Abstract:
Discontinuous natural fibers have a coating of a thermoset binder. A substantial majority of the fibers, and any fiber bundles in the fibers, are unbonded to one another by the thermoset binder material. One or more solid particulate materials may be adhered to the fibers by the binder material as the binder material dries. The binder material is heat curable and the coated fibers can be mixed with other fibers for subsequent heat curing and used in producing a wide variety of products.
Abstract:
The present invention is a method of measuring the temperature of a hot crystalline material. It is especially well adapted for measuring the temperature of mineral products within or being discharged from rotary or other types of kilns. The mineral material entering the kiln is doped with a rare earth compound at a level of at least 0.001 molar percent, preferably about 0.01 molar percent. During the process of calcination in the kiln, the rare earth is incorporated into the crystal lattice of the host mineral to form a phosphor. This is excited by laser light of an appropriate wavelength. The fluorescence emitted by the excited hot material is then measured and can be accurately related to the temperature. In one version of the invention the mineral material is used in a chemical process where it is recycled to the kiln for recovery. The lime cycle in a kraft pulping operation is such a process. In this way there is minimal loss of the rare earth material and all that need be added is a sufficient amount to make up process losses. Under such operating conditions the cost is minimum and is minor when compared to the potential savings in fuel by avoiding overburning. However, the amounts of rare earth dopant used are sufficiently small so that the process can be used with other calcined materials, such as cement, which are not recycled through the process. Praseodymium is a preferred dopant for use with lime kilns.
Abstract:
A method of making a resilient hydrophilic cellulosic pulp particularly suitable for conversion into an absorbent fluff for products such as disposable diapers. The process involves treating a wet or partially dried cellulosic fiber web with an aqueous solution of a glycol an dialdehyde. Glyoxal and propylene glycol are preferred materials. These are desirable sprayed on a wet or only partially dried sheet at some convenient location on a conventional paper machine. This location is not critical, but a point about midway through the press section has given excellent results. The treated sheet is then dried conventionally. There is no need for the use of any catalysts or for a prolonged curing step at elevated temperatures. The products of the invention are characterized by a much increased absorbency rate and by a somewhat higher water holding capacity. The sheets also require less power for milling into a fibrous fluff. Knots ou fiber clumps are reduced and there is no significant increase in fiber fines due to embrittlement of the treated pulp product. The invention further includes the products made using the present method.
Abstract:
The 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 pulverized 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 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 4 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:
Rotary machining tool and a method of making it using an easily replaceable cutter element assembly. A circular saw is exemplary of a cutting tool which can be made using the present invention. The cutter element assembly (50) comprises two portions. The first is an inverted, generally U-shaped clevis (52) with spaced apart side portions (60) that fit over the circumference edge of a sawplate (42). The clevis has an upper portion (64) which extends outwardly from the sawplate edge (48) thereby defining a tooth retaining socket (65) between the sawplate edge (48) and the clevis (52). The side portions (60) of the clevis are apertured at (57) to accept a pin (56) for attachment to the sawplate which has a corresponding aperture (59). A buttress (58) attached to the clevis (52) normally bears against the leading edge (45) of a gullet (44) and prevents rearward rotation when in use. The second member is an insertable tooth (54) having a head and an elongated tapered shank (66). The shank (66) has a taper on its upper surface sufficient to form a self-releasing taper, usually between 3 and 10 . The sides of the shank (66) have less taper so as to form a self-locking taper, typically between 0 and 2.5 . The tooth shank (66) is driven into the socket (65) formed between the clevis (52) and the sawplate (48). As the tooth (54) is driven in, the clevis (52) is forced radially outward against the attaching pin (56) so as to tightly lock the assembly until the tooth (54) is again driven out for sharpening or replacement. While the teeth may be sharpened in place on the sawplate, it is frequently advantageous to disassemble the saw and sharpen the teeth separetely. This permits a number of grinding configurations to be used which are not otherwise possible when the saw is fully assembled. The only tools required for saw assembly and disassembly are a hammer and punch. A 1.5 m diameter saw having 60 teeth can be completely retoothed in place in as little as 6 minutes.
Abstract:
A fibrous, cationic cellulose pulp product and the method for preparing it. A water suspension of cellulosic fiber is treated under alkaline conditions with a polymer of epichlorohydrin and dimethylamine. Up to 30 molar percent of the DMA may be replaced by a crosslinking agent such as ammonia or a lower aliphatic diamine. The process may be carried out at room or elevated temperatures. It is practical to add the polymer at one of the later alkaline stages of a bleaching process: e.g., an alkaline extraction or peroxide stage. This is most preferably done later than any chlorination or hypochlorite stages. The product shows greatly improved retention of acid and other anionic dyes as shown in figure 1. It also shows superior retention of some pigments and latices without the need for other cationic aids. In some cases a small amount of alum appears to have a synergistic retention effect with the cationic pulp product when used with titanium dioxide and certain anionic latices.
Abstract:
Method for measuring fiber angle in a fibrous solid material (12) relative to three mutually orthogonal reference axes. It is particularly well suited for measuring diving grain and grain surface angle in wood. The method is based on the measurement of the intensity of reflected light at different azimuthal angles when a beam of light (14) of small diameter is impinged upon the surface (12). The nature of the specular reflections (20) from a light beam (14) striking the surface of a cylinder (12) serves as a model for the system. A preferred apparatus for practicing the method comprises a light source, which may be a low powered laser, aimed normal to the surface of the fibrous material (12). A plurality of photosensors (22, 24, 26, 28, 32) lying in a plane (30) normal to the axis of the light beam (14) are placed around the light source to detect the light reflected at various azimuthal angles. When the fibers of the material (12) lie normal to the light beam (14), reflected light maxima are seen 180 apart at positions normal to the longitudinal axis of the fibers. If the fiber axes in the material (12) are tilted out of normalcy with respect to the incoming light beam (14), even though the surface of the material (12) is normal, the azimuthal angle between the reflected light maxima decreases as a function of the tilt angle. Various alternative methods include the use of an on-axis (52) photosensor with a multiplexed series of light sources (58) arranged around the axis (52). These lights (58) may be used simultaneously if they are of different wavelengths and the photosensors (92, 94, 96, 98) employs a beam splitting (86) and filtering system sensitive to each different light source (72, 74, 76, 78).
Abstract:
A steam box or hood (10) for controlling the moisture profile of a fibrous web such as paper during forming and pressing. The steam hood (10) includes a plenum (12) filled with nonturbulent, substantially atmospheric pressure steam which delivers the steam into a series of side-by-side compartments (17) which extend across the width of and adjacent to the web. Each compartment includes a damper (20), the position of which is individually controllable through a rod (22) adjustment from the operating side of the machine. The position of the damper (20) determines the amount of steam applied to the web from a compartment and hence the moisture content of the web adjacent to the particular compartment (17) being adjusted. Each compartment (17) is adjusted to achieve a desired uniform moisture content across the width of the web.
Abstract:
A process and apparatus for measuring carbonate and sulfide concentrations in white and green pulp mill liquor and in the slaker/causticizing cells and controlling the causticizing reaction and other stages using this information. Specifically the causticizing control logic is based on determining the concentration of sodium carbonate and sodium sulfide in the green liquor, in the white liquor-mud slurry at the slaker (S) or first causticizer (C1) and in the white liquor being sent to the digester house and using this information to control the entire process. The apparatus takes a sample from an appropriate line, filters the sample if necessary, takes a measured quantity, reacts that measured quantity with an acid to generate hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide and measures the quantities of these gases in a gas chromatograph (GC). The apparatus has four main circuits: the filter circuit, the sampling circuit, the reactor circuit and the gas chromatograph circuit. A mud separation circuit is also utilized if the apparatus is to analyze liquor from the slaker or causticizing cells.
Abstract:
A process and apparatus for measuring carbonate and sulfide concentrations in white and green pulping liquor and in the slaker/causticizing (S, C1) cells and controlling the causticizing reaction and other stages using this information. Specifically the causticizing control logic is based on determining the concentration of sodium carbonate and sodium sulfide (GC/A) in the green liquor, in the white liquor-mud slurry at the slaker or first causticizer (ML3) and in the white liquor being sent to the digester house and using this information to control the entire process. Th e concentration and flow rate of the green liquor may be measured and controlled quite easily. The proposed strategy will control the green liquor flow rate (V41) to the slaker to maintain the desired Na2CO3 concentration in the slaker/causticizer liquor despite variations which occur in the lime. The green liquor concentration is also controlled in a control loop. Weak wash liquor (L40) is added to the green liquor to maintain the concentration of the Na2CO3 in the green liquor. The slaking/causticizing process is controlled by adjusting the flow rate and concentration of the green liquor. This strategy will control the process based on direct measurements of the critical component in the system, sodium carbonate. The green liquor flow rate will be automatically adjusted by a control loop to maintain the desired Na2CO3 concentration in the white liquor. The last measurement is to determine the concentrations of sodium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, and sodium sulfide in the white liquor which is sent to the digester house to be used in the cooking process. It is important to measure the sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide concentrations in the white liquor (RS3, GC/A) so that the amount of liquor to be charged in the digester(s) may be correctly determined. Changes in sodium sulfide concentration (generated at the recovery boiler) can affect white liquor (AA/EA) concentration.