Defecating process and apparatus

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUSLY TREATING SUGAR JUICE WITH A DEFECATING AGENT WHICH COMPRISES A HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING TANK HAVING A RAW JUICE INLET AT ONE END AND A TREATED JUICE OUTLET AT THE OTHER END AND ADAPTED TO HOLD A BODY OF JUICE PASSING THERETHROUGH WITH THE JUICE LEVEL IN THE TANK DETERMINED BY THE ELEVATION OF THE JUICE OUTLET, PARTITIONING MEANS DIVIDING THE TANK INTO A SERIES OF TREATMENT COMPARTMENTS AND HAVING FLOW PASSAGES WHEREBY THE COMPARTMENTS COMMUNICATE WITH ONE ANOTHER AND THROUGH WHICH A MAIN STREAM OF THE JUICE PASSES SEQUENTIALLY FROM THE FIRST TO THE LAST COMPARTMENT, AGITATING MEANS FOR SWIRLINGLY MIXING THE JUICE IN SAID COMPARTMENTS WHILE IMPARTING TO THE JUICE IN EACH COMPARTMENT A MOTION SUBSTANTIALLY TRANSVERSELY OF THE DIRECTION OF THE MAIN STREAM WITH THE DIRECTION OF SUCH AGITATION BEING THE SAME IN ALL ZONES, FLOW-SPLITTING DEVICES DISPOSED BETWEEN ANY TWO SUCCESSIVE COMPARTMENTS AND ASSOCIATED WITH RESPECTIVE FLOW PASSAGES TO EFFECT MARGINALLY SPLITTING OFF A QUANTITY OF THE SWIRLING JUICE IN EACH ZONE EXCEPT THE JUICE-FEEDING ZONE AND THEREBY TRANSFERRING MUCH QUANTITY CARRYING SOME OF THE REAGENT THROUGH SAID PASSAGE UPSTREAM INTO THE NEXT PRECEDING ZONE THERE TO ADMIX WITH JUICE THEREIN WHILE DISPLACING A CORRESPONDING QUANITY OF JUICE DOWNSTREAM FROM SAID PRECEDING ZONE SO THAT THE CONCENTRATION OF THE REAGENT IN THE JUICE IN THE ZONES IS GREATEST IN THE ZONE OF JUICE EMISSION AND IS LEAST IN THE ZONE OF JUICE FEEDING WHILE THE CONCENTRATIONS IN THE ZONES THEREBETWEEN DIMINISH FROM ZONE TO ZONE FROM GREATEST TO LEAST, AND MEANS FOR ADJUSTING SAID FLOW-SPLITTING DEVICES TO REGULATE THE RESPECTIVE QUANTITIES BEING SPLIT OFF.