Process for producing a quick dissolving agglomerated perborate

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR PRODUCING A QUICK-DISSOLVING AGGLOMERATED PERBORATE BY (A) FORMING A MIXTURE OF FINELY DIVIDED PARTICULATE SODIUM PERBORATE TETRAHYDRATE AND A HYDRATABLE INORGANIC SALT SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF SODIUM PYROPHOSPHATE, SODIUM CARBONATE, TRISODIUM ORTHOPHOSPHATE, AND DISODIUM ORTHOPHOSPHATE, AND SODIUM TRIPOLYPHOSPHATE; (B) FORMING SAID PARTICULATE MIXTURE INTO A FALLING CURTAIN; (C) SPRAYING ONTO THE PARTICLES IN SAID CURTAIN, AS AN AGGLOMERATING AGENT, A SODIUM SILICATE SOLUTION IN A FINELY DIVIDED FORM HAVING AN AVERAGE BY VOLUME DROPLET DIAMETER OF FROM ABOUT 20 TO ABOUT 150 MICRONS, THE RATIO OF SIO2:NA2O IN SAID SILICATE RANGING FROM 2.6:1 TO 3.8:1 AND THE PERCENTAGE OF WATER IN SAID SOLUTION BEING FROM ABOUT 55% TO ABOUT 70%; (D) CONTACTING THE PARTICLES, HAVING RECEIVED SAID SPRAYON, WITH EACH OTHER IN A TUMBLING BED; WHEREBY THE SAID PERBORATE PARTICLES AND SAID HYDRATABLE INORGANIC SALT PARTICLES ARE AGGLOMERATED, THE HYDRATABLE INORGANIC SALTS DEHYDRATING SAID SILICATE SOLUTION SUFFICIENTLY TO FORM SOLID SILICATE BONDS BETWEEN SAID PARTICLES; THE AGGLOMERATED PARTICLES OF SAID PERBORATE, HYDRATABLE SALT AND SILICATE HAVING AN AVERAGE BY WEIGHT DIAMETER OF FROM ABOUT 200 TO ABOUT 700 MICRONS AND HAVING A BULK DENSITY IN THE RANGE OF 0.4 TO 0.7 GRAM PER CUBIC CENTIMETER; THE PARTICLES IN SAID CURTAIN FALLING WITH A VERTICAL VELOCITY LESS THAN THAT ACHIEVED IN A FREE FALL OF 10 FEET STARTING WITH ZERO INITIAL VERTICAL VELOCITY AND THE THICKNESS OF SAID TUMBLING BED BEING LESS THAN 20 INCHES, WHEREBY UNDUE COMPACTION AND BREAK-UP OF SAID AGGLOMERATES ARE AVOIDED.