Method and apparatus for the treatment of waste wood, such as stumps and snag, to make it suitable for the production of paper pulp

Claim 1

A method for the continuous treatment of raw waste wood including stumps and snag to remove sand, stone, earth, other impurities and bark attached thereto and embedded therein and to thereby render said waste wood suitable for the production of pulp, the method comprising delivering said raw waste wood to a crushing zone; crushing said raw waste wood to fragment it and to partially loosen the attached and embedded impurities and bark therefrom; passing the crushed wood fragments, detached impurities and detached bark to a washing zone including a washing tank containing water; subjecting the material fed into the washing zone to jets of water under high pressure as the material enters the washing tank to further promote the removel of bark and impurities from the crushed wood fragments; passing said materials fed into the washing zone into the water in said water tank where an accept portion, comprising crushed wood fragments and bark, tends to float to a discharge outlet at the top surface of the water and a reject portion, comprising sand, stone, earth, bark and heavier crushed wood fragments, tends to sink to a discharge outlet at the bottom of said water tank; subjecting the sinking material in the washing tank to submerged flow jets; controlling the strength and direction of said submerged flow jets to entrain the heavier crushed wood fragments with the accept crushed wood fragments while permitting the sand and stone impurities and the heaviest crushed wood fragments to sink to the bottom of the washing tank; discharging said accept portion, including the heavier crushed wood fragments entrained therewith, from the top surface of the water tank and delivering said accept portion to a chipper for further treatment; passing said reject portion to a separation zone where the sand and stones therein are separated from the heaviest crushed wood fragments and bark therein; feeding said separated crushed heaviest wood fragments of the reject portion to a coarse sieve which retains the larger heaviest crushed wood fragments of the reject portion; and passing the retained larger heaviest crushed wood fragments of the reject portion to the chipper where they are reduced to a size suitable for pulp porduction.

Claim 2

A method for the continuous treatment of raw waste wood including stumps and snag to remove sand, stone, earth, other impurities and bark attached thereto and embedded therein and to thereby render said waste wood suitable for the production of pulp, the method comprising delivering said raw waste wood to a crushing zone; crushing said raw waste wood to fragment it and to partially loosen the attached and embedded impurities and bark therefrom; passing the crushed wood fragments, detached impurities and detached bark to a washing zone including a washing tank containing water; subjecting the material fed into the washing zone to jets of water under high pressure as the material enters the washing tank to further promote the removel of bark and impurities from the crushed wood fragments; passing said materials fed into the washing zone into the water in said water tank where an accept portion, comprising crushed wood fragments and bark, tends to float to a discharge outlet at the top surface of the water and a reject portion, comprising sand, stone, earth, bark and heavier crushed wood fragments, tends to sink to a discharge outlet at the bottom of said water tank; subjecting the sinking material in the washing tank to submerged flow jets; controlling the strength and direction of said submerged flow jets to entrain the heavier crushed wood fragments with the accept crushed wood fragments while permitting the sand and stone impurities and the heaviest crushed wood fragments to sink to the bottom of the washing tank; discharging said accept portion, including the heavier crushed wood fragments entrained therewith, from the top surface of the water tank and delivering said accept portion to a chipper for further treatment; passing said reject portion to a separation zone where the sand and stones therein are separated from the heaviest crushed wood fragments and bark therein; feeding said separated crushed heaviest wood fragments of the reject portion to a coarse sieve which retains the larger heaviest crushed wood fragments of the reject portion; and passing the retained larger heaviest crushed wood fragments of the reject portion to the chipper where they are reduced to a size suitable for pulp porduction.

Claim 5

An apparatus for continuous treatment of waste wood including stumps and snag to remove sand, stone, earth and other impurities and bark attached thereto and embedded therein to thereby render said waste wood suitable for production of pulp, the apparatus comprising crusher means for fragmenting said raw waste wood and partially loosening the attached and embedded impurities and bark therefrom; a washer tank for washing the sand, earth and stone impurities and bark from said crushed wood fragments and for separating said materials into accept and reject portions, said washer tank having a body of water therein and having an inlet region for receiving the output from said crusher means, a first outlet region near the surface of said body of water for discharging an accept portion of said crusher output, comprising crushed wood fragments and bark which tend to float near the surface of said body of water, and a second outlet region at the bottom of the water tank for discharging a reject portion of said crusher output, comprising sand, stone, earth, bark and heavier crushed wood fragments which tend to sink towards said second outlet region; means adjacent said first outlet region for removing said accept portion from said tank; nozzle means near the inlet region of said washer tank for directing jets of water under high pressure against the crushed wood fragments as they are received by said tank to promote the detachment of impurities and bark attached to or embedded in the incoming crushed wood fragments; submerged flow nozzle means pivotally mounted in said washer tank for directing water generally upwardly toward said first outlet region for entraining the heavier crushed wood with the accept portion of the crusher output while permitting the sand and stone impurities and the heaviest crushed wood fragments to sink towards the second outlet region; means attached to said submerged flow nozzle means for controlling the direction of flow of water from said flow nozzle means; a sand separator positioned adjacent said second outlet region of said washer tank to receive the reject portion of the washed materials, comprising sand, stones, earth, bark and the heaviest crushed wood fragments, and to remove said sand, earth and stones from said bark and heaviest crushed wood fragments; a coarse sieve positioned to receive said bark and heaviest crushed wood fragments of the reject portion from said sand separator for retaining the larger heaviest crushed wood fragments; and means for receiving said larger heaviest crushed wood fragments from said coarse sieve and for chipping the retained larger heaviest crushed wood fragments to reduce them to a size suitable for pulp production.

Claim 6

An apparatus for continuous treatment of waste wood including stumps and snag to remove sand, stone, earth and other impurities and bark attached thereto and embedded therein to thereby render said waste wood suitable for production of pulp, the apparatus comprising crusher means for fragmenting said raw waste wood and partially loosening the attached and embedded impurities and bark therefrom; a washer tank for washing the sand, earth and stone impurities and bark from said crushed wood fragments and for separating said materials into accept and reject portions, said washer tank having a body of water therein and having an inlet region for receiving the output from said crusher means, a first outlet region near the surface of said body of water for discharging an accept portion of said crusher output, comprising crushed wood fragments and bark which tend to float near the surface of said body of water, and a second outlet region at the bottom of the water tank for discharging a reject portion of said crusher output, comprising sand, stone, earth, bark and heavier crushed wood fragments which tend to sink towards said second outlet region; means adjacent said first outlet region for removing said accept portion from said tank; nozzle means near the inlet region of said washer tank for directing jets of water under high pressure against the crushed wood fragments as they are received by said tank to promote the detachment of impurities and bark attached to or embedded in the incoming crushed wood fragments; submerged flow nozzle means pivotally mounted in said washer tank for directing water generally upwardly toward said first outlet region for entraining the heavier crushed wood with the accept portion of the crusher output while permitting the sand and stone impurities and the heaviest crushed wood fragments to sink towards the second outlet region; means attached to said submerged flow nozzle means for controlling the direction of flow of water from said flow nozzle means; a sand separator positioned adjacent said second outlet region of said washer tank to receive the reject portion of the washed materials, comprising sand, stones, earth, bark and the heaviest crushed wood fragments, and to remove said sand, earth and stones from said bark and heaviest crushed wood fragments; a coarse sieve positioned to receive said bark and heaviest crushed wood fragments of the reject portion from said sand separator for retaining the larger heaviest crushed wood fragments; and means for receiving said larger heaviest crushed wood fragments from said coarse sieve and for chipping the retained larger heaviest crushed wood fragments to reduce them to a size suitable for pulp production.

Claim 11

An apparatus for continuous treatment of waste wood including stumps and snag to remove sand, stone, earth and other impurities and bark attached thereto and embedded therein to thereby render said waste wood suitable for production of pulp, the apparatus comprising crusher means for fragmenting said raw waste wood and partially loosening the attached and embedded impurities and bark therefrom; a washer tank for washing the sand, earth and stone impurities and bark from said crushed wood fragments and for separating said materials into accept and reject portions; said washer tank having a body of water therein and having an inlet region for receiving the output from said crusher means, a first outlet region near the surface of said body of water for discharging an accept portion of said crusher output, comprising crushed wood fragments and bark which tend to float near the surface of said body of water, and a second outlet region at the bottom of the water tank for discharging a reject portion of said crusher output, comprising sand, stone, earth, bark and heavier crushed wood fragments which tend to sink towards said second outlet region; means adjacent said first outlet region for removing said accept portion from said tank; nozzle means near the inlet region of said washer tank for directing jets of water under high pressure against the crushed wood fragments as they are received by said tank to promote the detachment of impurities and bark attached to or embedded in the incoming crushed wood fragments; a submerged propeller mounted in said washer tank above said second outlet region for directing water generally upwardly toward said first outlet region for entraining the heavier crushed wood with the accept portion of the crusher output while permitting the sand and stone impurities and the heaviest crushed wood fragments to sink towards the second outlet region; means for rotating said propeller; means for controlling the speed and orientation of the axis of rotation of said propeller; a sand separator positioned adjacent said second outlet region of said washer tank to receive the reject portion of the washed materials, comprising sand, stones, earth, bark and the heaviest crushed wood fragments, and to remove said sand, earth and stones from said bark and heaviest crushed wood fragments; a coarse sieve positioned to receive said bark and heaviest crushed wood fragments of the reject portion from said sand separator for retaining the larger heaviest crushed wood fragments; and means for receiving said larger heaviest crushed wood fragments from said coarse sieve and for chipping the retained larger heaviest crushed wood fragments to reduce them to a size suitable for pulp production.

Claim 12

An apparatus for continuous treatment of waste wood including stumps and snag to remove sand, stone, earth and other impurities and bark attached thereto and embedded therein to thereby render said waste wood suitable for production of pulp, the apparatus comprising crusher means for fragmenting said raw waste wood and partially loosening the attached and embedded impurities and bark therefrom; a washer tank for washing the sand, earth and stone impurities and bark from said crushed wood fragments and for separating said materials into accept and reject portions; said washer tank having a body of water therein and having an inlet region for receiving the output from said crusher means, a first outlet region near the surface of said body of water for discharging an accept portion of said crusher output, comprising crushed wood fragments and bark which tend to float near the surface of said body of water, and a second outlet region at the bottom of the water tank for discharging a reject portion of said crusher output, comprising sand, stone, earth, bark and heavier crushed wood fragments which tend to sink towards said second outlet region; means adjacent said first outlet region for removing said accept portion from said tank; nozzle means near the inlet region of said washer tank for directing jets of water under high pressure against the crushed wood fragments as they are received by said tank to promote the detachment of impurities and bark attached to or embedded in the incoming crushed wood fragments; a submerged propeller mounted in said washer tank above said second outlet region for directing water generally upwardly toward said first outlet region for entraining the heavier crushed wood with the accept portion of the crusher output while permitting the sand and stone impurities and the heaviest crushed wood fragments to sink towards the second outlet region; means for rotating said propeller; means for controlling the speed and orientation of the axis of rotation of said propeller; a sand separator positioned adjacent said second outlet region of said washer tank to receive the reject portion of the washed materials, comprising sand, stones, earth, bark and the heaviest crushed wood fragments, and to remove said sand, earth and stones from said bark and heaviest crushed wood fragments; a coarse sieve positioned to receive said bark and heaviest crushed wood fragments of the reject portion from said sand separator for retaining the larger heaviest crushed wood fragments; and means for receiving said larger heaviest crushed wood fragments from said coarse sieve and for chipping the retained larger heaviest crushed wood fragments to reduce them to a size suitable for pulp production.