Hemp Hurds as Paper-Making Material | Page 7

caustic soda per liter, or 0.916 pound per gallon, and averaged 85 per cent causticity. Sufficient caustic solution was added to furnish 25 or 30 per cent of actual caustic soda, calculated on the bone-dry weight of hurds in the charge. After closing the rotary head, it was started rotating at the rate of one-half revolution per minute, and in about five minutes steam at 120 pounds per square inch was admitted at such a rate that the charge was heated in one hour to 170° C., which is the theoretical equivalent of 100 pounds of steam pressure per square inch. It was found, however, that when the temperature reached 170° C. the pressure was usually 115 or 120 pounds instead of 100 pounds, due to air and gases inclosed in the rotary. At this point the rotary was stopped and steam and air relieved until the pressure dropped to 100 pounds, or a solid steam pressure. The temperature was maintained at this point for the number of hours required to reduce the hurds, which was found to be about five, after which the rotary was stopped and steam relieved until the pressure was reduced to zero, when the head was removed and the stock was emptied into a tank underneath, measuring 5-1/2 by 6 by 2 feet deep, where it was drained and washed. Samples of waste soda solution or "black liquor," which were taken from some of the "cooks" for analysis, were drawn while the stock was being thus emptied into the drainer.
Determination of yield.--For determining the yield of cellulose fiber the stock in the drain tank was washed with water until free from waste soda solution, when, by means of a vacuum pump communicating with the space between the bottom and the false perforated bottom, the water was sucked from the stock, leaving the fiber with a very uniform moisture content throughout its entire mass and in a condition suitable for removing, sampling, and weighing for a yield determination. Tests have shown that it is possible to sample and calculate the yield of bone-dry fiber within 0.05 per cent of the actual amount.
It has been found that stocks from different materials vary greatly in their ability to mat in the drain tank, thereby enabling a good vacuum to be obtained, some stocks permitting a 25-inch vacuum to be obtained, while others will not permit more than 5 inches. For this reason the moisture content of the stock will vary from 65 to 85 per cent.
Washing and bleaching.--Washing and bleaching were performed for the purpose of bleaching the brown-colored cooked stock to a white product, since it was regarded as highly probable that the fiber would be suitable for book-paper manufacture. The colored stock was charged into a 400-pound beating and washing engine of regular construction and washed about one hour, the cylinder washer being covered with 60-mesh wire cloth in order to remove fine loose dirt and chemical residues. The washer was then raised, the stock heated by steam to about 40° C., and a solution of commercial bleaching powder was added in the quantity judged to be necessary, after which the stock was pumped to a large wooden tank, to remain and bleach over night. If the stock was bleached sufficiently white it was drained and washed from bleach residues, and if not more bleach was added until a good color was obtained. The bleaching powder used was estimated to contain 35 per cent of available chlorin, as this is the commercial practice, and the amount required was calculated to the bone-dry weight of the unbleached stock. More bleach is required for undercooked stock than for stock which is properly cooked or overcooked; therefore, the percentage of bleach required is an indication of the quality of the cooked stock. Since bleaching is usually more expensive than cooking, it is desirable to cook to such a degree that the consumption of bleach will be held within certain limits, depending on the raw materials used and the quality of paper to be produced. In these tests it was desirable so to cook the hurds that the consumption of bleach would not be over about 10 per cent of the fiber.
Furnishing.--Furnishing is the operation of charging the beating engine with the desired kind or kinds of fiber in the proper proportion and amount and the adding of such loading and sizing agents as may be necessary. As shown in the record of results, the furnish in these tests consisted of hurd stock alone and of various proportions of hurds, sulphite fiber, and soda fiber. The percentages to be given in the record of the furnishes refer to the percentage of the total fiber furnish, and this likewise applies to the loading and sizing agents. In case sulphite or soda