or
apparatus above set forth taken separately but only in combination and for the
purposes of this invention
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said William Browne, Jr, and Henry Gregg in the Patent Office on
the 24th April 1884.
WILLIAM BROWNE Junior of Cookstown, County Tyrone, and HENRY Greag,
of Belfast, County Antrim, Kingdom of Ireland "AN IMPROVED PROCESS OF
TREATING PEAT TO OBTAIN PEAT FIBRE AND IMPROVED MACHINERY THEREFOR
"
The object of our invention is to effect the disintegration of Peat so as to obtain
therefrom a clean fibre suitable for the manufacture of Felt and other useful
purposes.
We are aware that Peat has been disintegrated by tearing, beating and screening,
by suitable machinery, but these operations have hitherto failed to produce a fibre
suitable for manufacturing purposes, and we attribute this failure mainly to the
fact that the invariable practice has been to more or less dry the Peat before
submitting it to the disintegrating machinery and to carry on the process without
a simultaneous washing.
Our improved process consists in submitting the Peat to the action of water.
during the operations of softening, disintegrating and cleaning, which we .conduct
substantially as follows:-
We place the Peat, as it is obtained from the bog, in a trough or receiver
constantly supplied with water and in which it is kept in constant agitation by.
hand or by a rotating screw, or otherwise, until saturated with water and thus
softened; the Peat then passes to revolving cylinders working in water, by which.
it is torn and disintegrated. The first pair of these cylinders work at differential
speeds and are armed with teeth or cutters passing between each other. The
second and third cylinders are similarly armed but the teeth pass between fixed
teeth on the bottom of the trough. Or other suitable tearing or separating device.
may be used. The Peat then passes to a beater and elevator, the blades of which
deliver the wet mass onto a shoot leading to a revolving sieve or other suitable
screening apparatus, the Peat being subject to the action of jets of water while
passing over this screen; and the fibre is thus finally freed from all extraneous
matter and simply requires to be dried to become a marketable product.
.
It will be evident that our process of disintegration with simultaneous washing.
!

page_text: may be operated by tearing, beating and screening apparatus of various con-
structions and arrangement;-a combined softening, disintegrating and cleaning
apparatus which we have found to answer well in treating Peat by our process is
illustrated on the accompanying Sheet of Drawing upon which :—
A indicates a receiver or trough,
L, willow.
The crudo Peat is put into the receiver A with jets of water flowing on to it,
where the toothed roller B picks it up and B' tears it off the former, thereby
breaking the lumps and tearing it assunder; these rollers work at differential speeds
acting in the same direction. The stuff is then delivered on to an inclined surface
by the elevators C, C; this inclined plane is supplied with jets of water at D, leading
the stuff into a receptacle from whence it is carried by the toothed rollers E, E,
acting on fixed teeth F, to the elevator G, which delivers it into the rotating
sieve H. After passing through the sieve H, the mass of wet fibre is delivered on
to the apron I, which has a longitudinal motion and by which it is guided into the
pressing rollers K, K, which extract the greater portion of the water from it.
Passing from the rollers K, K, the fibre is delivered into the willow L, on emerging
from which it is ready for drying in any convenient manner-Or the fibre may be
delivered from the rollers K, K, into any suitable drying apparatus without passing
through the willow L; or, for certain purposes, without any further drying.
We would here observe that we do not claim any of the machinery or apparatus
above set forth taken separately, but only in combination and for the purposes of
our invention.
Having now described and ascertained the nature of our said invention and in
what manner the same is or may be performed
---
We Claim as secured to us by the hereinbefore in part recited Letters Patent:-
Firstly. The improved process of treating Peat to obtain Peat Fibre as herein-
before described; in which the Peat is submitted to the action of water during the
operations of softening disintegrating and cleaning substantially as set forth.
Secondly. The combination of apparatus herein before described and illustrated
on the accompanying Sheet of Drawing, substantially as and for the purposes
specified.
In Witness whereof I the said Henry Gregg have hereunto set my hand and
Feal this Twenty second day of April in the year of Our Lord One thousand
Eight hundred and Eighty four