Continuous reaction vessel

Claim 1

VESSEL FOR THE CONTINUOUS CHEMICAL REACTION OF ALKALI CELLULOSE WITH ETHYLENE OXIDE TO PRODUCE HYDROXYETHYL CELLULOSE COMPRISING A HORIZONTALLY ARRANGED ELONGATED CONTAINER, TWO AGITATING REELS MOUNTEDD ON PARALLEL AXES EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY THROUGH SAID CONTAINER, MEANS ROTATING SAID REELS IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS AT SPEEDS DIFFERING FROM ONE ANOTHER, SAID REELS HAVING BLADES WHICH DESCRIBE SUBSTANTIALLY TANGENTIAL PATHS, SAID CONTAINER HAVING BOTTOM AND OUTER SIDE WALLS CLOSELY CONFORMING WITH THE PATHS OF SAID BLADES AND AN UPPER COMPARTMENT IN OPEN COMMUNICATION WITH BOTH OF SAID REELS, PARTITIONS IN SAID UPPER COMPARTMENT, SAID PARTITIONS EXTENDING ACROSS SAID UPPER COMPARTMENT TRANVERSELY OF THE AXES OF SAID REELS AND HAVING LOWER CURVED EDGES SUBSTANTIALLY CONFORMING WITH THE PATHS OF SAID BLADES TO DIVIDE SAID UPPER COMPARTMENT INTO A PLURALITY OF SEGMENTS LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID VESSEL, MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY INTRODUCING AN THYLENE OXIDE SPRAY INTO SAID SEGMENTS, MEANS FOR CONTINUOUSLY INTRODUCING ALKALI CELLULOSE CRUMBS INTO ONE END OF SAID CONTAINER AT A CONTROLLED RATE, SAID REELS, BECAUSE OF THE DIFFERING SPEEDS, MOVING SAID CRUMBS LONGITUDINALLY THROUGH SAID CONTAINER AND AGITATING THEM SO THAT EACH PARTICLE OF ALKALI CELLULOSE IS UNIFORMLY CONTACTED AND REACTED WITH THE ETHYLENE OXIDE, AND ADJUSTABLE MEANS CONTROLLING THE RATE OF DISCHARGE OF THE REACTED PRODUCT FROM SAID CONTAINER.