Densified nitrocellulose-hydrocarbon product and process of manufacture

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR PREPARING HYDROCARBON-WET NITROCELLULOSE WHICH COMPRISES (A) CONTACTING A SLURRY OF FIBROUS NITROCELULOSE WITH AGITATION IN A HEATED AQUEOUS BATH WITH AN ORGANIC LIQUID SOLVENT WHICH HAS ACTIVE SOLVENT POWER FOR SAID NITROCELLULOSE; (B) REGULATING THE AMOUNT OF SAID SOLVENT BETWEEN ABOUT 0.3 PART AND ABOUT 2 PARTS BY WEIGHT PER PRT OF NIROCELLULOSE TO SOFTEN AND DESTROY THE FIBROUS STRUCTURE OF SAID NITROCELLULOSE WITHOUT DISSOLUTION OF SAID NITROCELLULOSE; (C) REMOVING SUBSTANTIALLY ALL OF SAID SOLVENT BY DISTILLATION WHILE CONTINUING AGITATION TO TRANSFORM THE SOFTENED NITROCELLULOSE INTO SMOOTH, HARDENED, DENSIFIED, IRREGULAR GRANULES HAVING A FREE-DRAINING PHYSICAL STRUCTURE CAPABLE OF HOLDING BETWEEN ABOUT 10% AND ABOUT 40% BY WEIGHT OF SORBED NONSOLVENT LIQUID; (D) SEPARATING EXCESS WATER FROM THE RESULTING HARDENED NITROCELLULOSE GRANULES TO PRODUCE NITROCELLULOSE GRANULES WET WITH SORBED WATER; (E) THEREAFTER SUBSTANTIALLY DISPLACING SORBED WATER FROM THE WATER-WET NITROCELLULOSE GRANULES BY DISTILLATION IN THE PRESENCE OF AN EXCESS OF VOLATILE HYDROCARBON LIQUID; (F) SEPARATING EXCESS HYDROCARBON LIQUID; AND (G) RECOVERING NITROCELLULOSE GRANULES WETTED WITH BETWEEN ABOUT 10% AND ABOUT 40% BY WEIGHT OF SORBED HYDROCARBON, BASED ON TOTAL WEIGHT.