Improvements in and relating to the treatment of wool-washing effluent

摘要

Wool - washery effluent is treated with sufficient alkali to retard coagulation of the proteins or other nitrogenous bodies so as to prevent the precipitation on heating of these bodies, and the effluent is then heated in an autoclave at a temperature equivalent to a pressure of 50 lbs. per square inch of saturated steam, or thereabout, for a period exceeding half an hour and sufficient to cause the liquor to separate, after heating and being allowed to settle, into three portions, viz. wool grease at the surface, mud or sand at the bottom, and a clear middle layer having detergent properties. Sodium or potassium carbonate may be used as the alkali for addition to the effluent, and the amount added may correspond to an increase in concentration of alkali such as would be obtained by evaporation of the effluent up to a point at which the minimum content of wool grease in the effluent is 4-5 per cent or thereabout. In most cases, the concentration of potash in the effluent is doubled prior to the heat treatment. The whole or a portion of the sediment may be treated to recover the potassium carbonate or other alkali, and the recovered alkali may be used to treat another batch of effluent. The wool grease recovered from the treated effluent may be sold directly or subjected to purification treatments. The middle layer having detergent properties may be used for the wool scouring process and it may take the place of the soap and soda customarily used in such process. Specification 588,896 is referred to.