Improvements in the Treatment of Vegetable Fibres for the Manufac- ture of Cellulose or for Spinning or other purposes.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Nov.,
1000
L'amatate înnrification Loft 10th su
1000
Accented 18th Nov
1800
Complete Specification Left,
10th Aux
1000 Accented 18th Nov
1800
Improvements in the Treatment of Vegetable Fibres for the Manufac-
ture of Cellulose or for Spinning or other purposes.
We, ARTHUR BOURET, of 82, Rue de l'Ommelet, Roubaix (Departement du
Nord), and FERNAND VERBIESE, of 11, Rue des Débris, Saint-Etienne, Lille.
(Departement du Nord), both in the Republic of France, Engineers, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object to effect the retting of and the removal of the
gum from all kinds of vegetable fibre for the purpose of obtaining-
1. Textile materials adapted to be spun in high counts such as it has not
been possible to produce hitherto and at a very remunerative price.
2. Pure cellulose capable of being employed for all purposes, such as the
manufacture of fulminate cotton, collodion, celluloid, etc.; that is to say, for all
purposes for which such costly materials as cotton, paper, etc. are at present
employed.
The process consists in a series of operations which comprise essentially-
1. Soaking in a weak alkaline bath, such for example as carbonate of soda to
soften the fibre and dissolve the intercellular portion of the material which the
soda salt can remove. This first operation is not unusual and is utilized in many
other processes.
2. Ketting or steeping properly so-called and effected by the action of carbonic
acid produced in any suitable way, for example by the decomposition at boiling
point of the bicarbonate of soda in which the fibre is immersed or by the direct
employment of gaseous carbonic acid.
3. Passage through a bath of dilute glycerine in the case of that material
only which is designed for spinning purposes. This operation has the result
of making the fibre more suitable for spinning and of giving it a more silky
appearance.
4. Bleaching by the ordinary known processes, for example one or more passages
through a hypochlorite solution followed by suitable washing.
The apparatus for carrying out the process comprises a vessel, heated by the
injection of steam therein, and containing a dilute solution of carbonate of soda;
a retting chamber or tank heated by steam and arranged in the form of a closed
horizontal cylinder carrying an agitator operated mechanically from the exterior
and in which tank a current of gaseous carbonic acid is introduced, the said acid
being produced by any suitable means; a washing tank into which the retted
material is conveyed in a sinuous course between two endless bands passing
over rollers some of which turn upon fixed pivots whilst the pivots of the others
(placed opposite) are supported in movable bearings controlled by springs; a
glycerine bath and the known apparatuses for bleaching, washing and drying
of the material.

page_text: Improvements in the Treatment of Vegetable Fibres for the Manufac-
ture of Cellulose, or for Spinning or other purposes.
We, ARTHUR BOURET, of 82, Rue de l'Ommelet, Roubaix (Departement du
Nord), and FERNAND VERBIESE, of 11, Rue des Débris, Saint-Etienne, Lille
(Departement du Nord), both in the Republic of France, Engineers, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
-
This invention has for its object to effect the retting of and the removal of the
gum from all kinds of vegetable fibre for the purpose of obtaining―
1. Textile materials adapted to be spun in high counts such as it has not
been possible to produce hitherto and at a very remunerative price.
2. Pure cellulose capable of being employed for all purposes, such as the
manufacture of fulminate cotton, collodion, celluloid, etc.; that is to say, for all
purposes for which such costly materials as cotton, paper, etc. are at present
employed.
The process consists in a series of operations which comprise essentially-
1. Soaking in a weak alkaline bath, such for example as carbonate of soda to
soften the fibre and dissolve the intercellular portion of the material which the
soda salt can remove. This first operation is not unusual and is utilized in many
other processes.
2. Ketting or steeping properly so-called and effected by the action of carbonic
acid produced in any suitable way, for example by the decomposition at boiling
point of the bicarbonate of soda in which the fibre is immersed or by the direct
employment of gaseous carbonic acid.
The carbonic acid acts either mechanically by being produced in the very heart
of the fibrous core and abruptly separating the fibres, or by facilitating by a
chemical reaction the solution of the resinous gummy matter and the colouring
matter, the extraction of which until now has constituted the principal difficulty
in preparing textile fibres, retting flax, decorticating and the removal of gum
from jute, and from ramie, for example.
3. Passage through a bath of dilute glycerine in the case of that material
only which is designed for spinning purposes. This operation has the result
of making the fibre more suitable for spinning and of giving it a more silky
appearance.
4. Bleaching by the ordinary known processes, for example one or more passages
through a hypochlorite solution followed by suitable washing.
Figure 4 of the annexed drawing is a diagrammatic view of the plant adapted
to carry out the hereinbefore described operations.
A represents the soaking or boiling vessel, B the vessel for removing the gum,
Ca washing vessel, D a tank for the glycerine bath and E a drying apparatus ;
Vis a steam pipe for heating the tanks, 1, 1 are carrying rollers.
The mode of operation which the above statement shews to be very simple is as
follows:-
SOAKING.
The material to be operated on such as flax, hemp, jute, ramie, China grass
etc., is placed in a vat or vessel heated by the injection of steam therein and
containing a dilute solution of ordinary carbonate of soda.
The bath is brought to boiling point and maintained at this temperature for at
least an hour and a half. The heat may be furnished by injecting steam, as

page_text: indicated in Figure 4 in which V is a steam pipe which can be also used for the
heating of the other parts of the plant hereinafter described.
The strength of the bath of carbonate of soda and the duration of the soaking
can be increased to suit the condition of the materials being operated on. If it is
required to remove the gum from flax or jute which has already been subjected to
a preliminary retting at the place where it was gathered, five kilogrammes of
soda salt per cubic metre of water will be sufficient. If, on the contrary, it is
required to effect the retting proper of the said materials, it will be necessary
to increase the proportion of soda salt or to repeat the soaking several times.
REMOVAL OF THE GUM.
The material is afterwards carried either by hand or by preference by means
of an endless apron conveyor (Figure 4) which passes between two rollers 1, 1,
operated by mechanical means and which squeeze out a portion of the liquid, into
a second vat or vessel in which the removal of the gum is to be effected either
by the action of bi-carbonates or by the action of carbonic acid.
In the first case it is only necessary to prepare a solution containing about
one kilogramme of bi-carbonate of soda per cubic metre, to immerse the fibres
therein and to bring the bath to boiling point and keep it so during at least two
hours.
In the second case, in which carbonic acid is employed, a horizontal cylindrical
vessel can be arranged carrying a stirrer with blades operated mechanically from
outside. It is this arrangement which we have shewn in Figure 4. This cylinder
being closed as hermetically as possible, it is only necessary to bring the bath
composed of ordinary water to boiling point and to cause a current of carbonie
acid gas, produced in any suitable manner, to be delivered into the midst of the
liquid. The fibre being constantly stirred, all its parts will in turn be brought
into contact with the gaseous acid which enters the liquid and with the atmosphere
of carbonic acid gas which is above the level of the liquid, and the solution of
the resinous gummy matter is effected.
In a general manner the same vessel or apparatus can serve for both the soaking
and the removal of the gum.
WASHING.
It is important at this period to thoroughly wash the fibre, particularly with
the object of manufacturing cellulose, in order to free it as completely as possible
from the carbonate of soda which it may retain.
For this purpose the fibre from which the gum has been removed is passed into
a washing apparatus which is illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
This apparatus consists mainly of a vat or tank a of rectangular shape (Figure 1)
across which are arranged a certain number of pairs of rollers 6, 6' placed alter-
nately near the bottom and near the upper edge of the tank and serving to guide
two endless travelling aprons c and d which carry the fibrous material along
between them in a sinuous course through the liquid contained in the tank.
The lower rollers b, b of the different pairs of rollers turn freely in fixed
bearings, but the pivots of the upper rollers are supported in bearings. adapted to
move vertically in guides e fixed to the sides of the tank. Spiral springs f serve
to constantly press these bearings downwards so as to apply the corresponding
rollers b, 6 against one another with a certain degree of force.
At the inlet of the tank the lower apron o passes over two rollers g, gl placed at
the head so that the upper cloth of this apron forms a feed table at this point; at
the other end of the tank the apron c passes over an actuating drum h receiving a
continuous rotary movement from a suitable motor in the direction indicated by
the arrow.
The second endless apron d passes over a roller placed above the roller g
and over a drum h¹ placed above the drum h. The pivots of the roller and of
the drum h¹ are supported in bearings movable in vertical guides i, i and adjust-.
ably pressed by means of pressure screws j, j¹.

page_text: 7:
The water contained in the tank can be heated by the injection of steam by
means of a perforated pipe provided with a steam inlet cock and connected
to a suitable steam generator. A discharge cock m fixed on the bottom of the
tank allows of emptying it when required.
Figure 2 shews the form of the rollers b, b; Figure 3 shews the texture of the
endless carrying aprons c, d. This texture is of such a nature that the aprons
effect the transport of the fibrous material and at the same time allow the water
in the tank to cover the same; to this end they are both made of net work of
suitable material having wide meshes and strengthened in the longitudinal
direction of the apron by means of strengthening cords of suitable material, as
shewn in Figure 3. The material of the net work and the strengthening cords
may be alike. When this washing apparatus is at work the fibrous materials
brought on to the feed table are carried along by the apron c and held above
by the apron d which is itself drawn along by friction, they pass through the
whole length of the tank and are subjected on their passage between each pair
of fluted rollers b, b¹ to a momentary wringing or squeezing which accelerates the
washing. They are received at the outlet of the apparatus upon an inclined
table n
The material intended to be spun is then passed into a tepid bath of 1/500 of
glycerine (1 kilogramme per cubic metre of water) then it is wrung or squeezed
and dried and sent to be spun.
The material intended for the manufacture of cellulose is bleached by ordinary
means.
If the material is not intended to be spun, but to serve for the manufacture of
gun-cotton, collodion, celluloid, etc., it is only necessary to bleach it by any suit-
able process; in fact, the material treated by cur process is practically pure
cellulose which has only been able to retain some colouring matters; these
latter are then eliminated by one or several passages through a solution of hypo-
chlorites, for example, followed by suitable washings.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:-
1. A process for commercially retting and separating all vegetable textile fibres,
comprising the following operations; steeping in a weak alkaline bath; separating
the fibres from the stalk by the action of carbonic acid produced in any suitable
manner, for the purpose of dissolving the gummy and resinous matter and also
the colouring matter of certain textiles such as jute; and after washing the
separated material, passing the same into a bath containing glycerine, and bleach-
ing after suitable washings; all with the view of obtaining a fibre capable of
giving when spun a much finer yarn than that obtained with the same material
when treated by any other process, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, of
obtaining, after bleaching the separated material pure cellulose capable of being
used for all purposes substantially as set forth.
2. The plant suitable for applying the retting and separating process by means
of carbonic acid, comprising a vat heated by the injection of steam and containing
a weak solution of carbonate of sodium; a separating vat heated by the injection
of steam in the form of a closed horizontal cylinder, provided with a bladed
stirrer mechanically operated from the outside, and into which is fed a current of
gaseous carbonic acid from any suitable source and produced in any suitable
manner; a washing-tub or vat in which the separated material is carried forward
in a sinuous direction between two endless aprons passing over rollers some of
which revolve round fixed axes, while the pivots of the rollers placed opposite are
supported in movable bearings pressed by springs, substantially as shown in the

page_text: accompanying drawing; a vat for passing the material into a glycerine bath, and
known devices for bleaching, washing, wringing, and drying the material.
3. The use of a solution of bicarbonate for supplying by decomposition, at
boiling point, the carbonic acid necessary for separating the fibres, substantially
as set forth.
4. The mode of washing the separated material, by the use of the washing-
apparatus herein before described and shown in the accompanying drawing, and
which consists in successive wringings effected in the middle of the washing liquid
by means of fluted rollers spring-pressed the one towards the other, and arranged
in pairs, and between which the material is passed between two endless aprons,
substantially as set forth.
5. The use of glycerine, after the separation, for the purpose of making the
fibre casier to spin and of giving it greater brightness, substantially as described.
6. A method of retting vegetable fibre, consisting in steeping the fibre in an
alkaline bath, then separating the fibre from the stalks in a bath of carbonic acid,
and then washing the product, substantially as set forth.
7. The method of retting vegetable fibre, consisting in treating the same in a
weak alkaline bath, then subjecting the material to the action of carbonic acid,
then washing the material, and then applying a liquid to give lustre, substantially
as set forth.
8. The method of retting vegetable fibre, consisting in treating the same in a
weak alkaline bath, then subjecting the material to the action of carbonic acid,
then washing the material, and then subjecting the same to treatment with
glycerine, substantially as set forth.
9. The method of retting vegetable fibre, consisting in steeping the same in a
weak alkaline bath, separating the fibre from the stalks, washing the separated
material, then treating the same in a bath containing glycerine,. and then bleach-
ing the same, substantially as set forth.
10. An apparatus for treating fibre, comprising a vat, two endless aprons
movable through the same, and rollers between which said aprons move, the said
rollers being arranged alternately in different vertical planes, substantially as set
forth.
11. An apparatus for treating fibre, comprising a vat, two endless aprons
movable through the same, rollers in the vat and between which the aprons
move. the said rollers being arranged alternately in different vertical planes and a
perforated steam pipe extended into the vat, substantially as set forth.
Dated the 12th doer of August 1800
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London.
Agents for the Applicants.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London.
Agents for the Applicants.