Process for modifying wood pulp for rapid dispersion

Claim 1

THE PROCESS OF DISPERSING CLOSELY PACKED CELLULOSE FIBERS IN THE FORM OF SHEETS, BLOCKS AND THE-LIKE, WHICH CONSISTS IN APPLYING TO THE COMPACTED FIBERS AN AQUEOUS SOLUTION CONTAINING (1) AT LEAST ONE ACIDIC AGENT HAVING A BASE ELEMENT SELECTED FROM THE CLASS WHICH CONSISTS OF SULPHUR AND PHOSPHORUS, NAMELY; ORTHOPHOSPHORIC, METAPHOSPHORIC, PROPHOSPHORIC, POLYPHOSPHORIC, ORTHOPHOSPHOROUS, PYROPHOSPHOROUS, PHOSPHAMIC, DINITRIDE HEXAPHOSPHORIC, DIAMIDO PHOSPHORIC, MONOSODIUM ORTHOPHOSPHORIC, AND PHENYL PHOSPHORIC ACIDS, SULPHURIC, SULPHAMIC, CHLOROSULPHONIC AND FLUOROSULPHONIC ACIDS, SULPHURIC ANHYDRIDE AND PHOSPHOROUS ANHYDRIDE, AND (2) AT LEAST ONE NON-METALLIC NITROGEN-CONTAINING ORGANIC COMPOUND BASIC WITH RESPECT TO THE ACIDIC AGENT IN THE SOLUTION, SELECTED FROM THE CLASS WHICH CONSISTS OF UREA, BIURET, FORMAMIDE, ACETAMIDE, ETHYLUREA, DIBUTYL-UREA, HYDROXYETHYL-UREA, DICYANDIAMIDE, CYANOACETAMIDE, GUANIDINE, GUANYL UREA AND BIGUANIDE, THE AMOUNT OF SOLIDS APPLIED RANGING FROM 8% TO 110% BY WEIGHT OF THE PULP IN THE DRY STATE, AND THE RATIO OF ACIDIC AND BASIC CONSTITUENTS IN SAID SOLUTION BEING SUCH AS TO YIELD A PRODUCT WHICH, AFTER THE BAKING TO BE HEREINAFTER DEFINED, HAS A PH OF FROM 2 TO PH TO 7 PH AS DETERMINED BY INDICATOR SOLUTIONS, AND CONTAINS AN AMOUNT OF COMBINED BASE ELEMENT OF THE ACID WHICH IS THE EFFECTIVE EQUIVALENT OF FROM 1/2 TO 6% OF PHOSPHOROUS, AND AN AMOUNT OF COMBINED NITROGEN FROM 4% TO 0.25% BY WEIGHT THEREAFTER DRYING THE FIBERS; SUBSEQUENTLY REACTING THE ACIDIC CONSTITUENT, THE NITROGENOUS BASIC CONSTITUENT AND THE CELLULOSE BY BAKING THE FIBERS AT TEMPERATURES BETWEEN 250* F. AND 400* F. FOR A TIME RANGING FROM 180 MINUTES AT THE LOWER TEMPERATURE TO 1 MINUTE AT THE HIGHER TEMPERTURE SO AS TO PRODUCE A COMPLEX CONTAINING THE ACID, CELLULOSE AND NITROGEN; AND SUBSEQUENTLY IMMERSING THE BAKED FIBERS, STILL IN COMPACTED FORM, IN HOT WATER, WHEREBY TO EFFECT RAPID AND SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETE DISPERSION OF THE FIBROUS MATERIAL THROUGH THE BODY OF WATER.