LV10511B

LV10511B - Animal fibre processing

Info

Publication number: LV10511B
Application number: LVP-92-553A
Authority: LV
Inventors: Hopkins Peter Steward
Original assignee: Wooltech Ltd
Priority date: 1991-09-23
Filing date: 1992-12-29
Publication date: 1995-06-20
Also published as: AU639160B2; CN1040238C; ATE140273T1; BR9200218A; LV10511A; LT3476B; TW228553B; GR3021241T3; ZA919722B; AR247429A1; DE69120815D1; AU8887891A; KR930006188A; KR100187315B1; RU2040602C1; EP0534026B1; JPH0657512A; UA26182C2; DK0534026T3; LTIP641A

Description

- 2 - LV10511

ANIMAL FIBRE PROCESSING

This invention relates to animal fibre, particularly woo1, Processing, and more particularly to apparatus and a process using that apparatus whose purpose is to producē a fine wool product of greater 5 fibre strength and length than is availabie by use of conventional woo1 water based cleaning and scouring processes, the process being environmentally advantageous.

Production of a wool of optimum strength and fibre length after cleaning and scouring is obviously desirable. 10 Austraiian patent No. 615559 (38301 /89) discloses a water free organic solvent related process for treatment of raw wool which results in an improved fine wool product. The said patent discloses, with particular reference to Fig. 3 thereof, an apparatus in which the process disclosed in that patent is carried out. In particular, this appara.tus 15 includes a conveyor having a pair of head rollers and a pair of tail rollers. Fleeces in the form of greasy wool are placed tip down in baskets carried by the conveyor. These baskets are serially conveyed to a tip pre-treatment zone in a scouring tank. The tips only of the fleeces are subjected to gentle cleaning action in the pre-treatment 20 zone. The remainder of the fleece (apart from the tip portion) does not contact the organic solvent scouring medium in the tank pre-treatment zone.

After passing through the tip pre-treatment zone of the scouring tank, the fleeces are removed from the solvent solution to allow solvent 25 attached to the fleece tips to drain back into the first tank portion v/hich is separated from the second tank portion by a baffle plate.

Most of the dirt and other foreign material found in raw wool is located in the tip region and the prior art process had as one of its objects an initial tip cleansing process step. 30 The fleece is thereafter fully immersed in the second tank portion for a preferred period of 6-10 minūtes. After this immersion the treated fleece. is removed from the scouring tank, may then be rinsed by a fresh solvent and is unloaded into a centrifuge for drying purposes.

The system of Austraiian patent No. 615559 is a marked improvement 35 over previously known treatment systems for raw wool, producing treated wool of good fibre length and strength. - 3 -

However, it is felt that the said system may be further improved upon. For example, the system requires extraction from a woo1 balē of a quantity of wool sufficient to occupy a basket which carries the wool to the pre-treatment zone. It also requires that this wool be presented in 5 in tip-down configuration. This is atime consuming, labour intensive and costly exercise.

Further, the known solvent system was not sealed, resulting in admission or escape of solvent vapours into the workplace with consequent loss of solvent which required constant replacement. 10 It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved wool Processing system and apparatus.

This invention in one broad form provides apparatus for processing animal fibre, particularly raw wool, said apparatus comprising a solvent bowl; means for admitting said fibre to said solvent bowl, an endless 15 belt in said solvent bowl adapted to transport fibre through said bowl, one or more solvent shower devices disposed in said bowl adapted to spray solvent under pressure to cleanse said fibre as said fibre traverses said bowl on said endless belt, and a vveir adapted to receive at least substantially pure solvent and cascade said solvent into said bowl on an 20 elevated portion of said endless belt out of contact with solvent in said bowl.

The above embodiment of this invention utilizēs a single bov/1 and is appropriate where wool to be processed is not particularly greasy as is the case, for example, with greasy mēri no wool. To process such 25 greasy mēri no wool it is preferable to use a two or more bowl apparatus and the preferred embodiment of this invention wi11 be described with reference to a two bowl apparatus.

Thus, this invention in a further broad form provides apparatus for Processing raw (greasy) wool, said apparatus comprising: 30 a first solvent bowl having an entry end and an exit end; means to convey raw wool into the entry end of said bowl; a first endless belt in said first bowl adapted to transport wool through said first bowl; one or more first bowl solvent shower devices adapted to spray 35 solvent under pressure to cleanse said wool as said wool is carried by said first bowl endless belt; .-4- LV10511 a second bowl having an entry end and an exi t end with a second endless be 11 adapted to convey wool through said second bowl; one or more second bowl solvent shower devices adapted to spray solvent under pressure to further cleanse said wool as .it traverses 5 said second bowl; first weir means adapted to receive solvent from said second bowl and Cascade said second bowl solvent over wool on an elevated portion of said first endless belt out of contact with solvent in said first bowl; '· 10 second weir means adapted to receive pure solvent and cascade. said pure solvent over wool disposed on an elevated portion of said second endless belt out of contact with solvent in said second bowl; said first endless belt being adapted to convey said wool to ». the exit end of said first bowl fo'r entry to the entry end of said second 15 bowl.

It will be appreciated that wool entering said first bowl through said rollers is comparatively dry and it is preferred that a first immersion spray of solvent be addressed to the incoming wool to wet the wool sufficiently to allow the .wool to sink. through the first bowl 20 solvent bath to ride on the first endless belt. Spraying from the first bowl solvent shov/er device(s) is effected when the wool is immersed in solvent bath in the first bowl.

Immersion of the wool· in the first bowl for a period of 1-2 minūtes before showering has the effect of loosening grease and dirt to a 25 sufficient degree to allow spraying and eventual cascading from said first bowl weir to remove up to 957. of the dirt loading of the raw wool and up to 807. of the grease. The second bowl wi 11 remove most if not ali of the remaining dirt and almost ali the remaining grease.

It is be 1 ieved that approximately only 0.27. of grease will remain 30 in the wool exiting the second bowl, which is a most acceptable Ievel by industry standards.

Overall it is desirable to limit immersion of the wool in the first and second bowls (in total) to no more than 15 minūtes and preferably no more than 10 minūtes. To reduce immersion times, heat may be applied to 35 the solvent in the first bowl (or this may arise from the solvent pumping process) so that solvent temperature in the first bowl is approximately 40eC. Further, ultrasonic energy may be introduced to the first bowl - 5 - solvent at a power Ievel of approximately 25 KHz. First bowl immersion time approximates 4-5 minūtes and second bowl immersion time 2-3 minūtes in the most preferred form of the process of this invention. A stili system is provided for solvent utilized in the process of 5 this invention with a view to preserving such solvent and to clean recovered solvent for re-use in the process. A clean solvent tank (reservoir) is provided with a sufficient supply of solvent to operate the system. Solvent from the reservoir is first piped into the weir device of the second bowl, and thence cascades 10 into the second bowl as immersion solvent for the wool traversing this bowl. Solvent from the second bowl, obviously containing a quantity of grease and dirt is then piped. to the weir device into the first bowl, displacing dirty solvent in wool on the elevated endless belt exit portion of the first bowl as it cascades into the first bowl. 15 Solvent from the first bowl is piped to the front or wool loading end of the apparatus to producē initial solvent flow (co-flow) to conduct v/ool along the first endless belt at a desired rāte which is substantially identical to the rāte of belt travel. Further solvent from the first bowl is piped to provide the wetting (or dunking) for the wool 20 as it enters the apparatus to ensure the wool will ride on the first • endless belt rather than floating on the solvent surface.

Further, some second bowl solvent is piped to the second bowl shower device. A further proportion of second bowl solvent is used as co-flow for the second bowl. Again some first bowl solvent is piped to 25 the first bov/1 shovver arrangement (spray manifolds).

Used solvent from the first bowl is conducted away to a distillation system (stills) at the same rāte as clean solvent is introduced to the second bowl weir. Between the first bowl and the first stili is a seri'es of filters adapted to extract'foreign matter other than 30. grease from the used solvent. This foreign matter is conducted to a collection chamber and is disposed of in powder form. The used solvent is admitted to the first stili where it is boiled under partial vacuum. Vapour is conducted from this first stili in condensed form which is then sufficiently pure for readmission to the system over the Cascade into the 35 second bowl.

The remaining stills also producē clean solvent and are effective to concentrate the grease which may be collected as wool grease and used as a source of lanolin and other products. - 6 - LV10511

Vegetable matter such as burrs and grass seeds remaining in solvent laden wool leaving the second bowl and admitted to a centrifuge to recover 98-99% of the systems. 5 In an exemplary wool without tangling those which mlght be Solvent 10 1,1,1 trichloroethane trichloroethylene methylene chloride perchloroethylene solvent, may be carded system according to thi the same, the following sed:

Boi1i ng Polnt

74°C 87°C 39°C 121 °C ut by conventional carding invention, whlch cleans solvents are examples of

Speciflc Gravltv 1.34 1.49 1.36 1.63 15 Other suitabl'e solvents are we11 known to the man skilled in the art.

The following further features are typical:

First bowl immersion depth approximately equal to the total length of the greasy wool staple which for pure merino wool is in the range 20 75-150 mm; belt speed 2-4 m/min; a sensor system adapted to maintain solvent bath Ievel in first and second bowls substantially at the chosen immersion depth; belt loading density 2-3 kg/m ; ' co-flow at a rāte to move the wool at the same rāte of movement as the belt; pressure up to 100 p.s.i. and flow from shower(s) in first bowl 50-100,000 1/hr, i.e. at 25 appropriate rātes to dislodge grease and dirt from the soaked wool without tangling the wool; belts in first and second bowls are mesh type with clear opening of 2 mm to 4 mm square to allow solvent to pass through the belts; (for optimum results the disturbance in the solvent bath occasioned by the solvent shovver and reflection of solvent from the 30 belt should be such as to ensure maximum removal of dirt and grease from the wool without tangling the same. The man skilled in the art wil1 appreciate that adjustments might need to be made to belt material, belt travel and co-flow rātes, shov/er pressure and flow rāte to accommodate ; different vārieties and quali ti es of wool or other fibre); Cascade into 35 first bowl at 5,000 1/hr for Processing 750 kg of greasy wool per hour (substantially the same as distillation rāte and Cascade rāte into second bowl); second bowl rātes substantially identical with first bowl rātes; further filtration of solvent in the second bowl for finer particle removal is also preferred to remove remaining dirt and suint (water - 7 - soluble salts of the sheep's sweat glands). This filtration 1s effected between the bowl solvent and the shower device to ensure shower solvent is as clean as possible. Correspondlng filtration is effected in the first bowl between the bath (bowl) and the shower device. 5 By way of example, one embodiment of wool Processing apparatus according to this invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a section of wool Processing apparatus according to one embodiment of this invention; 10 Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the process of this invention. .

In the drav/ings, apparatus generally depicted at 1 includes entry rollers 2 through which wool conveyed to the apparatus ofthis embodiment of the invention, for example by an endless belt conveyor, is admitted to first bowl 3. The Ievel of solvent 13 in first bowl 3' and second bowl 4 15 is depicted by broken line. Bowls 3 and 4 are divided by partition 21. Some of the solvent 13 in bowl 3 is uti 1 izēd as a wetting or dunking liquid, being piped to outlet 11 once it is readmitted to bowl 3 to v/et incoming wool shortly after that wool traverses rollers 2. ļncoming wool so v/etted fails to the surface of endless belt 5 in first bowl 3 and is 20 carried along belt 5 at a predetermined rāte, some of the solvent 13 in bowl 3 being conducted to outlet 14 once it is forced to flow into the region of endless belt 5 where wool admitted to bowl 3 fails onto that belt, this co-flow of solvent through outlet 14 being conducted to ensure that wool is conducted along belt 5 at the rāte of travel of the belt. A 25 further portion of solvent 13 in bowl 3 is conducted through a filter (not shov/n) to shower device 7 v/hence it is forced vērtically downwards to mix with solvent 13 to remove grease and foreign materiāls from the wool being transported along endless belt 5. Endless belt 5, and wool transported thereon, risēs above the surface of solvent 13 betvveen belt 30 rollers 16 and 17 and in this region is washed by solvent 13 conducted from second bowl 4 over weir 8 to further remove grease and foreign matter. in this wool.

Nool so washed is conducted over endless belt 5 as it traverses roller 17 and then fails onto endless belt 6 in second bowl 4. Some of 35 the solvent 13 in second bowl 4 is used as co-flow 1 iquid through ejector 15. A further portion of solvent 13 is conducted via a filter (not $hown) to shower device 9 whence it is transmitted under pressure vērtically downwards to mix with solvent 13 in the region of endless - 8 - LV10511 belt 6 to further remove grease and foreign matter from woo1 carried by endless beIt 6. A portion of endless belt 6 risēs above the Ievel of solvent 13 in bowl 4 between rollers 18 and 19 and wool carried on this portion of belt 6, above the general Ievel of solvent 13 in bowl 4, is 5 washed by pure solvent admitted to bowl 4 through weir 10. Wool so washed is carried by endless belt 6 over roller 19 to exit the apparatus 1 in the direction of arrow 20 being thereafter conducted to a centrifuge where remaining solvent mixed with the wool is extracted and conducted as a vapour (or in part vapour, part liquid form) for eventual 10 return to the original pure solvent reservoir (see Fig. 2) for return to the apparatus of Fig. 1. As best illustrated in the schematic drawing of Fig. 2, the system of this embodiment of the invention is sealed and solvent is recirculated in the system, solvent being removed from bowl 3 at substantially the same rāte as pure solvent is admitted to bowl 4.via 15 weir 10, the system being such that the Ievel of solvent 13 in bowls 3 and 4 is maintained substantially constant.

In Fig. 2, pure solvent is pumped from the solvent reservoir to bowl 4 entering bowl 4 over weir 10 (Fig. 1) as a final wool rinse before wool is admitted to the cartridge. As indicated above, some of the 20 solvent in bowl 4 is passed through a filter and readmitted to bowl 4 through shower 9. Solvent used in bov/1 4 is transferred to bowl 3 via weir 8. Some of the solvent in bowl 3 is again filtered to be readmitted to bowl 3 through shower 7. Used solvent is conducted from bowl 3 through a series of filters. From these filters foreign material is 25 conducted via a dirt drier to a foreign material collection chamber where it is collected in powder form. Further dirt from the shovver filters is also transferred to this series of filters. Solvent and grease is conducted from these filters to a series of stills whence the grease is extracted and is collected in one or more collection tanks. In the 30 stills, solvent is boiled off from the solvent and grease mixture and such vaporized solvent is condensed and returned to the solvent reservoir. Solvent from the dirt drier is also transferred to the solvent reservoir. Vapours from bowls 3 and 4 is conducted to a refrigerated condenser and the pressure in bowls 3 and 4 is maintained at 35 slightly less than normai air temperature in order to create a force to conduct those vapours to the condenser. Vapours from the centrifuge and dirt drier are also conducted to the condenser whence solvent is returned to the pure solvent reservoir for recirculation in the system. - 9 -

The whole system is sealed and is under a negative pressure to prevent escape of vapours to the atmosphere. In this regard a vapour recovery unit is uti 1 izēd to which vapours in the system are drawn under negative pressure. These vapours are condensed and transferred to the 5 c1ean solvent reservoir for re-use in the system. A final vapour trap is used in the form of a carbon-activated adsorption unit to ensure vapour emissions are compatible with the most stringent environmental guidelines.

In practice it has been found that there is some minimal loss of solvent in that the wool grease extracted from the system has an 10 approximate 27. solvent content. This, in addition to any minor vapour. escape is the sum total of solvent loss which is expected to range from 70 to 100 kg per day. This is considered entirely acceptable given the system is designed for a wool feed rāte of 750 kg (greasy) per hour and a f solvent distillation rāte of 6500 kg/hour. 15 It is contemplated that a constant 5000 litres per hour inflow of clean solvent into second bowl 4, be maintained, this inflow being balanced by an outflow from the second bowl 4 to the first bowl 3 of approximately 5000 litres per hour. The wet wool entering the second bov/l from the first bowl wi 11 also carry with it some solvent, so the 20 flow back to the first bowl wi11 actually be greater than the 5000 litres per hour, by the amount carried forward with the v/et wool. The return flow to the first bowl 3 is taken from the second bowl 4 ģetting circulation flow, via the appropriate control valve. A Ievel controller will sense solvent Ievel in the second bovvl 4 and spīli enough solvent 25 back to the first bowl 3 via that control valve to balance the net inflow and maintain a constant solvent Ievel.

The 5000 litres per hour solvent flow from the scour apparatus enters a primary stili which operates belov/ atmospheric pressure. In order to maintain a constant 30”/. wool grease concentration in the primary 30 stili, a constant bleed of approximately 330 kg/hour is taken from a boiling bath via the primary stili grease extraction pump and sent to the secondary stili. The recondensed clean solvent 1īquid is then pumped via the primary stili solvent extraction pump to the clean solvent tank.

In a secondary stili, the 1iquid from the primary stili is 35 concentrated up to 807. grease concentration. A flow of 120 kg/hour is removed from the boiling bath via the secondary stili grease extraction pump and sent to the tertiary stili. The recondensed clean solvent liquid is pumped via the secondary stili solvent extractlon pump to the clean solvent tank. - 10 - LV1051

In the tertiary stili, the bath is heated electrically, and the solvent vapour is removed from the stili by an injector pump immersed in a bath of cold solvent at atmospheric pressure. The bath is cooled by refrigeration and condenses the solvent vapour within the bath. This 5 causes the bath Ievel to rise, with the solvent overflow going to the clean solvent tank. Hence no tertiary solvent liquid extraction pump is required.

From the clean solvent storage tank, a constant 5000 1/hr of solvent is pumped back to the second ,bowl 4 by the clean solvent pump. 10 The Ievel in the clean solvent tank is controlled by a Ievel controller.

If the tank Ievel fails, due to flowback from the scourer being less than the flow pumped to the scourer (resulting from solvent losses) the solvent makeup pump will pump additional solvent from the solvent dump 1. tank into the primary stili. . .. 15 In the case of a rise in Ievel in the clean solvent tank, the excess v/ill simply spill via an overflow back to the solvent dump tank.

The wool grease is progressively concentrated in the residues from the stills, to over 95'/. grease concentration in the discharge from the final stili. ;· 20 Considerable energy is added to the circulating solvent by the various pumps in the system; These pumps include jetting circulation pumps, co-f1ow pumps and the solvent and grease extraction pumps. In order to prevent excessive temperature rise of the solvent in the bowls 3 and 4, a refrigerated coiling cool is fitted in each bowl, preferably in 25 the jetting area below the return bowl. Refrigeration may be supplied to this coil from the main stili refrigeration unit and bowl temperature may be readily adjusted by a simple dial thermostat.

Vapour control is an important preferred feature of the system the subject of this invention. Ali solvent-co.ntaining i.tems, such as the 30 scour apparatus (3, 4) filters, tanks, centrifuges, etc are maintained under a slight negative pressure. This wi11 cause a small air inflow at any leaks, rather than an outflow of air/solvent vapour, preventing unintentional solvent vapour loss. To maintain the desired negative pressure, a small fan is connected on its suction side to ali 35 solvent-containing items. The solvent-laiden air discharged from the fan vnll be taken to a vapour recovery system, using a combination of refrigerated and carbon absorption vapour recovery. A refrigerated system to cool the solvent-laden vapour to approximately -30°C may be η provided. The solvent vapour would, after cooling, be reheated to ambient temperature. During the cooling phase, solvent vapour will be condensed, leaving only approximately 47. vapour in the air. This stream wi 11 then be passed into a relatively small and comparatlvely inexpensive 5 carbon absorption system, capturing approximately 987. of the remaining solvent vapour and thus cutting solvent vapour emmission losses to the order of 17 kg/day. Discharge from the vapour recovery system is taken outside the building in which the system is housed and discharged via an exhau$t stack. 10 Thus the entire system is environmentally acceptable in that little or no solvent escapes the system, ali foreign material is removed from the wool and co.llected, par.ticulate matter as dirt which might be useful as a fertilizer, the grease for further Processing as described above, vegetable matter in subsequent conventional processes. The products .of 15 the system are thus clean untangled high quality wool, powdered dirt and a higher recovery wool grease than results from conventional water scour processes. Hater scour grease dirt and protein waste products are usual1y licensed for admission as pollutants to e.g. river systems. The current system wi11 obviate th i s undesirable situation. l·

Claims

APPARATUS FORMULA 1. Apparatus for treating animal fibers, in this case raw wool, said apparatus comprising a solvent container; a means for introducing the fiber into the solvent tank; an infinite tape in the solvent tank suitable for transporting the fiber through the container; one or more solvent spraying devices disposed in the container and suitable for spraying the solvent under pressure on the fiber to be cleaned when the fiber passes through the container onto the endless belt; and an overflow suitable for receiving at least a substantially pure solvent and a cascade of solvent in the container at the end of the infinite tape raised outside the solvent tank.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a solvent outlet suitable for feeding the solvent to wet the container to be introduced into the container.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a container outlet through which the wool treated in the container can be discharged to a centrifuge, the outlet portion of the container being adjacent to the upper end of the raised portion of the endless belt . Ϊ

4. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a solvent outflow outlet suitable for introducing a solvent under pressure into the solvent tank instead of sliding the fiber disposed on the endless end of the fiber container at the end of the fiber inlet. endless tape on the end of the tank fiber end. 2

5. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a container filter suitable for taking a certain amount of solvent from the solvent tank to filter the solvent and returning the solvent substantially in pure form to said one or more spraying devices.

6. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a solvent reservoir from which the pure solvent may be discharged into the tank above the overpass.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6, depending on any of claims 3 to 5, further comprising a means for removing solvent vapor from the container and centrifuge on the condenser and means for removing the solvent from the condenser to the reservoir.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a vapor receiver adapted to receive a residual steam 20 from the condenser, furthermore the last vapor capture is an adsorption actor in an activated carbon aggregate.

9. Apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 8, further comprising a group of filters suitable for receiving the solvent used, contaminated with dirt and grease from the container.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that the remainder of the material filtered by said tank filter is discharged to a filter group.

11. Apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the dirt from the filter group is discharged to a dirt dryer and the fat and solvent are removed from the filter group on a row of 35 distillers.

12. Apparatus according to claim 11, characterized in that the solvent is extracted from the drier and distillers and discharged to the solvent reservoir.

13. Apparatus according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the dirt from the dirt dryer is? to a foreign material collection chamber

14. Apparatus according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that the fat from the distillers is removed to a fat-collecting tank.

15. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is substantially isolated from the atmosphere and "suitable for working under a pressure slightly below atmospheric pressure.

16. Apparatus for the treatment of crude wool (greasy) comprising: a first solvent tank with an inlet end and an exit end; means for introducing raw wool into the inlet of the container; a first infinite tape in the first container suitable for transporting wool through the first container; one or more first * tank solvent spraying devices suitable for spraying the solvent under pressure to purify the wool when the wool is moved by the infinite tape of the first container; a second container having an entrance end and an exit end with a second endless tape suitable for moving the wool through the second container; one or more second tank solvent spraying devices suitable for spraying the solvent under pressure to further purify the wool when crossing the second container; a first overflow suitable for solvent uptake from the second container and a second container for cascading the solvent over the wool on the first raised end of the infinite tape outside the solvent in the first container; 4 a second overflow suitable for picking up a clean solvent and cascading the pure solvent over the wool placed on the raised end of the other endless belt outside the solvent in the second container; the first infinite tape suitable for moving the wool from the entrance to the first end of the first container and to the entrance end of the second container. '

17. Apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising a solvent outlet suitable for feeding the solvent to wet the wool when it enters the first container.

18. Apparatus according to claim 16 or 17, further comprising a centrifuge in which the wool is fed through the outlet end of the second container, the exit from the second container being adjacent to the upper end of the raised portion of the endless tape of the second container.

19. Apparatus according to any one of claims 16 to 18, further comprising two solvent outflow outlets suitable for introducing the solvent under pressure in the first and second containers respectively to cause the wool on the first and second infinite tapes at the respective first and second reservoir inlet ends slip respectively with the first and second infinite tapes on the first and second end ends of the containers.

20. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a first container filter and a second container filter, respectively, said container filters are suitable for receiving a certain amount of solvent from the first and second containers to filter said amount of solvent and returning the purified solvent to the spraying devices of the respective first and second tanks.

21. Apparatus according to any one of claims 16 to 20, further comprising a solvent reservoir, of which the pure solvent may be 5 5 LV10511. passed into a second tank over the second tank overpass.

22. Apparatus according to claim 21, dependent on any of claims 18 to 20, further comprising means for removing solvent vapor from the first and second containers and centrifuging the condenser and means for removing the solvent from the condenser. on the reservoir.

23. Apparatus according to claim 22, further comprising a last vapor receiver suitable for receiving residual vapor from the condenser, the latter being an adsorption unit with activated carbon connected to the atmosphere. 15

24. Apparatus according to claims 21 and 23 further comprising a group of filters suitable for receiving the solvent used, contaminated with dirt and grease from the first container. 20

25. Apparatus according to claim 24, characterized in that the remainder of the material which is filtered by the tank filters is discharged to said filter.

26. Apparatus according to claim 24 or 25, characterized in that the dirt from the filter group is discharged to a dirt dryer and the fat and solvent removed from the filter group to the distiller row.

27. Apparatus according to claim 26, characterized in that the solvent is extracted from the drier and from the distillers and discharged to the solvent reservoir.

28. Apparatus according to claim 26 or 27, wherein the dirt from the drier is removed to a foreign material collection chamber. 6

29. Apparatus according to any one of claims 26 to 28, characterized in that the fat from the distillers is removed to a fat-collecting tank. 5

30. Apparatus according to any one of claims 16 to 29, characterized in that it is substantially insulated from the atmosphere and suitable for operation under a pressure slightly lower than atmospheric pressure. 10

31. A method for treating animal fibers, in this case raw wool, comprising the steps of: introducing a fiber into a solvent tank, transporting the fiber to an infinite tape in a container, spraying the fiber when it is moved with an infinite tape, with 15 solvents from one or more solvent sprays, cleaning the fibers and cascading the solvent in the tank above the overflow so that the cascade solvent cleans the wool on the endless portion of the raised belt in a position that is not in contact with the solvent in the tank. 20

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising the step of wetting the fiber upon entry into the container with a solvent fed through the dissolved outlet.

33. The method of claim 31 or 32, further comprising the step of removing the treated wool from the container to the centrifuge, the fiber exiting the container from the container exit portion adjacent the upper end of the infinite ribbon. . 30

A method according to any one of claims 31 to 33, further comprising the step of introducing a total solvent stream into the container instead of causing the fiber present on the endless end of the container container to slide with 35 endless bands on the container end of the fiber. 7 7 LV10511

A method according to any one of claims 31 to 34, further comprising the step of using a container filter to filter a certain amount of solvent from the solvent tank and return the filtered solvent substantially in pure form to one or more spraying steps. devices.

A method according to any one of claims 31 to 35, further comprising the step of transporting a clean solvent from the solvent reservoir to the tank over 10 overpasses.

37. A method according to claim 36, as claimed in claims 33 to 35, further comprising the step of removing solvent vapor from the container and centrifuge to condenser 15 and then removing the solvent from the condenser to the reservoir.

38. The method of claim 37, further comprising the step of directly transporting the residual vapor from the condenser 20 to the last vapor receiver, wherein the last vapor receiver is an adsorption unit with activated carbon connected to the atmosphere.

A method according to any one of claims 36 to 38, further comprising the step of transporting the solvent contaminated with dirt and grease from the container to the filter group. *

40. The method of claim 39, further comprising the step of: providing a filter filter to remove the filtered residual material to the filter group.

A method according to claim 39 or 40, further comprising the step of removing dirt from the filter group to remove dirt dryers and grease and solvent from the filter group to the distiller row. 8

42. The method of claim 41, further comprising the step of extracting the solvent from the drier and from the distillers and removing the solvent onto the solvent tank.

A method according to claim 41 or 42, further comprising the step of removing dirt from the dirt dryer to a foreign material collection chamber. 10

A method according to any one of claims 41 to 43. points 43 to 43, further comprising a step of removing fat from the distillers into a fat-collecting tank. 15 20 25 30

The method according to any one of claims 30 to 44, further comprising the step of isolating the apparatus from the atmosphere, wherein said method is implemented and operated under a pressure of slightly less than atmospheric pressure.

46. A method of treating raw wool (greasy) comprising the steps of: supplying raw cotton at the inlet end of the first solvent container; moving the raw cotton to the first infinite tape in the first container; spraying the raw cotton with the spray stream of the spray solvent under pressure on the wool when the wool is moved with the infinite tape of the first container; moving the wool onto the first raised end of the infinite ribbon and cascading the solvent over the gutter to the wool when it is placed on the first end of the infinite ribbon above the solvent level in the first bulwark; transporting wool from the end of the first tank to the end of an infinite tape to the infinite tape of the second container; transporting the wool through the second container to the infinite tape of the second container; 35 weaving the wool onto the endless tape of the second container with a solvent stream under pressure from one or more spraying devices placed in the second container; transporting the wool to the end of the endless end of the infinite tape of the second container; cascading the pure solvent over the wool when it is moved to the end of the infinite ribbon of the second container, from the second tank overflow in which the pure solvent is admitted; and leaving the wool out of the other tank.

A method according to claim 46, further comprising the step of wetting the wool with a solvent which is introduced into the first container from the solvent outlet.

A method according to claim 46 or 47, further comprising the step of removing the wool from the outlet end of the second container to a centrifuge and drying the wool. i

A method according to any one of claims 46 to 48, further comprising the step of providing a total solvent flow in each of the first and second containers to deliver the solvent under pressure in the first and second containers to cause the wool to be present. on the first and second infinite bands at the entrance ends of the first and second bins respectively, slip with the first and second endless bands on the respective end ends of the first and second bins.

A method according to any one of claims 46 to 49, further comprising the step of providing filters to the first and second containers, removing the solvent from the first and second containers to the respective first and second container filters in a predetermined amount. filtering the amount of solvent in the first and second tank filters and returning the purified solvent from the first and second tank filters to the respective first and second tank spray devices. 10

A method according to any one of claims 46 to 50, further comprising the step of providing a solvent reservoir and transferring the clean solvent from the solvent reservoir to the second tank over the passage of the second container.

A method according to claim 51, dependent on any of claims 48 to 50, further comprising the step of removing solvent vapor from the first and second containers and centrifuging the condenser and further removing the solvent from the condenser to the condenser. reservoir.

53. The method of claim 52, further comprising removing the residual vapor from the condenser to the last vapor receiver, the latter being an adsorption unit with activated carbon coupled to the atmosphere.

A method according to any one of claims 51 to 53, further comprising removing the solvent contaminated with dirt and vapor from the first container to the filter group.

A method according to claim 54, further comprising the step of removing the residual material filtered by the filters of the first and second containers to the filter group.

A method according to claim 54 or 55, further comprising the step of removing dirt from the filter group to remove dirt and grease and solvent from the filter group to the distiller row.

57. The method of claim 56, further comprising the step of extracting the solvent from the drier and distillers and removing the extracted solvent into the solvent reservoir. 1 '11 LV10511 Ι ·

A method according to claim 56 or 57, further comprising the step of removing dirt from the dirt dryer to a foreign material collection chamber.

A method according to any one of claims 56 to 58, further comprising the step of removing fat from the distillers on the fat-collecting reservoir.

A method according to any one of claims 46 to 59, further comprising the step of performing a method for apparatus which is substantially isolated from the atmosphere and operating under a pressure slightly lower than atmospheric pressure. I ·