AU466112B2 - Process and apparatus for extracting soluble substances from fibrous materials - Google Patents

Description

35,32 8171 This invention relates to new and improved process of a and apparatus for removing or extracting, by the use from subdivid- suitable solvent or solvents, soluble substances of sugar ed fibrous materials, as exemplified by the extraction

from sugar cane. Prior commercial processes for removing sugar from mill processes sugar cane may be classified generally as tandem the fiber- or diffusion processes. In tandem mill processes, usually ized.cane is repeatedly subjected to high pressures, order to press in the range of about 1,000 Ibs./sq. inch, in

the sugar Juice from the cane. In diffusion processes, solvent cane by is allowed to percolate through a bed of fiberized the soluble gravitational flow for dissolving and extracting of sugar. Many modifications of the foregoing processes, liquid ordinar- course, have been made; for example, imbibition the extrac- ily is utilized in tandem mill processes to improve

tion efficiencies. In the past, improvements in tandem mill processes for exerting have been in the direction of creating apparatus attempt to in- higher and higher pressures on the cane in an

crease the extraction efficiencies. This has resulted in by increased higher and higher power requirements, accompanied

maintenance costs, and has resulted in increased operational

expenses. The high pressures employed in the conventional tan-

This is because dem mill allows only a small maceration rate. pressures the large Juice extraction resulting from the high maceration rate restricts the amount of maceration. If higher

could be possible in such tandem mills, the poor drainage A mois area of conventional 3-roll mill would be restrictive.

35132 8171 70 percent by weight creates ture content in bagasse above devices have been developed severe feeding problems. Many but feeding of such wet bagasse, in an attempt to improve the use In tandem mill processes, the with only limited success. neces- feeding devices, therefore, of high pressures and force only to materials hav- sarily make such equipment applicable content. ing a relatively low moisture now are tending toward Sugar cane harvesting methods equipment. Mechanical harvest- the increased use of mechanical more foreign material into Ing equipment, however, introduces increased wear and also increas- the extraction process, causing the high pressure mills. inig the maintenance costs in comparatively more The diffusion processes require equipment. than the tandem elaborate, complex, and expensive they are economically most mill processes, and, therefore, high manufacturing capacities. feasible in factories having be in the diffusion processes can The extraction efficiencies types of extraction equip- higher than for all other available be economically justified in ment, and, for this reason, can must be specially prepared many operations. The cane, however, are necessary to prevent adverse and exact temperature controls sugar during the time period bacteriological changes in the required for the diffusion operation. the invention to pro- Accordingly, it is an object of for removing soluble sub- vide a novel extraction operation an -which is adaptdtoremove stances from fibruo inateriais sugar from sugar cane. to provide an It is another object of the invention materials which has a high extraction operation for fibrous therewith, a low extrac- amount of maceration, and concomitant 466 112

35,328/71 tion time period that is practicable for commercial operations

It is another object of the invention to provide for

effective removal of juice from the bagasse without the use of

high pressure rolls at a series of stations in the extraction

operation, as, for example, by the use of low pressure com-

pression attended by efficient drainage of the extracted juice

It is another object of the invention to provide a

sugar extraction operation that avoids, or reduces, some of th

disadvantages of the high pressure mills and diffusers, and

yet achieves sufficiently high extraction efficiencies to be

competitive therewith.

It is still another object of the invention to pro-

vide an extraction operation that is economical in its install

ation and operational costs, and that requires a minimum of

maintenance. It is yet another object of the invention to provide

an extraction operation that is flexible: that can be used to

supplement existing facilities; that can be used after a

diffuser, in order to improve extraction efficiencies; that

can be used to modify high pressure mill systems; or that can

be used in new installations.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide

an extraction operation that has low power requirements for

operation.

466 112 apparatus the invention provides in its broadest form from subdivided fibrous extracting a soluble substance for which is adapted and maceration* and material by compression means for forming sugar from sugar cane, comprising to extract from which a soluble of fibrous. material an uncompressed bed means for reducing is to be extracted, compressinlg substance therethrough, said volumle of the bed as the bed passes the and one pair of upper means comprising at least compressing or each pair being rollers, the lower roller of the lower liquid ex- surface for draining provided with a perforate operation* means the bed during the compression tracted from bed during said removing liquid extracted from said for means for step through said perforate surface, compressin~g expansion to decompression of said bed to permit allowing and means after. said compression,. the'~unco mpressed volume for introducing bed including means for macerating said and adjacent said into said bed after imbibition liquid to said bed is allowed means at a point before least uncompr essed volume and for at expand to i ts fully of said fib- filling the interstitial spaces substantially as said bed ma terial with said imibibition liquid rous volume to the uncompressed expands from .the compressed volume. invention advantages of this Further objects and from the fol- apparent to one skilled in this field will be and accompanying drawings. lowing~ description flow sheets diagramlmatically FIGURE 1A and lB are the extraction operation of the invention:i illustrating one of the 2 is a side view in section of FIGURE low 466 112

35,328171 pressure devices and associated parts;

FIGURE 3 is an end view of the low pressure device

shown in FIGURE 2; FIGURE 4.is an enlarged detailed view of the system device; for supplying imbibition liquid to the low pressure FIGURE 5 is an end view partly in section of the FIGURE 2; lower roll of the low pressure device shown in FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIGURE FIGURE 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the per- forate surface of the lower roll; and FIGURE 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8-8 of FIGURE 7. The invention relates to the extraction of soluble substances from subdivided solid fibrous materials, as exempli- fied by the extraction of sugar from sugar cane. The .fibrous material when formed into a bed or blan- of the bed ket contains many interstitial spaces. Compression volume. reduces its volume by reducing the interstitial spacial a full Removal of the compression allows the bed to return to uncompressed volume by increasing the interstitial spacial volume. The reduction and expansion of the interstitial as spacial volume of the bed is used in the present invention to the a pumping action for removal and addition of liquid fibrous material in the extraction operation. As in a pump an in which the atmospheric pressures are utilized to fill the atmos- expanding pump chamber, so in the present invention spaces pheric pressures are utilized to fill the interstitial of the fibrous bed while expanding in volume. The present

35,328/71 fibrous invention uses a low pressure device for acting upon the liquid flow into material to cause such pumping action to cause and from the interstitial spaces of the bed. Such pumping the desired extrac- action can be repeated in order to achieve tion efficiencies. is In the preferred embodiment, the fibrous material is passed formed into a substantially continuous blanket that through a series of spaced stations. At each station the juice bed volume, after is removed by low pressure compression of the liquid is which the bed is allowed to-expand while imbibition end of added. The imbibition liquid is added adjacent to the the bed is ex- the compression operation and during the time in order to substan- panding to its full uncompressed volume pump- tially fill the interstitial spaces. The aforedescribed of com- ing action thereby is accomplished by the operations addition of imbibi- pression for extraction of juice and by the .tion liquid while the bed is expanding to its uncompressed are per- volume. A series of stations in which said operations by refer- formed by low pressure devices is indicated generally 1A and lB. ence numerals 30, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100 in FIGURES in detail in A preferred form of low pressure device is shown FIGURES 2 through 8. Referring now to FIGURES 1A and 1B, cane is received to pre- by conventional equipment, and fed to the fiberizer 10 pare the cane for the extraction operation. The fiberizer breaks the cane into short sections and separates the cells from the fiber bundles. The fiberized cane is fed to a maceration carrier 11 amount provided with sieve areas 12 and 13 to extract a certain of juice, termed recirculating juice. The recirculating juice

35,32 8/71 is warmed by heater 14 and injected again at the top of mace- ration carrier 11 by distributor 15 for the purpose of heating the cane to the desired diffusion temperatures, for example, to re- about 1700 F. A part of the screen or sieve 12 serves is move the diffusion Juice from the maceration carrier which metered into weir box 16 and pumped to separating screen 17. The separating screen 17 feeds the fines back to the macera- line tion carrier 11 and conducts the separated juice through 18 to the factory for further processing." The maceration carrier 11 is also provided with a separating screen 13 in the upper inclined portion near the discharge end for separating the free juice and cane. The juice separated by screen 13 is returned by the distributor 19 to the forward portion of the maceration carrier 11. The distributors 20 and 21 receive the extracted and juice from the first and second low pressure devices 30 respectively for addition to the maceration carrier 11. diffu- This juice is heated by heaters 22 and 23 to the desired 21. sion temperatures before entering the distributors 20 and Steam line 27 supplies heaters 22 and 23. Steam line 28

supplies heater 14. The cane is fed from maceration carrier 11 to the chute 31 for introduction into the first low pressure device a blan- The cane is deposited on the chute 31 which forms ket of bagasse that is fed between a pair of compression sur- faces. The compression surfaces are cylindrical rollers 32 and 33 that reduce the volume of the bed and extract a certain for amount of liquid. The rollers 32 and 33 are motor driven rotation. Referring now to FIGURE 2, the lower roller 33 has 466 1 12

35,32 8/71 The draining the extracted juice. perforate openings 314 for in a tray 36 and fed to distri- extracted juice is collected buto-r low pressure device, Immediately after passing the bagasse, will be soaked with the extracted cane now called spaces a way to fill the interstitial imbibition juice in such to its is decompressed and expands of the bagasse bed as it to FIGURES 2 and 4, the imbibi- uncompres~ed volume. Referring by a dis- expanding bagasse blanket tion juice is fed to the equipped distributinlg trough may be tributing trough 46. The 41 for suspens ion of with motor driven paddle agitator trough liquid. The distributing fiber solids-in the imbibition be one unit which is suspended 46 and the guide plate 40 may a manner arms 312 and 313 in such on the top roller guiding relative of movement of roller 32 that, under all conditions main- ion to the top roller is to roller 33, proper accommodat forward 42 is formed between the tained. A maceration gap imbibition roller 32 for delivering edge of plate 40 and top rollers 32 it leaves the nip between liqui-d to the bagasse as un-. has fully expanded to its and 33, and before the bagasse gap 42, or the distance compressed volume. The maceration of 410 and the cylindrical surface between the edge of plate rings by two radially located guiding roller 32, is determined and V -shaped chevron bars 43 49 at the ends of top roller 32 3). on the top roller (see FIGURE lower roller 33 removes A scraper plate 48 on the from the nip bagasse blanket emerging and guides the expanding for intro- to maceration carrier 144 between rollers 32 and 33 removal of pressure device 60. The ducing to the second low of 48 permits the introduction the bagasse blanket by scraper 466 112

35,32 (1/71 the imbibition li'quid through the maceration gap 4J2 at a loca- tion immediately after the compression operation and during thE expansion of the bagasse blanket which provides the most uni- form distribution of the maceration liquid in the bagasse blan- ket. The scraper blade 48 is mounted on a pair of arms47 pivotally mounted on the frame Referring now to Figure 3, the cylindrical surface of roller 32 is provided with V-shaped chevron bars 43 which pro- trude therefrom to assist in feeding of the bagasse to the nip between rollers 32 and 33. The bars 4!f also provide means for cleaning macerating gap 42. The imbibition juice supplied to guide plate 40 normally contains a certain amount of fiber particles that may accumulate and block the gap 42. The bars

43 sweep the gap 42 during rotation of the upper roller 32 to remove any such blocking accumulation. The bagasse on blade 48 is fed by chute 31 to the, intermediate maceration carrier 4~4 to conduct the bagasse to the next low pressure device 60.- The carrier 144 is also pro- vided in its upper portion near the unloading gap with a sieve area 45 to separate an excess of imbibition juice and to supplV it via line 64 to the tray at the bottom of the next low pres- sure device The foregoing procedures can be repeated at a number of low pressure units 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100 in series. The

juice extracted from the low pressure units is conducted in counter-current flow to the bagasse bed and introduced as imbibition liquid into a prior operation in what is termed multiple compound imbibition. The extraction juice from-low

pressure unit 60 (and excess liquid from. maceration carrier 414) is collected in tray 66, and conducted via pump 65 and line 67 to 2.Jd~ 4ef~r a 76 #lawhbia~uieo.nWt 466 112

35,32 8/71 77 to distributor trough 46 of low is fed via pump 75 and line of the extract- pattern for distribution pressure unit 30. The is shown by the indicted ed juice in the other operations

lines in FIGURES 1A and IB. can be combined with a The low pressure unit 100 the mois- pressure mill 110 to reduce conventional 3-roll high per cent to about 48 per cent to 50 ture content of the bagasse by a cone and 110 can be replaced by weight. The units 100 moisture reduction. press to obtain the final dewatering unit 100 and The press water from the the distri- to heater 120 and then to 110 is collected and fed of to the distributing troughs butor weir box 121, and finally by 90. The make up water supplied low pressure units 80 and of a rate of 25 per cent by weight line 129 (usually fed at to the imbibition line through the incoming bagasse) is metered then intro- injection heater 131, and weir box 130, heated by of low pressure unit duced at the imbibition gap narrowest space between the The pressure applied in pressure units 30, 60, 70, pressure surfaces of the low square exceed about 250 pounds per and 90, orginarily does not pounds in the range from 40 to 160 inch, and more usually is that to the high pressure mills per square inch, in contrast It is pounds per square inch. employ pressures above 1000 al- invention, therefore, that one of the advantages of the which require less power though low pressures are employed, macera- efficiency, due to a.high to operate, the extraction same values as by high tion rate, achieves the substantially

pressure mills. are illustrated in the Typical operating conditions

following Table. The percentages are by weight. lI 46 466-1 12

35,Y32 8171

bo I eco 0) 0 '0 '0 0c 06 r- %0 '0 0)%0

o '0 Cf) ce; vi 00 co co

m

0' Of -4 4 dq .J c*

cif

a, cc N %0 0 -W i U). M DC4 Cl C4 li c l Cl4 co 0 .0

C4 0 44 0 U) 4 Q) 0 (a lu o~UQ1-4 0' C -6 f6 .'6 Cl 0C4 o s 0 t U Li

o 4 'N 4 bO

bOLi =1 0 A~ La 000000 I CE~ '0 cc 0' 0 -4

2 0 Liz

466:'

35,32 8171 bagasse used for the The saturation point of the was about 841 to 85% by weight. operation in the above Table bagasse before pressing is at The moisture content of the saturation point of the bagasse least substantially about the Optimum maceration thereby as shown in the foregoing Table. is achieved. the invention, the In order to more fully describe It is now be described in detail. low pressure device 30 will de- understood that the device 30 is typical and low pressure will be of the same general vices 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100 construction. by maceration carrier The bagasse blanket is carried Feed chute 31 introduces 11 and dropped into feed chute 31. rollers 32 and 33. the bagasse between the nip of the upper roller 32 Referring to FIGUR~ES 2 and 3, adjust- journalled in self-aligning rotates on shaft 311 and is The upper roller 32 is supported able bearings 314 and 315. arms 312 and 313. At one end on two independently pivotable support bearings.311 and of the arms 312, 313, are mounted 312, 313, are pivotally mounted 315. The other end of the arms pivotable support arms 312 and on axis 321. The independently to adjust to density variations 313 permit *the upper roller 32 between upper roller 32 and in the bagasse blan ket. passing upper for the pivoting movement of lower roller 33 by providing arm 321 at the end of the support roller 32 about pivot axis (see FIGURE 2). in Lower roller 33 rotates on shaft 31T journalled lower assembly 360 is used to drive stationary bearings. Motor drive 330 connected to sprocket roller 33 by means of a chain motor assembly is used 326. imilarly,the same or a separate

35,32 S7' to drive sprocket 329 through a chain drive 328 to rotate

upper roller 32.

As can be seen in FIGURE 3, lower perforated roller

33 is axially longer than upper roller 32 so that the upper roller can fit between rings 334 on the outer periphery of

lower roller 33. The rings 334 are provided for lower roller

33 to assure that the bagasse blanket being passed between the upper and lower rollers does not spill over the side of

lower roller 33. Water deflector plates 336 are provided at

each end of lower roller 33 to prevent the extracted juice,

which enters the interior of the lower roller 33 through the

perforate surface 34 during compression, from splashing onto adjoining surfaces. Both the upper roller 32 and lower roller 33 are provided with a series of interior reinforcing rings to streng- then the outer working surfaces of the rollers. Referring to FIGURE 5 and 6 which illustrate the lower roller 33, there is illustrated reinforcing rings 340 on the interior of the cylindrical surface. Also, the interior of each roller is made up of a series of ribs in the form of plates 344, which are spaced circumferentially about the longitudinal axis of each roller and which similarly strengthen the outer working surfaces of the upper and lower rollers. Normally at least twelve plates, shown only as 344 in the drawings, are spaced at equal distances apart, and surround each cone half in the upper and lower roller. Two frusto-conical assemblies 347 and 348 are mounted on the plates 344 and on the longitudinal shaft of each roller, so as to define a hollow chamber for each roller. During rotation of upper roller 32 and lower roller 33, the juice, which is pressed from the bagasse, I A 466 112

3 5 3 2 8171 of the lower roller passes through openings 34 in the surface con- the lower roller 33, then is 33 and into the interior of 347, 348, outwardly ducted by the frusto-conical plates chamber 36 located at through opening 352 into collecting juice removed from the the bottom of the lower roller. The or tray 36 from bagasse accumulates in collecting chamber 1A) and delivered to which it is removed by pump 39 (FIGURE bagasse which has been heater 22 and to distributor 20. The lower roller 33 passes out passed between upper roller 32 and carrier 44. over scraper blade 48 into maceration of upper and In FIGURE 2 the preferred orientation 31 is shown. Upper lower rollers 32 and 33 and feed chute orientation in rela- roller 32 can be offset from a vertical angle of 300 to 600 from tion to lower roller 33 by an offset the nip at a down- vertical so that the bagasse is fed through apparatus of this inven- wardly inclined angle. Although the of 300 to 600 are tion is fully operable when offset angles upper roller is offset employed, an orientation in which the preferred because of the by an angle of 450 from vertical is

resultant mechanical advantages. In addition, it is desirable an angle of about 420 that the feed chute 31 be disposed at from a horizontal to about 450°, preferably at about 430, will have a tendency orientation so that the bagasse blanket 32 and 33 grip the to slide down the feed chute as rollers

material. angle meas- Offset angle as defined herein means the axis of ured between a vertical plane through the longitudinal longitudinal axes of the lower roller 33 and the plane through In FIGURE 2, for example, the upper and lower rollers 10 and 16. of 45° from vertical- upper roller 32 is shown at an offset angle

35,32 8/71 FIGURES 5-8 provide a more detailed illustration of the lower roller 33. As shown by FIGURES 7 and 8, the surface of lower roller 33 is provided with a plurality of openings 34 equipped to receive juice removed from the bagasse. The open-

ings 34 in the lower roller have a slightly smaller diameter at the top surface 357 of the roller shell than at the lower portions 358 of the roller shell. This sloping shape for

openings 34 makes them self-cleaning during operation, since the juice forced through the openings 34 removes any residue collecting on the sides of the openings. FIGURES 5 and 6 show in detail the position of rings

334 on the outer periphery of the lower roller and the deflect or plate 336 which prevents splashing of juice on the lower roller 33. Reinforcing rings 340 and plates 344 used to strengthen the shell of the roller are also shown. As will be noted from FIGURE 6, extracted juice pass es through openings 34 and is directed into the compartmental- ized chambers defined by the spaced plates 344, then passes along the surfaces of frusto-conical assemblies 347, 348, and finally passes through openings 352 into the collecting tray 3 The shell of upper roller 32 can be filled with vary ing amounts and types of liquids, so that the compression of the bagasse can be changed to meet varying processing condi- tions. Liquid, for example, water, is introduced into the shell of the upper roller 32 through a bolted hatch (not shown located in the side wall of the roller. The ultimate pressure

transmitted to the bagasse passing between upper roller 32 and lower roller 33, therefore results from both the normal weight of the upper roller 32 and its mounting, plus the added weight of the liquid filling the upper roller. Thus, the upper rolle 4661.12

3 53 28/71 Transmitting means. can function as a hydraulic pressu~.re 312, 313, Sup- Referring now to FIGURE 3, the arms on pads 372, 373, respective- porting the upper roller 32 rests device. The arms are ly, of the supporting framne for the when the bagasse blanket pass- lifted from the pads, however, density and thick- ing between the rollers ls of sufficient If the upper roller 32 is ness to lift the upper roller 32. about pivot point 321. lifted it swingsa on arm 312, 313, (FIGURE 2). carrier 44 Referring now to FIGURE 2, the maceration 55 driven by a suit- has a movable conveyor 54 with flights for moving the bagasse able motor and drive assembly 4410 into the next low pres- blanket to chute 61 fmr introduction juice overflows through sure device 60. The excess maceration the collecting tray sieve 45-and is conducted by line 64 to flow via pump 66 below the device 60 for counter-current 'to distributor 21. Referring now to FIGURE the support structure for

46 will be described. The distribu- the distribution trough tion trough 416 is suspended on cross-brace 360 which projects 32. The cross-brace 360 beyond the ends of the upper roller 312, and 313 by downwardly pro- is secured at each end to arms the trough 110 is maintain- jecting legs 361. In this manner with respect to upper roller ed at the same relative position due to varying densities 32. As the upper roller 32 moves trough 46 will be carried of bagasse fed to the nip, the 2, the imbibition liquid from therewith. Referring to FIGURE the trough is carried by plate 410 to a point adjacent the nip be deposited upon the between rollers 32, 33, so as to decompressed. The imbi- bagasse blanket before it has fully 17 466 112

35,32 8/7 bition liquid flows over the forward edge of the plate through the gap 42 between plate 40 and the surface of upper roller 32. From the foregoing, the advantages of the invention should be apparent. The low pressures employed in the com- pression operations demand low power consumption; significant- ly lower, for example, than the power requirements of the conventional high pressure mills. A high maceration rate is

attained by a unique system without the usual delays that ordinarily cause an extension of the extraction time. Moreover, the maceration and compression units can- not only be used in new installations, but they can be used with existing extraction systems; for example, to supplement diffusers. The individual units, therefore, are highly adaptable. The forms of this invention herein disclosed are illustrative and are given only by way of example. The scope

of the invention is not to be limited thereby as it is in- tended that the appended claims be construed as broadly as may be permitted by the prior art.

466112

35,32 /71 are as follows: The claims defining the invention substance from 1. Apparatus for extracting a soluble compression and maceration, subdivided fibrous material by sugar from sugar cane, com- and which is adapted to extract uncompressed bed of fibrous prising means for forming an substance is to be extracted, material from which a soluble the volume of the bed as the compressing means for reducing means comprising bed passes therethrough, said compressing lower rollers, the lower at least one pair of upper and provided with a perforate roller of the or each pair being extracted from the bed during surface for draining liquid extracted means for removing liquid the compression operation, step through said from said bed during said compressing of said for allowing decompression perforate surface, means said the uncompressed volume after bed to permit expansion to macerating said bed including compression, and means for liquid into said bed after means for introducing imbibition said adjacent eans at a point before said and and adjacent said i'n its fully uncompressed volume bed is allowed to expand to filling the interstitial spaces and for at least substantially said imbibition liquid as said of said fibrous material with volume to the uncompressed bed expands from the compressed

volume. 1 including means Apparatus according to Claim 2. operation, and means for con- for moving said bed to a next said ee means and ducting extracted liquid from imbibition liquid at a preceding introducing the same as the flow of the extracted liquid operation for counter-current to the moving fibrous bed. 1 or Claim 2 in 3. Apparatus according to Claim 19 4 66112

Claims (1)

1. 35,328171 which said imbibition liquid is introduced at a location ad-

   jacent the nip on the downstream side of said pair of rollers.

   4. Apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 3 in

   which said rollers are offset from vertical alignment whereby

   the fibrous bed traverses the nip of said rollers at a down-

   wardly inclined angle.

   Apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 4 in

   which said fibrous bed is elevated to a position above said

   compression operation, and then descends through said com-

   pression operation at a downwardly inclined angle.

   6. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to

   in which said liquid introducing means comprise a draining

   edge extending longitudinally along the nip of said upper

   and lower rollers.

   7. Apparatus according to claim 6 in which said upper

   roller is further provided with means for cleaning the gap

   between said draining edge and said upper roller.

   8. Apparatus according to claim 7 in which said

   cleaning means comprises members mounted on said upper roller

   for sweeping the gap between said draining edge and the sur-

   face of the upper roller.

   9. Apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 8 in

   which said upper roller is supported on pivotable members,

   said draining edge being supported by said pivotable members

   in order that the space between said draining edge relative

   to said upper roller remains substantially constant. Apparatus according to any of claims 6 to 9 in

   which said means for introducing imbibition liquid comprises a

   plate under the lower surface of the upper roller extending

   toward the nip and a weir member connected to said plate

   35,32 871 said plate for supplying imbibition liquid to said plate, imbibition liquid including the draining edge so that the edge into contact flows from said weir over said draining

   with the fibrous material. substance 11. Apparatus for extracting a soluble as herein from subdivided fibrous material substantially drawings. described with reference to the accompanying

   DATED this TWELFTH day of SEPTEMBER, 1975

   CF&I Engineers, Inc.

   Patent Attorneys for the Applicant SPRUSON FERGUSON

   1112 V ZI

   35Y,32 8171

   A46 61V7

   35,32 SF'7

   466 112

   35,32 8171

   N

   351328 /1'

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