US4007117A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Methods of recovering wool grease from spent wool scouring liquor
Assignee: New Zealand Inventions Development Authority
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Filing: 1974-11-20
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Granted: 1977-02-08
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Expires: 1994-11-20
Abstract
Abstract Method of treating wool scouring liquor effluent to render it suitable for recycling or discharge and to concurrently recover wool grease as a by-product. The method comprises mixing scouring liquor effluent with sufficient alcohol to produce a concentration in excess of saturation to leave a discrete alcohol phase, adding a selected flocculant to effect a liquid/liquid separation of grease from the liquor and stripping the separated grease from the alcohol phase.
Inventors
- 👤 Donald Kenneth Smith
- 👤 Corran Norman Stuart McLachlan
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-03 09:37
CPC Classifications
C; C11; C11B; C11B11/00; C11B11/005; C02; C02F; C02F1/00; C02F1/26; C02F1/52; C02F1/54; C02F9/00; Y; Y02; Y02W; Y02W30/00; Y02W30/50; Y02W30/74
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 11
Claim 1
Independent Claim
154 words
In a method of treating spent wool scour liquor containing wool grease comprising settling out solid dirt particles and flocculating out suspended particles by adding a polyelectrolyte flocculant in a floatation tank, the improvement which comprises: a. adjusting the pH of said liquor to at least 8, b. adding an aliphatic or cyclic alcohol having between four and eight carbon atoms in a quantity greater than that required to saturate said liquor and adding sufficient additional cationic or non-ionic organic polyelectrolyte flocculant to produce a concentration of 2-20 ppm weight/weight in said liquor, c. mixing said alcohol, flocculant and liquor at a temperature at least as high as ambient until substantially all of said wool grease is taken up by said alcohol, d. discontinuing said mixing to allow distinct alcoholic and aqueous phases to be formed, and e. separating said alcoholic phase from said aqueous phase and recovering wool grease from said alcoholic phase.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
154 words
In a method of treating spent wool scour liquor containing wool grease comprising settling out solid dirt particles and flocculating out suspended particles by adding a polyelectrolyte flocculant in a floatation tank, the improvement which comprises: a. adjusting the pH of said liquor to at least 8, b. adding an aliphatic or cyclic alcohol having between four and eight carbon atoms in a quantity greater than that required to saturate said liquor and adding sufficient additional cationic or non-ionic organic polyelectrolyte flocculant to produce a concentration of 2-20 ppm weight/weight in said liquor, c. mixing said alcohol, flocculant and liquor at a temperature at least as high as ambient until substantially all of said wool grease is taken up by said alcohol, d. discontinuing said mixing to allow distinct alcoholic and aqueous phases to be formed, and e. separating said alcoholic phase from said aqueous phase and recovering wool grease from said alcoholic phase.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method according to claim 1 wherein said alcohol is selected from the group consisting of n-pentanol, cyclohexanol and methylcyclohexanol.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method according to claim 2 wherein said flocculant is a cationic or nonionic homopolymer or co-polymer of acrylamide with a molecular weight in excess of 1 million.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method according to claim 3 wherein said flocculant is a homopolymer of acrylamide with a polymerization degree of 200,000.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method according to claim 3 wherein said flocculant is a copolymer of: (CH.sub.2 CHCONH.sub.2 + CH.sub.2 CHCOONa).sub.n Where CH 2 CHCOONa is present in a proportion of about 10% by weight and n is about 200,000.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method according to claim 1 wherein the concentration of said flocculant in said liquor is between 5 and 10 parts per million.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method according to claim 1 wherein air is injected into said alcohol, flocculant and liquor during said mixing step (c).
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method according to claim 1 wherein the temperature of said liquor is at least 60° C during said mixing step (c).
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method according to claim 8 wherein the temperature of said alcoholic and aqueous phases is raised to no more than 90° C whereby separation of phases is facilitated.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method according to claim 1 wherein said wool grease is recovered from said alcoholic phase by distillation and the alcohol distillate is recycled to said step (b).
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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Cited
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Cited
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1980-02-08 | 1980-08-09 | 1981-02-08 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1984-02-08 | 1984-08-09 | 1985-02-08 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1988-02-08 | 1988-08-09 | 1989-02-08 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |