US192844A - smith - Google Patents

Description

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. C. W. SMITH. CLEAKSING CLOTH, YARNS AND WASTE. No. 192,844, Patented July 10, 1827.

NLPET-ERS. PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER WASHINGTONv D C 3Sheets-Sheet 2. C. W. SMITH.

CLEANSING CLOTH, YARNS AND WASTE. No. 192,844. I Patented July 10, 1877..

N.PETERS. FHDTO-LITNOGRAFHER, WASHINGTON, D, C,

UNITED STAT S PATENT" QFFICE. I

oHRIsroPHnR WEBB SMITH, or BAn'Nwoon, NEAR eLo'UdEsrER;

ENGLhND.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No-J 192,844, dated July 10, 1877; applicatien filed i June 16, 1877.

To all whom it mag concern: p

Be it known that I, Onn srornnn W B SMITH, of Barnwood, nearthe city of Gloucester, England, chemist, have invented new and useful Improvements in and Apparatus for Securing for Cleansing Woolen Uloth, Yarns, and Wast'eaand in recovering valuable products from the materials which have been used usedinconducting the said scour ing or cleansing, which, improvements are fully set forth j ill the following specification, referenceabeing had. to the accompanying drawings. N, d d

My ntenti n has for t o j c t pe s d the tedious and uncertain processof scour ing or cleansing woolen cloth ordinarily emp eye y a d ub u g therefo a P s which is shorter and more efficient, andwhich permitsof the recovery of a considerable quantity-of theindigo or other dye and oil which are removed fromthe cloth during the securing process. My invention has thefurtheradvantage that the principal material employed canbe purified after use, so as to permit of its being used over again instead of being converted into a waste or refuse material, as is the case with respect to'the material comnionly-used in conducting the scourin g or'cleansing'process. e a

Mysaidinvention is practiced by the use of the apparatus hereinafter described.

n scouring or cleansingwoolen cloth of coarse or low quality, according to my invention, I proceed as follows The cloth to be oper ated-i upon is spread out on the floor of the room in which the process. is conducted, and a layer of matting or other like coarse and cheap material is placed upon the cloth. The. cloth and mattingare rolled into a loose coil, whichis placed in an upright cylindrical? vesselof a, size and figure proper to'reoeive it. The said vessel hasa removable head similarjto the head of a still, and after the introduction of: the cloth into thevessel the said head is fixed on the vessel. Through ai funnel inth'e. said head I fill the said vessel with amylic alcoh'ol or common petroleum-spirit, such as is commonly burned in lamps The spirit is ala lowed 130 remain undisturbed in the'fvessel from twenty minutes to half an hour, during .the spirit which is retained centrifugal force.

which time it dissolves all the oil contained" in the cloth the matting rolled with the cloth favoring the passage of the spirit to every" part of the cloth. A considerable quantity of indigo is also remoyed from the cloth. After the expiration of. the time indicated the spirit is drawn off from the vessel containing-the cloth by means of a tap at its bottom,' and is conducted into a second vessel ata somewhat lower level than the first. That portion 'of in thee-pores of the cloth is' removed by volatilization, or

when I mp ow la li a tion the still-head of the vessel containingthe cloth isconnected with a condenser or worm and steam is passed into the saidvesselin small jets from a pipe until the spirit is driven ofi. The spirit contained in the cloth is volatilized and condensed in the worm or uates; h cl h er, and eollectedin a third vessel. isnow removed from thevessel, when it will befound-to be dry and elean,,and readyin most cases for fulling-. When, however, it" is thought desirable the cloth'm I through the vv asher machine with tullersl earth, in the ordinary way. The spirit drawn off and that obtained by distillation may be' mixed togetherand used again. efter, how ever, the spirit has beenused two or three times itis desirable to purify it by separatin the suspended indigo and the oil whichit has dissolved. I a v n In order to separate theindigo or other;

dyes or impurities, the spirit, when draw' n e11: from the first vessel into the second, is allowed to rest there for several hours, whenthe of the indigo or other solid subsides, and by decantation and filtration the spirit and indigo or solid may be obtained separately. saidindigo and spirit are, however, impure.

.To purify the spirit-that is, to. eparates 7 ro e fi ho whi h has d s' dfil b ec t to st a wh eb he i is obtained in a state ofsuffic ient purity for use again in the cleansing process, and the fixed oil remains in the stilL- The fixedoil ispuri'; fied by beingplaeed in an open vat together with one-thirdits volume of water; fiteam'is passed into the said vat, and the: whole is boiled for about anhour. Atterallowing the v he p ss 7 contents of the vat to rest for a time, the oil can be run ofi", and can be used again in treating the wool. The impure indigo may be treated by filtration and distillation to remove all the spirit adhering to it. The indigo thus obtained is sufficiently pure to be used indyeing. When, however, it is required still further to purify the indigo, the impure indigo may be washed once or twice with petroleum spirit, and boiled in an open vat, first with lime and then with hydrochloric acid, or deoxidized by any of the well-known agents, such as orpiment, chloride of tin, protoxide of zinc, sulphate of iron in the presence of lime and alkalies. After the deoxidation of the indigo the liquid is allowed to stand at rest to permit the solid impurities to precipitate. The supernatant liquor is run off into another vessel and oxidized by-exposure to the action of the air, or bythe addition of sulphate of copper, which hastens the oxidation.

Although my invention is especially applicable to the securing or cleansing of woolen cloth, yet it is also applicable to the scouring or cleansing of woolen and other yarns and wastes.

Although amylic alcohol is an excellent solvent of fixed oils, I only use it in treating goods where its objectionable odor is of no consequence.

For treating woolen cloths, yarns, wools, and oily cotton-waste, I prefer to use petroleum-spirit instead of amylic alcohol.

Instead of employing the apparatus described for cleansing cloths, yarns, and wastes according to my invention, the said cloths, yarns, and wastes may be treated in a centrifugal machine, the bottom of the outer shell or casing of the said machine being fitted with a tap for the exit of the spirit. The centrifugal machine should be fixed at such a level that the spirit can be run into it from a tank above.

The centrifugal machine having been filled three-fourths full of spirit, the goods are pressed under the liquid by sticks, and allowed to remain soaking for half an hour for the perfect solution of the fixed oils. Alarge proportion of the spirit can be run off while the machine is stationary, most of that which remains in the goods being collected by centrifugal force. This mcthodof treatment I prefer.

For most goods the treatment described will be sufficient, and the spirit sufficiently recovered. When, however, the goods are of such a nature that the spirit is removed with difficulty, a jet of water may be thrown in at the center of the centrifugal machine while in motion, which will secure the collection of all that remains. When water'is employed for this purpose it should afterward be conducted into another vessel forthe easy separation of the water and oils. Oily goods which have been soaked in spirit and deprived of the spirit by centrifugal force, as described, can be further completely cleansed by injecting spirit into the middle of the centrifugal machine during its action.

I also, in some instances, treat the goods in an upright cylindrical vessel of the kind hereinafter described. The cloth being packed in the upright cylindrical vessel, with coarse canvas intervening, as before explained,'spirit is run in at the bottom, which ascends through the cloth. When the vessel has been filled with the spirit, it should remain from twenty minutes to half an hour, to act upon the cloth.

Water is then made slowly to flow into the vessel by the same entrance at bottom by which the spirit was introduced, which water, forcing its way upward, drives the spirit before it, the said spirit flowing out at a spout or pipe provided for the purpose. The water by which the spirit is displaced must be admitted slowly into the vessel.

In treating oily cotton-waste it should, when very foul, pass twice through the process described. The said cotton-waste, after it has been treated, will only require shaking on wire hurdles, or dusted by machinery, to free it from any dust or insoluble impurities not removed by the spirit. When very much stained by iron the cotton-waste can be treated by very dilute hydrochloric acid, andafterward washed in a centrifugal machine; but this treatment is rarely necessary.

Figures 1 and 1A of the accompanying draw ing, represent, in vertical section, the apparatus which I employ for the scouring or cleansing of'woolen cloth according to my invention.

a, Fig. 1, is an upright cylindrical vessel, of a size and form proper to receive the loose coil of cloth and matting. The loose coil is supported on the perforated bottom 12. p 0 is a steam-jacket, between which and the cylindrical vessel a steam is introduced for the purpose of. heating the contents of the vessel a. e is a removable still-head, capable of being readily fixed on and removed from thevesso] a. Screw-clamps, of the kind represented at f, may be used for connecting and disconnecting the still-head e. The said still-head e isin communication with a worm, g, Fig. 1A, immersed in a vessel, h, containing cold water, the said worm and vessel constituting a condensing apparatus of the ordinary kind. After the cloth has been introduced into the vessel or, and the said vessel filled with amylic alcohol or petroleum-spirit, the head a is fixed on the vessel, and after the lapse of the time hereinbefore indicated the spiritis drawn off by the pipe 5. The portion of the spirit retained by the cloth is volatilized by introducing steam by the pipe q, in connection witha steam-boiler, between the jacket 0 and vessel a. The vapor of the spirit, passing through the still-head 0 into the worm g, is there condensed, and is drawn oif at the cock j. By means of the small pipe as steam in small jets may be passed into the vessel 0!. and the spirit thereby driven off.

Fig. II represents, in vertical section, the upright cylindrical vessel hereinbefore referred to, in which, in some cases, I treat the woolen cloth or other goods to be cleansed.

This vessel is furnished with a tap, k, at

bottom-for emptying it, and with a vertical pipe, 1, surmounted with a funnel, m, and opening into the bottom of the vessel at it. Through this funnel and pipe the sp1rit, to act upon the woolen cloth or goods, is first introduced, and, after a sufficient lapse of time, is drawn ofl at the tap it. The spirit remaining in the pores of the cloth or other goods is displaced by a stream of water heated to about 80 Fahrenheit, which is slowly introducedthrough the funnelm and pipe I. This warm water, slowly ascending in the vessel, displaces the spirit contained in the goods under treatment,

which spirit, collecting at the top of the vessel, passes ofi' by the pipe 1).

Having now described the nature of invention, and the manner in which the same is'to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise details herein described and illustrated, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of my invention; but

I claim as my invention 1. The process of cleaning and scouring woolen cloths, yarns, and Wastes when rolled into mats, into coils, and placed in cylindrical receivers with amylic alcohol or petroleumspirit, substantially as hereinbefore described.

2. The methods of securing or cleansing woolen cloth, yarn s, and wastes, and recovering valuable products from the materials which have been used in conducting the said scouring or cleansing, substantially by the means and in the manner herein shownand set forth.

CHRISTOPHER WEBB SMITH. [L 5.] Witnesses:

GEORGE SHAW, RICHARD SKERRETT, Both of 37 Temple Street, Birmingham.

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