Abstract:
Recovery of heat values from biomass materials such as wood waste or peat. Wood waste or "hog fuel" from the forest industries is of particular interest. It has been discovered that this material can be burned with no fossil fuel support in an air suspension-type burner, located in a boiler (34), without the need to finely pulverize the full fuel stream. One portion of the biomass fuel stream is ground (16) so that it is less than 100 mu m in diameter and fed (30) to the burner. This fine portion serves as an ignition component and should comprise about 20% of the total heating value of the fuel, using a conventional air suspension burner, or 10% of the total heating value using a staged burner, when the burners are operated at full load. The balance of the fuel fed (32) to the burner can be of much larger particle size. This can be up to about 10 mm or even greater in maximum dimension if used with a grate equipped boiler. If the boiler lacks a grate, the principal fuel component should not exceed about 1 mm in thickness and 3 mm in any other dimension if carryover is to be avoided. A key aspect of the invention is the discovery that the total amount of ignition fuel component should be maintained constant regardless of burner load.
Abstract:
A fibrous cellulosic product, containing a uniformly dispersed polymeric material which has been deposited in an aqueous suspension from an anionic latex, and the method for its manufacture. Cellulosic fiber is cationized by treating it in an aqueous suspension with the condensation product of epichlorohydrin and dimethylamine. Up to 30% of the dimethylamine may be replaced with a crosslinking agent which can be ammonia or an aliphatic diamine such as hexamethylene diamine. The cationized fiber, with or without small quantities of alum, will effectively retain a wide variety of anionic latices when treated in an aqueous environment.
Abstract:
A reaction vessel (10) which mixes ozone (23a-f) with a low consistency pulp and a dewatering vessel (14g) which removes the liquid (27) from the pulp before it leaves the reactor, regulating this same liquid to the pulp entering the reactor. The inner diameter of the recycle pipe (36) is 7.7 to 45% of the inner diameter of the reaction chamber.
Abstract:
Method for measurement of moisture in dielectric materials. It is particularly useful for lumber. In the preferred version, at least two alternating current signals whose frequencies differ by a factor of at least 10 are capacitively coupled to the material. The coupling electrodes are in bridge circuits (R1, R2, C1, C2 and R3, R4, C3, C4) whose unbalance is measured at each frequency. The temperature of the dielectric material is also determined. Bridge unbalance signals are separated and rectified and the voltages, as well as a temperature analog voltage, are entered into a microprocessor programmed with a suitable algorithm to calculate a temperature corrected moisture value. The method overcomes significant inaccuracies in moisture readings due to temperature dependency.
Abstract:
The invention relates to cellulose fluff pulp products that are debondable into fluff with markedly lower energy input, to a process for making the products, and to absorbent products using the fluff. Most of the pulp products show no reduction in liquid absorbency rate from that of untreated fiber and significantly higher rates than pulps treated with the usual debonding agents. The products are made by adhering fine noncellulosic particles to the fiber surfaces using a retention aid. The fiber is preferably treated with the retention aid in an aqueous suspension for a sufficient time so that the retention aid is substantively bonded with little or none left free in the water. The fine particulate additive is then added and becomes attached and uniformly distributed over the fiber surfaces with very little particle agglomeration occurring. The fiber is most usually not refined or only very lightly refined before sheeting. However, it may be significantly refined to produce a product having a very high surface area. Kaolin clay is a preferred particulate additive. The treated pulp may be mixed with other fibers before sheeting or after it is debonded into a fluff. The fluff is highly advantageous in the absorbent portions of personal care products such as diapers or sanitary napkins.
Abstract:
The invention is a method of enhancing the strength of paper products, particularly the dry strength, without adversely affecting repulpability. It is also directed to the resulting products. It is particularly applicable but not limited to products with significant amounts of secondary fiber in the furnish. Preferably, about 10-30 % of the fiber is separated from the furnish at some point prior to sheeting. This is treated with a cationic wet strength resin which is allowed to bond to the fiber. Cationic polyamide-epichlorohydrin resins are particularly useful. The treated fiber is then mixed with the untreated balance of the fiber at some point before the paper machine. Screening fines on repulping do not normally exceed 2-3 %.
Abstract:
The present invention provides apparatus and methods useful, for example, for introducing a desired spacing between or classifying and sorting objects, e.g., plant embryos. Objects carried serially in a fluid stream enter the apparatus via an upstream conduit. A sensor associated with the conduit provides information regarding an object at a particular location in the upstream conduit and produces a signal. A switch coupled to the upstream conduit directs the fluid stream to an appropriate downstream conduit by applying a force to a conduit, e.g., by aligning the upstream conduit with a downstream conduit to create a fluid-tight path. Apparatus according to the present invention are particularly useful for manipulating fragile multicellular biological objects such as plant embryos.
Abstract:
A paperboard container is formed from a single piece with appropriate cuts, score lines and slots to become, when in the erected condition, a food container for holding food items such as pizzas. Top and bottom panels are provided as are appropriate side panels. Front angled corners (38, 40) are constructed where triangular panels and upstanding tabs (51, 53) create a receiving pocket for accepting the locking flap hinged to the top closure panel.
Abstract:
The invention is a method for reproducing coniferous trees by somatic embryogenesis using plant tissue culture techniques in a multistage culturing process. A suitable explant, typically the fertilized embryo excised from an immature seed, is first cultured on a medium that induces multiple early stage proembryos. These are multiplied in a second culture having reduced growth hormones. Maltose is supplied as the carbon and energy source in the second culture. Alternatively, a sucrose-containing maintenance and multiplication medium may be used followed by at least two subcultures on a maltose based maintenance medium. The early stage embryos grow in size and vigor to advanced early stage embryos. The embryos are then transferred to a cotyledonary embryo development culture. After several weeks somatic embryos having the appearance of zygotic embryos will have formed. These may be germinated before or after storage and transplanted to soil for further growth. Maltose used in the maintenance and multiplication culture results in larger and more robust advanced early stage embryos which, in turn, produce cotyledonary embryos very similar in morphology to natural zygotic embryos. The use of maltose at earlier stages of embryo development is more important than its use for embryo maturation.
Abstract:
A measuring and sorting system is based on detecting the specific gravity of each member of a population of wood members, such as logs or trees and allocating the measured member to a sort category with an assigned specific gravity range. The sorted members are thereafter utilized as raw material for a downstream use depending upon desired specific gravity needs.