Countercurrent extraction apparatus

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR THE EXTRACTION OF SOLUBLE FRACTIONS BY MEANS OF A SOLVENT LIQUID FROM MATERIAL CONTAINING SUCH FRACTIONS, COMPRISING A FIRST HORIZONTAL EXTRACTION CHAMBER OF LENGTH EXCEDING ITS WIDTH, MATERIAL MOVING MEANS EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY IN SID CHAMBER ADAPTED TO MOVE COMMINUTED SOLID MATERIAL THROUGHOUT THE LENGTH OF SAID CHAMBER, MEANS FOR ADMITTING SOLVENT LIQUID TO SAID CHAMBER AND FOR CAUSING IT TO FLOW CONCURRENTLY WITH SAID MOVING MATERIAL, A SETTLING TANK ADJACENT THE END OF SAID CHAMBER TOWARDS WHICH THE SOLVENT LIQUID IS FLOWING, SAID SETTLING TANK HAVING LIQUID AND SOLID FLOW COMMUNICATION WITH SAID CHAMBER, A SECOND HORIZONTAL EXTRACTION CHAMBER, MEANS FOR RECEIVING SOLID MATERIAL FROM SAID FIRST EXTRACTION CHAMBER AND CONVEYING IT INTO SAID SECOND EXTRACTION CHAMBER, MATERIAL MOVING MEANS EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY THROUGH SAID SECOND EXTRACTION CHAMBER, MEANS FOR ADMITTING SOLVENT LIQUID IS FLOWING, MEANS OND EXTRACTION CHAMBER IN COUNTERFLOW RELATIONSHIP TO THE MATERIAL MOVING THERETHROUGH, A SECOND SETTLING TANK AT THE END OF SAID SECOND EXTRACTION CHAMBER TOWARDS WHICH SAID LAST NAMED SOLVENT LIQUID IS FLOWING, MEANS FOR CAUSING FLOW OF SAID LAST NAMED SOLVENT LIQUID INTO SAID SECOND SETTLING TANK, MEANS FOR RECYCLING CLARIFIED LIQUID FROM SAID SECOND SETTLING TANK AND INJECTING IT INTO SAID FIRST EXTRACTION CHAMBER, MEANS FOR RETURNING SETTLED FINES FROM SAID SECOND SETTLING TANK BACK INTO SAID SECOND EXTRACTION CHAMBER, MEANS FOR HEATING SAID CLARIFIED LIQUID BEFORE IT ENTERS SAID FIRST EXTRACTION CHAMBER, AND MEANS FOR WITHDRAWING FROM SAID FIRST SETTLLING TANK SOLVENT LIQUID CONTAINING SOLUBLE FRACTIONS IN SOLUTION THEREIN.