CA1158905A - Method and apparatus for the treatment of a cellulose- containing material - Google Patents

Abstract

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR THE TREATMENT OF A

CELLULOSE-CONTAINING MATERIAL

A b s t r a c t Disclosed is a method for the treatment of a cellulose--containing material basically comprising the steps of con-tinuously charging the material together with the solution of reagents into a working chamber and repeatedly machani-cally compacting the same by means of the cooperation bet-ween an inner and an outer working bodies, the outer working body enclosing the inner working body and defining in combi-nation therewith the aforesaid working chamber. The step of repeatedly mechanically compacting the material is effected by imparting to one of the working bodies wobbling and roll-ing over the other working body through a layer of the mate-rial treated, the aforesaid wobbling and rolling being pro-duced by the rotation of a mass unbalanced with respect to the axis of rotation and coupled ratably to one of the work-ing bodies.
Also disclosed is an apparatus for practising the above method, which comprises a housing, a rotor made in the form of a body of rotation arranged inside the housing and defin-ing in combination therewith a working chamber, a means for charging the cellulose-containing material together with the solution of reagents into the aforesaid working chamber, a drive shaft and its driving gear. Mounted on the drive shaft are unbalanced masses, 9 while the shaft itself is rotata-bly coupled to the rotor or to the housing, a portion of the surface of the rotor being designed for repeatedly mecha-nically compacting the material treated.
Fig. 1.

Description

a~90~
~E~HOD AND ~PPARA~US FOR T~E TREA~E~T
0~ A CE~LULOSE-CO~AI~ING MA~ERI~
~ he present inve~tion r~latas in ge~eral to the produc-tion of *ibrous intermediate products for the manufaature of paper a~d car~board, or produots of chemical pulp processing.
Mor0 sp0cifically, it relates to methods and appara-tus for the treatment of a cellulo~e-containi~g material.
~ he present inve~tion can be utilized to the utmo~t advantage i~ the pulp and paper industry~
~ he propo~ed method and apparatus can be utilized fox accompli~hiDg a number of important productio~ operation~ i~
the manufacture of pulp a~d paper~ this being do~e by far more e~ficiently than with the know~ methods and apparatu~O
Such operation~ invol~e th~ impr~gnation of commi~uted ~ege-table raw material, such as wood chips, with a solution of cooking reagents, tha cooking o~ impregnated stock in the productio~ of pulp, the ~eparation of chemically o~ thermo-.:. chemically treated vegetable raw material into ~iber bund-les or individual ~ibers and th~ g~i~ding o~ ~iber in the manufacture o~ paper and cardboard.
~ urthermore, the proposed method and apparatus ~re suit-able fox application L~ other industrles proces ing Yegetab-le raw materials, for example, i~ the hydrolysi~ industry for achiavi~g the improved impregnatio~ o~ a mat~rial with a solution o~ acid prior to its hydrolysis.
Known i~ the prior art are ~umero~s methods for the treatment o~ cellulose-c~tai~ing mat~rials, i~volving a 3~

:

- ~ 158~
~ 2 --mecha~ical impact on the material i~ the process o* treat-ment. ~his mechanical impact o~ -the cellulose-containing material treated is effected wi-th a view to i~t~n~ify the impregnation o~` the oomminubed ve~etabl~ raw ma-terial wi~h a solution o~ cooki~g rea6snts or for the gri~din~ o~ fibro-us materials in th~ production o~ paper and ca~dboard there-from.
For example, known is a m~thod of treatment (see ~RG
Patent ~o. 2,818~320, U.S. Pa-tent No~ 3575791, UOS~S~
ventor's Certificate ~o, 506671) rasidi~g in the si~gle--step compactio~ of wood chip~ with the subseque~t submer-sio~ thereof i~to a s~lution of reage~ts. ~or the implemen-tatlon o~ this method us~ is made o~ a conical screw extrud-ar by means o~ which th~ chips are compacted and o~truded into ~essels containi~g the solution of reage~ts. ~he above method of treatment and the apparatus, emplo~ed pximarily ~or the impreg~ation of wood chips with th~ solutio~ o~
cooking reagents, ~xhibit-the ~ollow~g disadvantagesr . The singl~ step compressio~o~ the chips i~ ths sore~
extruder ~orces to arrange seq~e~tially a ~ew ~crew e~brud-ers Sfrom three to:$ive) so as to ob~ai~ ~he uni~ormi~y o~impregnation, which makes the meth~d u~necessari~y ~omplex and cos~ly and call~ for co~siderabla operati~g area~.
~ e number o~ chips compression cycles lLmite~ by t~e ~umber of screw e~truders ¢ompel~ to inc-xease ex~essivel~
th-e force of compression, which results i~ tha sig~ificant deformatio~ and destructio~ o~ the c~ip~ a~ well as in the d.amage o~ the pulp fibers.

,, Xl~
~ 3 --The cansiderable compression ~orces applied~ the rigid coupling betw~en the housin~ a~d th~ screw, and -the repeated effectuation of compaction laad to the substantial expendi-ture of electric powar~
Unoriant~d position o* ths chips in the screw extruder in relation -to the compressing sur~ces also results in the damage of the pulp ~ibers and i~ the impaired quality of a finished product.
So~.o~the ~or~going disadvantage~ o~ the ab~ve method and apparatus ha~e be~n obviated in a method and apparatus for the treatment of a cellulose-¢ontaining material disclos-ea i~ ~ranch Pat~nt No. 2,276,420. ~his method en~isages tha single-~tep passage of chips together with a solution of reagents between two pre~ i~g rollers rota~ing in opposite directions at egual speed~. As compaxed to the above-consid-ered mathod~ this method a~d apparatus ensure an oriented po~ition of the chips in the process o~ treatme~t~ due to which the chips are subjected to the compression b~ the ~ol-lers in the optimum direGtion acros~ the ~ibers.
However~ in conseç~uence o~` th2 single-step compactiQn o~ the chips, the ~orce o~ compression betw~en ~he rollers for the unifo~mity of impregnatio~ should be so great that the chips are i~evitabl~ c~ushed, which res~lt~ i~ the se vere damage of the pulp- ~iber~ a~d, th~refor~, the paper a~d cardboard produGed therefrom exhibit a l~w degree o~
mechanical ~tre~th.
~ he disadva~tages i~here~t in ~he abo~e-considered me-thods and apparatus for the treatmQ~t o~ cellulose contain-~ ~58~

ing materials have been ellminated to a con~iderable exten~in a methcd a~d apparatus ~or the treatment of fibrous ma-terials discloæed in U.S.S.R~ InYentor's Certificate ~o. ~12808, which is used mai~ly for the impregnation or grindi~g of ~ibrous wood materials. This method, identified as prototypal, features the repeated mechanical compaction of the material, such as wood ¢hips, supplied into the ap-paratu~ togeth~r with a solutio~ of reagents. ~he method is carried out in the apparatus compri~i~g a housing, a rotor arra~ged insid~ the housing, a means ~or chargi~ the mate-rîal treate-d a~d the solubio~ o~ reags~ts into a worki~g chamber9 a drive shaft ana its driving gear. ~he dri~e sha~t is ri~idly coupled to the rotor, while the rotor supports compressing rollers mou~ted in carriers in a ~`ew rows. ~he l~teral sur~ace o~ compr~ssing rollers aLd the i~ner sur~a-ce of the housi~g serve ~or the repeated mechanical co~pac-tion o~ the material treated.
Although such a treatme~t method is v~ry clo~e to the optimum o~e, yet the method it el~ and the app OE atus for the imple~entation ~hexeof have been found to di~pla~ a number o~ disadvanta~es impairi~g the efficie~cy o~ treatme~t as well as the quality o~ ~the product obtained.
Go~sidering that the diameter o~ the rolleræ is smallor by a~ order of magnitude than the i~er diameter of the hous-ing, the compxession of the material~ ~uch as wood chips, takes place ununiformly over ~heir e~tire area~ particularly at ths starting mome~t of co~act between the chips and ~ha roller. Moreovsr, i~ o~e admits that the roller rollæ o~er 5~5 the housing and the chips without slipping~ then it should rotate around its axis with an an~ular speed which is al~o ~reater by an order of magnitude than the rotational speed of the rotor and it~ value ~hould reach about ten thou~and revolution~ p~r minute, thi~ bein~ un~easible for the desc-ribed apparatus. Hence~ the roller will be unavoidably ~iv-e~ to slippi~ with respect to the s~r~ace o~ th~ housing a~d o~ the ~hips, thus resulting i~ -their abrasion. A cer-tain amount of the chips treated findi~g their way into the free space betw~en the adjacen-t roller~ is forc~d i~to rota-tion by the rotor and upon i~teractio~ with the chips rema-ini~g motionl0~s with respect to the housing undergoes ab-rasion and destxuction. Additional destruction of the chips is caused by the action o~ the carriers coupling the roll-ers to the rotor.
~ hus, the above m~thod a~d apparatus ~or the treatme~t o~ cellulose-containing materials su~er ~rom the following disadvantages:
- the u~uni~oxmity o~ distribution o~ the compressin~-~orce over the antire area of the wood ~chips leadi~g to the ob~6ctio~able eo~ce~tratio~ of force at the poi~ts o~
eo~tact bstwee~ the c~ip~ and the roll~r and to the destruc-tion o~ tha pulp fibers;
- the slipping of th~ rollers o~ the sux~ace o~ the chip~ leadi~g to ~heir abrasio~;
- the de~tructio~ and abrasion o~ the chips pe~etrat ing into tho ~pace betwee~ the ad3acent rollers a~d forced i~o rotatio~ by -the rotor upon th~ir i~taractio~ with ~ha ~otionless chip3:

~ 1~8~

- the destruction o~ the chips by the ¢arriers coupling ~he rollers to the rotor.
~ 11 this, as veri~ied by ts~ting, lead~ to that ths mechani¢al treatment o~ the cellulose-co~t~ining material i~ accompanied by the destru¢tion o~ a~ average o~ 27% of the material treated.
Furthermore, it ~hould be noted that the apparatus in-tended for tha împlementatio~ of the method de~cribed ~erein-above has a~ inade~uate output. ~his stems from the ~act that the total sur~ace o~ the compre~sing rollers participat-i~ in the mechani¢al compactio~ o~ the material treated i3 considerably smaller than the i~ner surface of the housing of the apparatust which also cooperates in the m~chanical compaction o~ the materialc It i~ an obaect of the prese~t inventio~ to improve the quality of tho cellulose-co~taining material obtai~ed after the treatment.
A further obje~t o~ the present invention is to step up tha output of the appa~atus for the treatm~nt e~ a cellu- -lo~e-contai~i~g material.
With these a~d other objects in view there is provided a ~ethod for the treatment o~ a cellule~e-centaining mater-ial~ ¢omprisl~g the stepæ of oontinuou~ly char~ing the s~me together wit~ a solutio~ o~ ~aage~tæ i~o ~ workL~g chamber a~d repeatedly ~echanically compaGti~g it by mea~s o~ the cooperation b~tween a~ in~er a~d a~ outer workin8 bodi~s 1~89 caused. to move in relation to each o-ther~ the outer working body enclo~ing the inner working body and defining in combi-nation therewith the a~oresaid working chamber, wherein, according to the invention, t~le repeated mechanical compac--tion o~ the material is e~`fected by imparting wobbling mo-tion to one ol` the wo.rking bodies and by rolJ.ing it over the o-ther working body through a layer o~ the material treated~
said wobbling mo-tion and rolling being caused by the rotation o~ a ma>ss being unbalanced with respect -to -the axi~ o~ rotation and rota~a~ly coupled to one of -the working bodies.
Due to such a design during the wobbling and rolling of' one o~` the working bodies over the other the material treated is subjected to the repeated coll~pac-tion across the f'ibers in the solution o~ reagents wi-thout the occurrence o~
mechanical impacts causing its abrasion or cuttingO ~his improves -the q~ality of the cellulose-containing material obtained a~ter the treatmen-t.
With these and other objects in view,-there is al~o provi-ded an apparatus ~or the implernenta-tion of -the above method comprising a housing,a rotor arranged i~side the housing and constl-tuting in combination therewith a working chamber, a means for charging the material together with a solu-tion o~
reagents into the working chamber, a drive sha~t and. i-ts driving gear, wherein, according to the invention, the ro-tor is made in the f'orm o~' a body of' rotation~ a portion of' the surf'ace o~ which is intended ~or the repeated mechanical compaction o~ -the material treated, while -the drive sha~t ~ ., 1 ~890~ -has unbalanced masse~ mou~ted thereupon and the shaft itsel~
i8 rot~abl~cou~ to the rotor or to the housing.
Due to ~uch a desig~ the rotation of -the dri~e shaft provided with the unbala~ced mas~es creates a centri~ugal force which cause~ the housing or th~ rotor coupled to the drive sha~t via bearings to execute wobbling, as ~ result of which the working ~urfaces o~ the housing a~d o~ the ro-tor are brought in contact and rolled without slipping over the layer of the material -treated in the worki~g chamber.
Hence, the material is arra~ged i~ parallel with the worki~g surfaces and subjacted to the repeated mecha~ical compac-tion across t~e ~ibers in the solutio~ o~ reagents wi~hout the occu~cy o~ mecha~ical impaots bri~gi~g about the abrasion or cutti3g of the pulp fiber~, which improves the ~uality ~f the treated cellulose-co~taining material.
~ urthermore, due bo such a desig~ all o~ the material bein~ inside the working chamber of the apparatus is subje-cted to the repeated meaha~ical compaction, which increases i~s output~ `
It is expedie~t that tho dri~e sha~t bogether with the u~bal~ced mas~es ba mounted~ o~ baari~ side the rot~r which in turn ba ~oupled to ~e ~ousi~g ~ia a spherical joi~t" the lateral surfac0 of tha rotor beî~g intended ~or the repeated mecharlical impact on the ma~erial treatad, D~e to sllch a desig~l the e~ire struGtu:ee of tha appa-ratu~; is made ~ompact. ~oreo~er, the arra~g~ment OI th~
balanced ma~sss i~side the ro~or precludsæ the a~pearaIlce OI bendir~ mome~ts which might have o¢c~red had the ImbalarL-1 1~8905 9 _ ced mass~s been arranged outside ths rotor and the dri~e~haft coupled to the rotor.
It is also expedient that the drive shaft together with the unbalanced masses be mounted on bearings in a ca~ing rigidly ooupled to ~he hou~ing, while the rotor be made in the ~orm of a hollow cylinder a~d arranged inside the hous-ing so as to be freel~ rot~.abl~. ~ mova~la radially, the la-teral outer surface of the rotor being intended for the re-peated mechanical impac~ on the material treatad.
Such a de~ign sîmplifies the ~tructure o~ the apparatus and i~proves its operational re~iability since the rotor i~
this case i9 quite simple in design and has not ~y mec~ani-cal coupli~gs with t~e housing, the relia~llit~ of which with the presence o~ alter~ati~g loads is reduc~d~ ~urther-more, tha free arrangement o~ th~ rotor i~ide the housing en~ure~ that the compres~in~ ~orce acti~ on the matexi~l treated is consta~ along the len~th of ~he rotor.
It is expedient that the rotor be made in the ~orm o~ a hollow semisphere having its edges be~t outwardly~ a~d b~
ri~idly coupled to the means ~or charging the tr~ated mater-ial toget~er with the solutio~ of reage~t~ into the worki~
chamber, ~a housing be providsd w~th a bottom and a stop member ~or the rotor, ~hile the dri~e sha~t be mad~ hollow and mounted on bearings on the a~oresaid mea~s for c~argi~
the material trea~ed, the be~t edge3 o~ tha semisphere bei~g inte~ded for the repeat~d mechanical compaction o~ t~e mate-rial treated.

1 15890~

Due to such a desig~, to ~he shapa of the ro~or and th~ provision of th~ bottom in the housi~g, the treatment of the cellulos~-containing material is e~fected with its comp-lete submexsion in the ~olution of reagent~, which ha~ a fa-vorable e~ect on the quality o~ the treated cellulose-con-taining material.
~ he objects as well as the ad~antages of the present invention will become more appare~t from a con~ideration of speci~ic embodime~ts thereo~ gi~e~ hereinbelow by way o~
example~ with re~erence being made to the accompanying draw-ings, i~ whi¢h~
~ ig 1 illustrates schema~ically in longitudinal ~ec-tion the proposad apparatus ~or the impleme~tation of the mathod for the trea-tment o~ a cellulose-containing material, according to the inv~ntion;
~ ig. 2 illustrates another e~bodiment o~ the proposed apparatus; a~d Fig, 3 illustratas sti}l another embodLme~t of the pro-posea apparatus.
~ he proposed method is oarried out as ~ollows~
A callulo~e-containi~g material, such as wood chips, is ~uppliod together with the ~olu~ion o~ reage~t~ i~to a -worki~g chamber reprsse~ting a~ annular ~pace betwQen a~
inner working bod~ and a~ outer working body embracing the material. One of the working bodi~s i5 caused to wobbl~ and to roll over the other worki~g bod~ through the layer of the material treated i~ide the working chQmber. ~he wobbl-ing nd rolling of on~ o~ the working bodi~s over t~e other i~ en~ured by the rotation of a mass being unbalanced with respect to the axis of rota-tion a~d~a-ta~y coupled to one of the working bodies. ~he rolling of one worki~g body over the other ~s a¢complished at that without slipping, as a re-sult of which duri~g tha repeated mechanical compaction of the material treated are e~oluded the forces causing its abra~ion a~d destruction o~ the pulp fiber~O Due to the co~-tinuous wobbling and rolling of one working bodg over the other~ the woo~ chip~ e~tering the working chamber are ar-ran~ed in parall~l with the surfaces of ~he working bodies and subjacted to the mechaniaal compaction acros~ the fibars, which is the optimum condition ~or obtaining the treated pro-duct of superior quality. I~ the treatment process during the time spe~t by the material treated inside the working chamber in the aYerage from 5-to 30 second~ it is subjected to ths compactio~ a few hundrod times. In order to a~sure this, tha unbalanced mas~ inducing -the wobbling a~d rolling of one working body over the other i~ causad to rotate at a speed o~ about 10 to 50 revolutions per seeo~d.
The force of compression i5 chosen depe~di~g on the purpose o~ treatment withi~ th~ range from a minimum value not causing the commi~-tio~ o~ the material to a value ~u~-~icie~t fo~ grindi~g the material. In each speGi~ic casa ac-couat i~ take~ o~ ths purpo~e o~ treatm~t a~d of the phyæi-cal and mscha~ical propsrtie~ of t}le material u~der treat-me~t7 ~or example, the type o~ waod or other ~e~etable raw material a~d the nature 9~ a precedi~g treatm~t. The adjustment of -the compre~sio~ ~orce i~ ~imple and can be 89~

made by varying the speed o~ rotation of the unbala~ced mass and its sccs~tricity.
The residence time of the material undar treatment in-side the working chamber depends essentially on the ratio of the material supplied ~or treatment and the solution o~
reagent~, ~he ratio, commonly ¢hosen from 1 to 3 to 1 to 20, is u~ed for controlling the re~idence tlme o~ the material treated in~ide the working chamber.
~ he treated material being under the ac-tlon o~ gravity ~d carr~ed by the solutio~ of reage~t~ entari~g simultane-ou3ly moves inside the working c~ambar a~ the treatment pro-cee~s and becom~s discharged there~rom~
~ he method for the treatmen~ o~ a cellulose-containing mat0rial practiced according to the present i~ve~tion and compri~ing t~e repeated me¢ha~ical compactio~ o~ t~o mate-rial i~ the solution o~ reagents allows to increase the e~-~icie~ey o~ the following operation~ in the ma~ufacture o~
pulp ~nd paper~
- the impregnatio~ o~ wood chips with the solution o~
cooking reage~s;
- the separation o~ tha vegeta~le ra~ material ~ub~e-cted to chemical or thermochemica} processing in~o fiber bundles or individual ~ibers;
- the gri~di~g of the fibro~s material ~or the produc-.

tio~ of paper.
~ he results of the treatme~t of cellulose-co~aining materials ar~ determined b~ the object pur~ued and al30 de-pend on the type o~ a star~i~g material (for exampley the :

1 1~89~5 _ 13 --~ype o$ wood), the na*ure o~ a preceding treatment gi~en to the material proc~ssed, and on the ¢onditions o~ carrying out the treatment accordi~g to thi~ method.
~ he rep~ated meahanical compaction o~ the wood chips in the solution of reagents accomplished according to the pres-e~t invent-ion leads to remo~al of the air and moisture from wood capillaxies at the mome~t oY the compaction of the chips, and to absorption of the solution of cooki~g reagents by the capillaries released at the mome~t o~ a pressure re-lief. D~e to such a treatment ~hexe is achieved the impreg-~ation of the wood chlps with the solutio~ o~ cooki~æ reag-ent~.
As compared to other known methods for the impregnation of wood chips with -the use of mechanical treatment, the pro-posed method owing to the repeated cycleæ of compactio~ and pre~sure relief enables to increase the uniformity and ¢om-plete~ess o~ the impreg~ation of th0 chips and to reduce the compressio~ ~orce applied thereto.
It is preferable that the for~e o~ compressio~ during th~ procedure of impregnation should not e~ce0d the lLmit of elasticity of the material breatsd, but sometimes i~ the impregDation o~ a particularly hard-te~turad material (~or e~mple, birch chips) it is advisable to go somewhat beyo~d the limit of elasticity o as to ensure ~ull impregnationO
The ar~angement o~ chips i~ parallel to th~ compressiDg surfaces~ while treati~g them according to the proposed ma -thod, results ~ot only in that the compressio~ o~ the chips is alwa~s ef~ected across the ~ibsrs, rather ~han alo~g ~hem, the latter being the mo3t hazardous direction from the Yi8W-1 1589~5 point of pulp fibers safety, but also in that -t~is takes place in the absence of forces causing the abrasion or cutt-ing of the fibers. All thiæ permits to intensi~-g significan-tly the impregnatio~ of the chips with the solution of cook-i~g reagents as well as to improve its uniformity without damaging the pulp fibers.
Durin~ the treatment process ac¢ompanied by -the numero-us repati~io~ of compressio~ and pxessule relie~ ¢ycles, the chips may become partially destroyed~.In this case, however, the deætr~ction com~s about wnder the action of compression forces dirscted across the fibe~s, these forces being o~ the ~lighta~ danger from tha ~ie~poi~t of fiber safety. Some partial destruc~ion o~ the wood chips obser~ed ln experimen-tal testing of the proposed method was attended b~ the for-mation o~ longitudinal crack~ in the chips followed by their di~isi~n into separate "matches" without shortening of the material and ~ithout the ~ormatio~ of a considerable amount o~ sawdust.
Owing to that t~e trsatment of pulp materials according to the proposed method is ~ot accompanied by the destructio~
~ the material there iæ achisved an i~oreas~ in the q~ality o~ the obtained pulp ai well as saving i~ the electric power required ~or ~ulfilli~g the treatmsnt process.
~ he applicatio~ of the proposed method for the treat-ment of a c~llulose-conkai~i~g m~terial makes it possible not only to e~sure its e~peditious ~nd uniform i~pregnation with the ~olution o~ chemical~, but al~o ke speed up ¢onsi-de~ably the succeediD$ proces~ o~ extracti~g pulp from the ~ 15~9~

vegetable raw matsrial, i.e. the cooki~g o~ -~he pulp. ~he i~tensi~ication of the cooking procedure is sacured due to the mechanical a~d chemical activation of the starting mate-tial with respsct to the cooking rea~e~ts. The repeated com-paction o~ the cellulose~co~taini~ material to~ether with ths s~lution of chemicals, a~ provided b~ ths propo~ed meth-od, aGtivates the macromolecules o~ the components in the vegetable raw ma~erial, resulting in a sub~tantial increase in their chemical interactio~ with the cooking chemicals.
~he combined impact o~ rapeatedly applied compression ~orce~
coupled wibh the che~ical action o~ the cooking chemicals leads to that li~nin con-tained in the Yegetable material becomes oblitsrat~d and dissolved much ~aster than in the cooking of the material ~ot subjected to th6 mechanical tre-atment as de~cribed hereinabove. Such a combi~ed impact on the ~egetable raw material not only accelerates the dissolu-tio~ o$ ligni~, but also conduces to a reductio~ in the con-~umptio~ o~ chemicals required for the cookingO O~ing to this, the applicatio~ o~ the proposed method i~ the manufa-~cture of pulp allow~ to decrease th~ dura-tion o~ the process to cut down the con~umption of chemical~ a~d power ~or the cooki~g and to e~hance the chemical purity of ths pulp obta-i~edO
A~ wa~ already m~ntioned hareinabove~ the repeated me-chanical compaction o~ the cellulose-containing material eYfected according to the prop4sed method ma;y be accompanied by the separation of the material tr~ated into ~iber bu~dles or i~dividual fiber~ The desired degxee o~ disi~tegration .

.

~ 05 o~ the material i8 a-ttained by choosing -the force and frequ-enc~ o~ the compression applied to the ma-terial or ~y relax-ing fiber-to-fiber bonds in the cellulose-containi~g mater i al by means of pretreati~g it with reagents causing the in-tercellular matter to be~ome partially dissolved or plastif-ied and tha ~iber-~lber bonds to weaken. ~he separation o~
cel~ulose~con-taining materials into fibers is widely used in the manufactura of semichemical pulp~ hi~h-yield pulp9 chemi--me¢hanical or thermo-chemi-mechanical pulp, as well as in vari~us stag~-by-stage mathods, e~isti~g or being daveloped~
for producing pulp wit~ the i~tarmediate gri~ding o~ ~he pulp between the stages of the process~
In bhe overwhelming majority of existing methods for producing fibrous pulp, the separation of ~egetable materi-als into ~ib~rs is accompanied b~ grindi~g in cyli~drical, conical or disk mills of di~ferent designs~ The gr~ding of the material on a disk mill ~akes placa upon its pa~sage between two di~ks, one of which is rotati~g a~d the other is motionless or rotati~g in the opposite directio~ the sur~a-ce Qf these disks bei~g provided with k~ivss and ~rooves.
I~ the grindin~ process wi~ the use OI k~ife mills the material sapa:rated is subjected ta the variegat~d actio~ o~
~he grinding tackle, i.e. to the percu~iorl o~ the knives, ~hearing, cuttix~, t~lvisti~g a~d abrasion~ As a result of this action-o~ the gri~di~ di~ d urlder the ef~ect OI
deIormations occ~g at that" the fibers unde~go damage and rupture. ~he un~a~orable action o~ the ~ibers is e~anced in coDseque~ce o~ that the material (chips~grou~d pa~etrates 1 1 5~
_ 17 --into the space between the grin~i~g disks i~ th~ form of separate indep~ndent bodies arranged loosely i~ dif~arent posi~ions and in an unoriented ~ashion with re~pect to the kniv9s of the ~rinding disks. r~he sharp edges of the knives, the rigidity of the ~tructure u~ed and the hi~h unit pressu-re applied to the working surfaces conduca to cutting of the fibers. ~he use of the fibrous pulp thus obtained in the ma-nufacture o~' papex and cardboard leads to a considerabla re-ductio~ o~ the mechanical strength of a finished product.
~esides, thH undesirabla damage of the ~ibers al~o causes the increased consumption of power raquired for this opera-tion~ ~he unproducti~e expe~ditures of power in t~e treat-ment o~ the material o~ the disk mill al~o arise due to im-mense energy losses for o~ercoming the hydraulic resistance upon the rotation of the knifa disks and also for the trans-portation o~ ths material treated.
The struct~re of the kni~e mills in use su~fers from ~nothex es~ential disadva~tage residi~g in the vulnerability to the penetration o~ axtra~aouæ solid inclusions. The metal or ceramics findi~g its way into the mill in~lict great da-mags to the kni~es and may re~der tha mill inoperative. ~he subseque~ sharpening of the kni~es takes considerable time resulting i~ the downtim~ of the e~uipment.
~ he optimwm conditions of treating ~egetable material~
accordi~g to the proposed met~o~ can be establi~hed in each ~pecif ic case b~ choo~ing the shape of ths bod~ o~ rotatio~, by decreasing or increasing the force of cru~hing tbrou~h the exte~t of the unbalanced mass, the speed o~ its rotation 90.S

or the residence time of the material in the treating zone.
By varyi~g the above conditions or b~ repeating a simi-lar treatment there can be achieved not only the separation of the material trea~ed into individual ~ibers, but also en-sur~d its further grinding to the desired degree o~ fineness.
r~he proposed treatment method can also be employed for grinding pulp and other ~ibrous intermediate products in the production of paper therefrom.
~ he treatment of the matsrial according to the proposed method does not i~volve ths unproductive e~penditures o~ po-wer associated with the rotation of th~ grinding disks ar-ranged in pro~imit~to each other and provided with knivas.
~he tra~sportation of the material treated is accomplished under the ~orce o~ graYity and does not require an~ power consumption. ~hese adva~tages enable to cut down the con-sumption of power ~or the treatment.
Ths proposed method for the produc-tion o~ ~ibrous in-termediate products precludes the harm~ul con~e~ue~ces for the equipme~t attended by the penetration of e~tranaous- so-lid objects into the apparatus since in -t~i~ case there is no rigid coupling between the elements acting o~ the mate-rial bei~g ~ro~d.
~ he method under consideratio~ will be ~urthex illust- -rated hereinbelow by its speci~ic embodiments.
xa~e 1

- 2 kg of aspen chip~ were conti~uousl~ charged into the apparatus and a 14% solu~ion o~ sodium hydroxida in the weight ratio of 1 to lO was supplied. ~he d~ration o~ the - alss~o~

continuous charging o~ the chips and the solution amounted to 2 min. ~he rotation frequency o:E the drive shaft was 1480 rev/min. ~he approximate residence time of the chips in the working chamber was 15 ~ec and the requlsite average num-ber of chips oompression cyclos was 370. Su~sequ~nt to the treatm~nt according to the method, tha impregnated chips were separated on a screen from ths ~reely dripping solution ~nd a portion thereof was placed i~ an autocla~e and heated at a temperature of 160 to 165C for 1 hour and a half. ~he cookad pulp was washed with water~ sorted and air-dried~
The yield and ~uality indexes were determined~
Yield from wood~ % . . . . . . ~ . 50.5 ~ignin co~tent, % . . . . . . . . 1.3 Breaking length, m . ~ ~ . . . 0 9170 Folding resistance, nwmber ~
double folds . . ~ . ~ . . . . . 2320 E~ample 2 ~ he treatment o~ 2 kg of birch chips was effe~ted as described i~ Exampla 1 ~imulta~eousl~ ~uppl~ng into tha apparatus a 16% solution of sodium hydroxide i~ the weight ratio of 1 to 10. ~he duratio~ of the conti~uous char~ing o~ the chips and the æol~tio~ was 1 mi~ 40 se~. ~he rotation ~rsq~ency o~ the drive sha~t was 2850 reY/min. ~he appro~lm-ate residence time o~ the ehips i~ the apparatus wa~ }1 sec and the requisite avexaga numbar o~ chips compressio~ cycles was 5500 Subsequent to the treatment according to the method, the impregnat~d chips wsre separated on a scree~ from ~he e~ce~s of the solution and a portio~ thereof was subjected `"` 1~5~

to cooking in the autocla~e at a temperature of 160 to 165C ~or 1 hnur and a half.
Pulp ~ield, % . . . . . . . . . . . . 48.3 ~igni~ co~tent, ~0 . . . ~ . . . 0.8 Breaking length, m . O . . . . . O . 9430 Folding resistance~number of double ~olds . . . . . . . . . . . 2840 Exam~le ~
Bi~ch chips were preheated with a 2% solution o~ qodium hydroxide *Qr 1 hour and a hal~ at a temperature of 100C, wherea~ter the pulp waæ subjected to the repeated mechanical compactio~ according to the method, substa~tially as describ-ed in ~xamples 1 and 2. The rotatio~ ~requency o~ the dri~e shaft ~as ~100 rev/mi~. ~he treatment was repeated 6 times with in-termediate washing after the ~irst passage, and ~ith ~he extraction of the pulp after tha second3 fourth a~d sixth pasqage through the apparatus. ~he extracted samples o~ the pulp were washed and the beating degree a~d mechanic-al strength i~de~es were determined.
Wood residue yield a~tar ¢hemical treatment 7 ~ o 9 Indexes ob~ai~ed a~ter the second pass-ing of the pulp t~rough the apparatu~:
beatin~ degre0 . ~ . . . 23 breaking le~gth, m . . ~ 350 foldi~g~resista~ce, ~umber o~
double folds . . 0 9 . O . . . . 18 bursti~g strength, kg/cm2 ~ . . . 1.5 ` ~5~5 ~ 21 ~
Inde~as obtained after the fourth pass-i~g of the pulp through the apparatus:
baating degree . . . . . . . ~ . . . 35 breaking length, m ~ 0 . . ~ . . 0 . 5860 foldin$ resistance, ~umber o~
double ~olds . . r ~ 104 bursting stre~gth, kg/cm2 . . . . . 2.2 Indexes obtained a~ter the sixth ~a~s-i~g o~ ~he mass through the apparatus:
beating degree . . . . . . . . . . . 60 breaking l~gth~ m ~ . . O . . ~ . . 7020 foldi~g resistance~ number o~
double fold~ . . . . 0 . . . . . . 27~
bursting strangth, kg/cm2 . . . . 2.9 Example 4 Birch chips were pretreated with a 2~o solu~ion o~ sod-ium oarbonate ~or 1 hour and a half at a tempe~ature o~
100C, wharea~ter tha pulp was subj~ctad to tha repsated mechanical compaction accordin~ to the method, æubstantial ly as describad 1~ Example ~.~ he ro~a~i~n ~reque~c~ o~ the dri~e ~ha~t is 2100 rev/mi~. ~hs pulp was passed through the apparatuB thr~a:times with i~t~rmediat3 washing~a~tsr the ~ir~t pa~sLng.
Wood residue yield after chemical tr~atment~ % ~ . O ~ . 92~1 Beating d~gree . . ~ 0 ~ 30 Braaking le~gth9 m . . . . . . . . . 5550 Foldi~g resistance, n~mber of double ~old~ ~ ~ . . 0 . . . . . 0 . 73 ~earing rssistance . . . . . O . . . . 60 Bursting stre~gth; kg/¢m2 . ~ . . . . 2.2 ~3~a~
Aspen chip~ wexe prcaonditioned in a 5% solution of am-mo~ia ~or 12 hours at room temperat~re, whereafter it was subjected to the repeated mechanical compaction according to the method, substantially as de~oribed in Exampl~ 3. ~he rotatio~ freque~cy o~ the driva sha~-t was 2100 rev/mi~.
Wood residue yiald after chemical t~eatmen~, % ~ . . . . . . . . , . 0 96.2 Degree of grin~ing~ . . . . . . . . ~ 60 Breaking length, m ~ O . . . . . ~ ~ 6400 ~olding resistance~ number of double folds . ~ . . . . . . . . . ~ 1~2 ~aaring resistance~ . . . . . . . ~ 42 Bur3ting stre~gth, k~cm2 . . . ~ . . 2.6 ~xa~le 6 ~ aqueous suspension o~ unbleached sul~ate pulp was prepared from pi~e i~ 10% co~centration and pa~s~d through tbLe apparatus Ior the repeated mecha~ical co~pactio~ accQrd-i~g to the pr~posed msthod. ~h~ rotatie~ ~requency of the drire s~aft was 2100 rev/mi~. ~he i~de~ss o~ the mass obtai-ned after the sixth passi~g through the apparatus ~ere as ~ollow~.
Beating degree . . . . . . . . . ~ . . 48 Breaki~g length, m . . . . . ~ . ~ . . . 9150 ~olding resistance, ~umber of double fold~ . . . . 2890 9~
- 2~ -Example 7 Bleached pulp cooked in nit.rate was subjected to the treatme~t according to the proposed me-thod, substantially as described in Example 6. The indexes of ~he mass obtain~d a~ter the sixth pas~i~g throu~h the app~ratus wer~ a~ fol-lows.
Bea-ting dagree ........................ 58 Breaking length, m . . . ~ . . . . . . ~ . 6880 FoldiD~ resistancs, ~umber of double folds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47~
~ he appara-tus for practising the proposed method compr-ises a housing 1 /Fig. 1/ mounted on a foundation 2 by means o~ flexible shock absorbers 3. Arranged insids the housing 1 is a rotor 4, which in combination with the housing 1 defin-as a working chamber 5. ~he housing 1 is provided with a me-~8 6 for charging the cellulo~e-containing material -togeth-er with the solution of reagents into the working chamber 5.
~he apparatus also comprises a drive sha~t 7 with unbala~c-ed masse~ 8 moL~tad thereon so that the eccentricity of their mass i~ adjustable~ The drive shaft 7 is coupled via a flexible coupling 9 to a drivin~ gear lO. ~he rotor 4 is mada i~ the ~orm o~ a bod~ of rotatio~, the o~ter lateral sur~ace 11 o~ which is i~tsnded for ropflatedly mecha~ic~lly compacting ~he material u~der trea~e~t~ th~ ~aterial treat-ment baing dispo~ed between tha ~utor lateral sur~ace 11 o~
the rotor 4 and the inner surfa~ 12~ o~ the housing 1.
According to on~ of the embodiments of tha apparatus, the rotor 4 is coupled via a hoIlow rod 13 and a spherical '~ :

~ 1~8~5 - 24 ~
bearing 14 to the housing 1. The drive shaft 7 with the un-balanced mass~s 8 is mo~nted on bsarings 15 inside the rot-or 4. ~hus, in this specific embodiment of the apparatus the drive sha~t 7 with the unbalanced masses 8 is coupled ta the rotor 4 and due to it~ mou~ting in -the bearings 15 is capable of ~ree rotation with respect thereto~
Accordi~g to a~oth~r embodiment of the apparatus, it al~o comprise~ the housing 1 /~ig. 2/ mounted on the founda-tio~ 2 by means of the flexible shock absorbers 3 and incor-poratin~ therei~side the rotor 49 the aforesaid rotor 4 and housing 1 de~ining in combi~ation -the working chamber 5, ~ho housing 1 is provided with the means 6 for charging -the material treated together with the ~olutio~ o~ reagents i~-to the working chamber 5. ~he apparatus al~o compri~es the drive shaft 7 with the ~nbalanced masses 8 mou~ted th~raon, the aforesaid drive shaft 7 being coupled ~ia a flsxible couplin~ 9 to a driving ~ear 10.
~ partic~lar ~eatur~ of this embodime~t of the appara-tus resides in that the drive shaft 7 with ths u~bala~ed masseæ 8 is mounted o~ baarings 15 within a casing 16 rig- :
idly coupled via ribs 17 to the housing 1. Thus, in this speci~ic embodimant o~ the apparatus the drive sha~t 7 with the u~bal~nced masses 8 is coupled to the housing 1 and~due to its mountinæ in the baaring~ 15 i8 capable of ~ree rota-tion with r~pact th~reto. The r~tor 4 i~ mad~ i~ the form o~ a hollow cylinder ~hich is freely mounted inside th~
housing 1 a~d supported by th~ ribs 17. Dua to this, the rotor 4 is capa~le of free rotation and radial moveme~

1 ~5~9 -- 25 _ sid~ the housing 1~ the outer lateral surface 11 of ~he ro-tor 4 and tha i~ner sur~ace 12 o~ tha housing 1, as in the embodiment considered hereinabove, being intended for repe-atedly mechanically compacting the material treated.
Aocording to still another embodiment of the apparatus and similaxly to its other embodiment~, it also comprises the housing 1 ~Fig. 3/ mounted on the foundation 2 b~ means o~ the flexiblo shock absorbers 3. Arranged inside thq hous-i~g 1 iæ the rotor 4~ the a~orasaid rotor 4 defining i~ com-bi~ation with the housin~ 1 a workin~ chambor 5. The appara~
tus also compriseæ the drive sha~t 7 with the u~balanced maæ-s~s 8 mou~ted thereon, the a~ore~aid drive shaft 7 being co-upl9d to the driving gear 10.
A particular ~eature o~ this em~odiment o~ the appara-tu~ xesides in that the rotor 4 is made i~ the ~arm of a hollow semispher~ having its edges 18 be~t out~ardly. The housing 1 is provided with a bottom 19. ~ou~ted on a cover 20 of the housi~g 1 is a stop member 21 for the rotor 4 hav-i~g a concave spherical surface. The driv~ shaft 7 with the unbalanced masse~ 8 is mada hollo~ a~d mounted i~ bearings 15 on the mea~3 6 ~or charging the material trea-ted which~
i~ turn9 is ri~idly coupled t~ the rotor 4. ~hus, in this specific em~odiment of the apparatu~ the drive shaft 7 with the unbala~ced masse~ 8 is coupled to the rotor 4 a~d due to its mou~ti~g i~ the bearings 15 i~ capable of froe rotation with respect thereto. ~he outwardly bent edges 18 of the se-misphere serve for repeatedly mechanic~lly compacting the material u~der treatment whichis dispos~d betwsen the outwar-a 1589~5 _ 26 -dly be~t edges 18 of the semisphere and the inner sur~ace 12 of the bottom 19 of the housing 1.
~ he apparatus operates as followsO ~he torsional moment ~rom -tha drivi~ gear 10 /Fig. 1/ via -the flexible coupling 9 and the drive sha~t 7 is -transmitted to the unbalanced masses 8, who~e rotation produces centrifugal ~orce tra~s-mitted via the beari~s 15 to the rotor 4, which starts to deviate from the lo~gitudinal axis of the housing 1 a~d to per~orm circular oscillating motio~s arou~d the center of the spherical joint 1~ coupling the rotor 4 to the housin~ 1.
In other words, the rotor 4 is caused to perform wobbli~g motions. I~ this process the oute~ lateral surface 11 of the rotor 4 comes in contact w~th the i~ner sur~ace 12 o~ the housing 1 and the rotor 4 is caused to roll over this surfa-ce rotating according to the law of pla~tary rotation tow-ard the side oppo~ite the direetion o~ rotatio~ of its axis and of the drive sha~t 7 with th~ unbalanced masses 8.
The material to be treated is charged together wi-th the solutio~ of reagents via the mean~ 6 into th~ working ~hamb-er 5 of the apparatus, wherein it is arranged in a uniform layer between the outer lateral surface 11 o~ the rotox 4 and the i~ner suxface 12 o~ ~he housing 1 Due to the annul~r shape o~ the worki~g chambex 5 a~
well as to the wobb-ling motion a~d rolling o~ the rotor 47 the material treated, for example~ wood chip~, is arra~ged in parallel with the sur~ace 11 o~ the rotor 4 and with the surface 12 o~ the housing 1~ a~ a re~ult o~ which the ~orc~s of compres~ion are directed across the ~ibexs and the chips ara subjected solely to the repeated mechanical compaction.

9~

~ he operation o~ the apparatus according to the embo-diment illustrated in Fig. 2 proceeds similarlyO ~he dif~e-rence being in that the centxifugal force arising upon the rotation of the drive shaft 7 with the unbalanced masses 8 is transmitt~d via the bearin~ 15 and the ribs 17 to the housing 1 cau~ing its wobbling motions, In othar words, the hou~ing 1 starts to deviate from the origi~al positio~ and to perform cir¢ular oscillating motio~. Upon contact of the inner surface 12 of the housing 1 with the outer later-al sur~ce 11 o~ the rotor 4, due -to its inertia, it is ca-used to roll o~er the inner surface 12 of the housing 1~
The operatio~ of the apparatus according to the embo-dimant illustrated in Fig. ~ pro~eeds similarly to that of the embodiment illustrated i~ Fig. 1. ~he difference being in that the ce~tri~ugal force arising upon the rotation of t~e hollow dri~e sha~t 7 with the unbalanced masse~ 8 is tra~mitt~d to the rotor 4 via-the means 6 ~ox chargi~g th~
material to be tr~ated to~ether with the solution of reag-ents into the working chamber 5, the rotor 4 being caused to roll by the outwardly bent edges 18 over the sur~ace 12 o~ the bottom 19 o~ the housin$ 1, aæ a result o~ which upo~ c~ar~in~ of the material together wi~h the solutio~
of reagents into ths working chamber 5 the material is subjacted to the repeat~d macha~ical compaction~
Owing to that in all of the above-co~sidered embodim-en~s of the apparatus the drive ~haft 7 with the unbala~c~
ed ma~ses 8 ~reely rotate~ o~ tha bearings 15 with respect to the rotor 4 (~ig~. 1 a~d 3) or with respect to the hous-8~
- 28 ~
ing 1 ~Fig. 2), the material upon rollin~ of the rotor 4 wer the surface 12 of -t~e housing 19 .i~ subjected solely to the repeated mechanical compaction without the occu~ence of an~ ~orces causin~ abra~ion or cutting of the pulp fibersO
~his is attributable to that rolling of thq rotor 4 i~ cau-sed not by direct tra~smissio~ o~ the torsion~l moment Yrom the dr~e shaft 7, but results from contact of the housing and the rotor upon the wobbling motions of one of them un~
der th~ action of the centrlfugal force of the rotati~g un-balanced mass~s 8. ~his improves signi~icantl~ the quality of the tr~ated material.
Due to ~hat all oP ths mat~rial disposed in the working chamber is subjected to the repea-ted mecha~ical compaction, the output of the apparatus is thereby l~creased.
The forco o~ compressio~ applied by th~ rotor 4 to tha .. .
layer of the material under treatme~t is governed b~ the mass of t~e unbalanced masses 8~ by the ang~ular spesd of their rotation and the eccexLtricit~sr of the mass of ths u~-balanced mass~s 8 with respect to the axis of thsi:L ro~a-tio~ and is detexmined from the formula~
m w2 . R
where: m i~ the ma~ OI the ~balanced ma~ses, w is ~he a~ular ~peed of rotatio~
R is the eccent:~i¢ity o~ the mas~ OI the unbalanced massas with respact to the axis of rotatio~O
T~e eutput of the ~pparatus a~d the qualit~ of Ehe ma-terial treatmant depends on tha choice of ths~s p~amoter~.
Dus consideration is also to be gi~en to tha type and pro-~ 15~9~5 _ 29 _ perti~s of the material -to be treatad. Th~ for~e of compres-sion i~ this apparatus is readily adju~ted by Yaryi~g the ecc~ntricity of th~ mass o~ the unbalanced masses 8 and the a~ular speed of -their rotatlon.
~ or reasons enwmerated hersi~above tho proposed appa-ratus can be succ~8s~ully exploited ~or the treatme~t of cellulo~e-co~taining materials ~ith -t~e view of impregnat-ing them with the solutio~ of cooki~g reagen~s with a grea-ter or smaller degre~ o~ fiber-to-fibsr bonds relaxatlon~
for ths separation of chemically or thermoch~mically pretre-at~d materials into fib~r bundla~ or individual ~ibers, or ~or the beating c~ pulp in the pxoductio~ of paper stock.
~ rom the foregoing spacific embod~ments o~ ~he pressnt i~ve~tion, ~n0 skill~d in the art can easily ascertai~ the essential characteristics of this inve~tio~9 and with~ut departing from thq spirit a~d scope ther~of, ca~ make vari- -OU9 changes and modifications ~f the inventio~ to adap~ it to various u~ages a~d condi-ti~n Conseque~tly, such chan~-es a~d modifications are properly, equitably, and inben~d to b~, within bhe ~ull range o~ ~qui~alence of the ~ollow-irlg claims.
The advantages of th~ present Lnve~tion, as compared to all of the prior art msthod~ and ap~aratu~ for the tre~
atment of a csllulose-containi~ material, reside in the followings - the propo~qd method and apparatus improve the quali-ty o~ the tr~ated material, w~ich, i~ tur~, improve~ the qualit~ o~ thq pulp, paper and cardboard obtained t~r~-*rom;

i 15890 - the propo~d method a~d appara~u~ enable to dscrease the co~umptio~ of vege-table ra~ material and chemical re-agen~s;
- the proposed method a~d apparatus enable to speed !"
up ~he proces~ of pulp pro~uction;
- the propo~ed method and apparatu~ enable to cut down the con~umption o~ power;
- the propo~ed method and apparatu~ ~eature an increas-cd output a~d operational reliabllity~
In support of the hig~ afficie~cy inherent in the pro-po~ed method ~d apparatus there is ~iven hereinbelow a comparativ~ tablo pre~nti~g the i~dexes of tha pulp pro-duct~ obtainsd with the u~e of the prasent method and appa-ratu~ ~ersus those obtainad i~ accordance with the most wi-dely spr~ad production practice exi~ti~g currently.
~able Indexe~ Propo~d method ~ tlng methods ~ype o~ wood aspe~ birch birch a~p~n bir¢h birch Yield ~rom wood a~-ter chemical treat-ment, % 96 90 90 90 86 86 :Bsating degrea 60 30 60 60 30 60 Indexes of mechanic-al s~rength with pa-per mass o~ 75 g/m ~
breaking l~gth,m 6400 5800 7020 6300 5600 6800 tear resistanc~ 42 60 - 40 45 bursting strength, kg/cm 2.6 2~2 2.9 2.2 1.9 2.6 .~

9~5 ~able (cont.~
IndexesProposed method ~xi~ting methods ~ype of woodaspen birch birch aspsn birch birch . .
~olding resi~t-ance, number of double folds 132 10~ 273 9 12 80 . . . _ . _ Power consump~lon ~or beating to 16 kwhr/t 5 - 7 200 - 400 _ . . . . . . " , . ., _ , ,

Claims (6)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A method for the treatment of a cellulose-containing material, comprising the steps of:
- continuously charging the cellulose-containing mate-rial together with a solution of reagents into a working chamber defined by an inner working body and an outer work-ing body enclosing the same;
- repeatedly mechanically compacting the cellulose-con-taining material;
- said step of repeatedly mechanically compacting the cellulose-containing material being effected by imparting to one of said working bodies wobbling and rolling over the other working body through a layer of the cellulose-contain-ing material treated;
- said wobbling and rolling being produced by rotating a mass unbalanced with respect to the axis of rotation and ro-tatably coupled to one of said working bodies.

2. An apparatus for practising the method of claim 1, comprising:
- a housing;
- a rotor arranged inside said housing;
- said housing and said rotor defining in combination a working chamber;
- a means for charging the cellulose-containing mate-rial together with a solution of reagents into said working chamber;
- a drive shaft with a driving gear;
- unbalanced masses mounted on said drive shaft;

- said drive shaft being rotatably coupled to said rotor;
- said rotor being made in the form of a body of rota-tion, a portion of the surface of which is intended for re-peatedly mechanically compacting the cellulose-containing material.

3. An apparatus for practising the method of claim 1, comprising:
- a housing;
- a rotor arranged inside said housing;
- said rotor and said housing defining in combination a working chamber;
- a means for charging the cellulose-containing mate-rial together with a solution of reagents into said working chamber;
- a drive shaft with a driving gear;
- unbalanced masses mounted of said drive shaft;
- said drive shaft being rotatably coupled to said hous-ing;
- said rotor being made in the form on a body of rota-tion a portion of the surface of which is designed for re-peatedly mechanically compacting the cellulose-containing material.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said rotor is coupled to said housing via a spherical joint, said drive shaft with said unbalanced masses is mounted on bearings inside said rotor the outer lateral surface of said rotor being designed for repeatedly mechanically compacting the cellulose-containing material.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said drive shaft with said unbalanced masses is mounted on bearing in a casing, said casing is rigidly coupled to said housing, said rotor is made in the form of a hollow cylinder and arranged inside said housing so as to be freely rotatably and radially movable, the outer lateral surface of said rotor being designed for repeatedly mechanically compacting the cellulose-containing material.

6. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said rotor is made in the form of a hollow semisphere having its edges bent outwardly, said means for charging the cellulose-containing material together with a solution of reagents into said working chamber is rigidly coupled to said rotor, said hous-ing is provided with a bottom and a stop member for said rotor, said drive shaft is made hollow and mounted in bear-ings on said means for charging the cellulose-containing ma-terial together with a solution of reagents into said work-ing chamber, said outwardly bent edges of said hollow semi-sphere being designed for repeatedly mechanically compacting the cellulose-containing material.