US2070273A - Process of treating vegetable fibers - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 9, 1937.

T. P. HAUGHEY PROCESS 0F TREATING VEGETABLE FIBERS Original Filed Apr'il 22, 1951 WEB@ X t (FDM wnmuw NN 3 @2p QU QUMQ Patented Feb. 9, 1937 UNITED: STATES 2,070,273 t PnooEss or TREATING VEGETABLE mms Theodore P. Haughey, Onancock, Va., assgnor to Harold H. Brown, New York, N. Y.

Original application April 22, 1931, Serial No.

531,967. Divided and this application s, 1935, serial No. ses

4 claims.

My invention relates to a process for treating vegetable bers, particularly bast bers and is an improvement upon that described and claimed in my United States Patent No. 1,814,155, dated July 14, 1931. The product made from my new process is spun yarn comarising pure linen or linen and cotton in intimate mixture and in controllable proportions.

Broadly, the present process, like thatl of my former patent, comprises partially decorticating and deseeding bers, then preferably cutting them into lengths suitable for spinning on cotton machinery and subsequently treating the bers to taper or fray the ends thereof to adapt them'for the spinning operation and to remove the gums and foreign matter therefrom; the degumming being eiected by the use of extremely dilute chemical solutions.- The present process differs from that of my former patent in that fewer steps are necessary for the treatment of the bers, standard cotton machinery is utilized to a greater extent, the recovery of the gumsis utilized as an indicator of progress of the ber treatment, and the treatment is carried out under atmospheric pressure conditions.

An important feature'of the improved process is the simultaneous removal of foreign matter and the conditioning or tapering of the ends of the cut ber by violent agitation in cold Water, followed b y a degumming operation during which the bers are kept from agitation and are treated with a dilute chemical solution of the type employed in my earlier process.

For a better understanding of the improved process reference may be had to the attached drawing comprising a fw sheet illustrating diagrammatically my preferred process, `as applied to the treatment of ber ax straw to produce yarn of cotton and linen in intimate mixture.

As indicated in the ow sheet, flax straw is introduced into any suitable known type of decorticating machine I, where it is partially deseeded and dewooded. The moisture content of the green ax ber should be reduced, or course, before the ber is introduced into the decorticating machine, as such machines cannot eiliciently treat fresh cut stock. Reduction of the moisture content to about 10%, as by air drying for one or two weeks, is sufficient; further sea soning is of no advantage.

The decorticated ber may then be delivered to a cutting machine 2 to be cut into lengths suitable for the spinning machinery upon which the product is to be spun. When the ber is to be spun on the more usual ring spinning ma- January chinery, the ber should be cut into lengths of about one to one and one-half inches or less. When mule spindles are available, lengths of about two and one-half inches or more are suitable. Any known type of cutting machine may be employed. For example, the ordinary type now used for cutting grain for animal fodder may be employed. At this stage in the process. the bers, instead of being cut could be broken or otherwise separated into the short lengths desired.

From the cutter 2, when used, the bers are delivered into a washer 3, preferably a machine of the type known as a rotary raw stock washer, where the cut ber is violently agitated. Water at a temperature of less than 80 Fahrenheit is continuously introduced into the washer 3 until the liquid discharged therefrom runs clear. During the rst stages of washing the discharged liquid is dark in color, becomes lighter as the Washing continues, and nally clears, indicating the completion of this step of the process.

In general, the less seasoned the ax, the less time required for this step of the process, as the foreign matter is more readily removed from unseasoned ber and the cut ends thereof are more readily frayed. One and one-half hours of this treatment is ample, however, even for ber which has been unduly seasoned; ordinarily a shorter period of time is sufficient.

This treatment removes a large part of the foreign matter of the ber, whether by dissolving of the foreign matter in the Water or by suspension therein. The use of cold, rather than heated "water for this purpose is important as I have found that the ber, after the above described treatment in cold water, will lose about '7% or more of its original weight, whereas the same treatment in water of higher temperature loss less than 2% of its initial weight, indicating that hot water sets the foreign matter Without removing any appreciable amount thereof.

The agitation of the fibers in the washer s" of the ends effected by agitation during the degumming operation.

From the washer 3 the fiber is delivered to a receptacle 4 which I have called, on the now sheet, a non-agitating washer. This washer is preferably of the type known to the industry as a "vacuum raw stock washer in'which water or other uid may be forced upward through material held therein and withdrawn through perforations in the removable top thereof. Into such a washer the washed fiber is packed and a degumming solution as described in my earlier application, is introduced under pressure and forced through the fiber.` Dilute solutions of permanganate of potassium or of caustic potash or caustic soda are suitable degumrning solutions. ample I may use a solution of one half to one part by weight of caustic soda to one hundred parts of water. The solution, after passing through the fiber is preferably delivered to a centrifugal separator 5 for removal of the gums carried thereby, and then returned to the washer 4 and again forced through the fiber, returned to separator 5 and then back to the washer 4; the cycle being continued until the discharge of gums from the separator indicates the completion of the operation. The spent solution is then drained from the washer 4 and the i'lber washed for a few minutes to remove the last traces of the solution.

After washing in the washer 4, cotton stock is added to the fiber and the mixture delivered to a dryer 6 which can be of the type employed in the cotton industry. If the product is to be pure linen and is to be spun on ring spindles, then, instead of the addition of cotton at this stage, a suitable plasticizing agent, for example a dilute solution of silicate of soda, or of beta napthol is forced through the ber in the washer until it is thoroughly impregnated therewith.- 'Ihis gives to the relatively slippery short fibrous bundles sumcient cohesive properties as to render them spinnable. The addition of the plasticizer is not essential when the ber has been cut into the longer lengths suitable for mule spindles.

From the dryer t the fiber mixture of flax and /cotton or the pure plasticized ax fiber is delivered to an opener i, a carding machine 8, sliver forming machines. e and spinning machinery lil. Machines t, and i@ may be standard machines of the cotton industry without modication. The carding machine e may also be of the type used for cotton but should be operated at a reduced speed. Removal of the ats of the standard carder and substitution of a smooth surface therefor will result, however, in more eihcient operation.

One by-product of the process, as above described, is the gum recovered by the separator 5.

In addition, the material separated from the iiax straw by the decorticating machine i may be separated for further use by delivery of the seeds and boles, separated from the ax straw during the early stages of decortication, to a winnowing machine ii and delivery of the shive, separated during the later stages of decortication together with the boles from the winnowing machine ii, to a baler i2.

I have now described my preferred process with particular reference to the production of linen or of linen and cotton yarn., The process, however, is equally applicable to the treatment of other vegetable fibers, such as, hemp, ramie, jute, or the like and lends itself `to the` production of pure yarns of any of these iibers or of yarns of any of these bers mixed with cotton, Wool 91 Silkl do For exnot wish, therefore, insofar as the process is concerned, to be limited to the treatment of ax, except as defined in the appended claims.

From the above description it will be apparent that my process can be so performed as to produce either pure linen yarn or yarn of linen and cotton in intimate mixture in any desired proportions.

The pure dry-spun' linen yarn produced by my process can be distinguished from wet spun yarn by its appearance as it is less twisted and has a slight tendency to curl; in this respect resembling yarn of wool. Also the new yarn appears to be somewhat more uniform in cross section than wet spun yarn. My pure product can be made as ne as the ordinary wet spun linen. Wet spun linen runs from about sixty lea up to one hundred lea for the nst hand spun linen, or converting to the usual unit of the cotton industry, from about 2l to 35 count (one count being equal to about 2.8 lea). Yarn produced by my process can be spun as fine as 25 or 30 count, possibly finer. This is true, whether the yarn is pure flax or cotton and ax mixed. Furthermore the mixed yarn can be produced in any desired proportions of flax and cotton and when produced has the appearance of an extremely uniform product.. Insofar as I am aware no such product I of flax and cotton has heretofore been produced. Such mixtures as had been produced were made by mixing tow (combings) or noils (sweepings) of previously processed flax fibers with low grade cotton during the carding and drawing operation. Because such flax bers had not been treated so as to taper the ends thereof, they were not suitable for spinning on cotton machinery and when mixed with cotton the resulting yarn, even when the original mixture contained a substantial amount of the flax, contained only about fifteen per cent. flax; the rest of the ax being lost during the treatment. Moreover, the resulting yarn unlike my new product had the appearance of an obvious mixture, and was not produced ner than about 9 count.

The product of mixed cotton and ax yarn, when woven into cloth has the appearance of linen but is as durable as pure linen and has a less tendency to wrinkle. Even when the mixture contains a greater proportion of cotton than flax, cloth woven therefrom has the characteristic sheen of linen, the flax apparently being the more dominant of the two. At the present time, however, I prefer a product having more than ten but less than sixty per cent. cotton as I believe yarn of such proportions is perhaps best suited for commercial use cloth woven therefrom being practically undistinguishable from linen cloth and being superior thereto in its wearingquality.

My new product is thus characterized by the fact that it is dry spun ax containing any desired percentage of cotton (preferably more than ten and less than sixty per cent. by weight of cotton but including zero per cent), that it has a count higher than 9 (preferably about 25) that it is of substantially uniform cross section, that it has a wool-like tendency to curl, and that, irrespective of the percentage of cotton therein, it does not give the appearance of a mixture but gives that of a homogeneous yarn.

My new product is not claimed herein but is claimed in my copending application Ser. No. 531,967, led April 22, i931, now U. S. Eatent No. 1,986,970, of which the present application a division.

I claim: Y

1. 'Ihe process oi treating out, green vegetable fibers which includes violently agitating the fibers in cold water to remove the foreign matter therefrom and to taper the ends of the cut fibers and thereafter treating the bers under atmospheric pressure with a weak chemical solution to remove the gums therefrom.

2. The process of treating flax, hemp or the like which includes partially deseeding and decortieating green fibers, then cutting the fibers into lengths suitable for spinning on cotton machinery, agitating the cut iibers in water having a temperature less than 80 F. to remove foreign matter and to taper the cut ends of the fibers, and thereafter degumming the bers under atmospheric pressure. g

3. The process of treating bers of flax, hemp or the like to render them spinnable on cotton machinery which comprises cutting partially decorticated green bers in lengths suitable for spinning on cotton machinery, washing while agitating the out bers toremove foreign matter and to taper the cut ends of the iibers, then degumming the cut bers under atmospheric pressure, washing and plasticizing the degurnmed fibers, and nally drying and carding the plasticized fibers.

4. The process of producing an intimate mixture of lbers of ax and of cotton suitable for spinning on cotton machinery, which includes cutting partially decorticated green ax fber into lengths suitable for spinning on cotton machinery,

' agitating the out bers in cold water to remove THEODORE P. HAUGHEY.

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