Patent Application
20240368807
The present disclosure relates to devices and methods for use in liquid processing of fibrous solids.
The handling of fibrous solids can be difficult and often can be unsafe. When trying to process fibrous solids in liquid for liquid extraction, boiling, etc. the fibrous materials tend to aggregate or bunch up and can wrap around a processing tank's internal devices and features, becoming difficult to remove from the processing tank. This aggregation or packing of the fibrous solids also creates uneven temperatures within the fibrous solid mass and prevents uniform liquid flow within the fibrous solid mass which can be crucial for liquid extraction and other reactions.
The above-described issue can be addressed by containing the fibrous solids within screened cages inside of a processing tank, such that the fibrous solids will not aggregate and/or wrap around a processing tank's internal devices and features. This enables easier and safer loading and unloading of the fibrous solids into the processing tank. In addition, the screened cages enable the fluid to freely interact with the fibrous solids. The locations of the screened cages can be optimized within the processing tank for best movement of the fibrous solids within the screened cages, allowing the fluid to uniformly interact with the fibrous solids. This allows for a consistent and repeatable method for heat transfer, liquid extraction, etc.
An aspect of the present disclosure includes devices and methods for holding fibrous solids in screened cages for liquid processing of the fibrous solids inside a tank. The screened cages can be customized based on the material they are to contain, and the processing that material will undergo. The screened cages are designed with the strength required to hold the weight of the wet fibrous solids and to withstand the fluidic forces resulting from processing in the liquid tank. In addition, the screens are designed with screen opening sizes that prevent the fibrous solids from either partially or completely escaping the screened cages while still enabling fluid to enter and leave the cage for proper processing.
Another aspect of the present disclosure includes optimizing the location of screened cages within the liquid tank to create a flow pattern within the screened cages to enable a mass of fibrous solids to rotate within the screened cage and not pack to one side or corner of the screened cage. Once the mass of fibrous solids is rotating in the cage with flow of the fluid into and out of the cage per the above-described aspect, consistent and repeatable processing operations can be performed. For example, the amount of heat transfer to maintain a uniform temperature within the fibrous mass, the ability for liquid solvent to extract material from the fibrous solids, reaction times between the liquid and fibrous solid, etc. can be standardized.
According to yet another aspects of the present disclosure, common scale up methods for predicting heat transfer, mass transfer, blending time, etc. can be utilized as the fibrous solids processed in the disclosed screened cages do not increase in mass and thickness as the scale increases. As long as the screened cages can be handled in a larger scale and the rotation of the fibrous solid mass can be achieved in the screened cages, processing conditions and quality of the output product can be more accurately predicted.
Thus, in more detail, an aspect of the present disclosure provides a method of processing fibrous solids, including silk cocoons, cellulose or animal fibers, in liquid comprising the steps (in any order) of adding liquid to a processing tank, optionally adding one or more reagents to the processing tank, providing at least one screened cage containing fibrous solids, adding the at least one screened cage to the processing tank, agitating the liquid in the processing tank such that the liquid uniformly flows through the at least one screened cage; wherein the fibrous solids rotate freely within the at least one screened cage. In a further aspect, the liquid freely flows through the at least one screened cage. In another aspect, the fibrous solids are dissolved to release one or more components of the fibrous solids. In some aspects, the one or more reagents can be a solvent or a salt, including sodium carbonate. In some aspects, the liquid added to the tank can act as a solvent.
In another aspect, the one or more components are retained within the screened cage. In the case of silk cocoons as the fibrous material, fibroin can be released from the fibrous material and retained in the screened cage. In one aspect, the one or more retained components are subjected to an agitation flow path that prevents packing of the one or more retained components within the screened cage. To facilitate such agitation flow path, the at least one screened cage comprises mesh having an opening sufficient to allow for fluid agitation flow within the at least one screened cage, wherein the opening is sized to contain the retained components, and prevent the fibrous materials from clogging or wrapping around the mesh.
In a further aspect, manual or automatic means are used to add the at least one screened cage to the processing tank such that the screened cage is placed into a desired position in a repeatable manner. Once in position, the at least one screened cage is secured such that rotation and/or deflection of the at least one screened cage from the desired position is prevented.
Additionally, further processing steps can also be performed, including, but not limited to any combination of removing the one or more screened cages from the tank, inserting the one or more screened cages into an oven; and drying the retained retained components and/or fibrous materials. In one aspect, the step of removing the one or more screened cages from the tank results in the draining of liquid from the one or more screened cages. Further, in another aspect the at least one screened cage is subjected to centrifugal force to remove one or more reagents from the retained components. In another aspect, additional processing can be performed on the retained material with the at least one screened cage such as dissolving or a chemical reaction.
Another aspect of the present disclosure includes a device for processing fibrous solids in liquid comprising at least one screened cage having a lid. Fibrous solids can include cocoons, cellulose, or animal fibers. In one aspect, the lid is removably attached, including possibly by one or more latches.
In a further aspect, the screened cage can comprise an external support structure and one or more mesh walls located interior to the external support structure. Such mesh walls allow for a fluid flow pattern within the screened cage. Thus, fluid is able to flow into an out of the screened cage, while the fibrous solids and desired components are contained therein. In a further aspect, the screened cage is configured to function as a sieve to remove liquid from a material placed inside the screened cage.
These and other embodiments, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, when taken in conjunction with the appended drawings, and provided claims. It is particularly noted that any of the components, method steps or the like described above can be utilized in the practice of the present invention in any combination or order. Thus, for instance, a description of providing liquid in a processing tank before adding fibrous solids in screened cages does not prevent the practice of the present disclosure whereby the fibrous solids in screened cages are added before the liquid, etc.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form part of the specification, illustrate various embodiments, objects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure.
Throughout the figures, the same reference numerals and characters, unless otherwise stated, are used to denote like features, elements, components or portions of the illustrated embodiments. Moreover, while the subject disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the figures, it is done so in connection with the illustrative exemplary embodiments. It is intended that changes and modifications can be made to the described exemplary embodiments without departing from the true scope and spirit of the subject disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
The present disclosure has several embodiments and relies on patents, patent applications and other references for details known to those of the art. Therefore, when a patent, patent application, or other reference is cited or repeated herein, it should be understood that it is incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes as well as for the proposition that is recited.
Liquid 106 used for extraction is filled into the tank 101 in
The exemplary tank 101 in
Tank 101 can further include typical components such as a drain 117 and support legs 118. Tank 101 and the feature thereof, including the screened cages 107, can be made of materials such as stainless steel, which will be non-reactive in a liquid environment.
A non-limiting example of a screened cage 207 design is illustrated in
The agitation of the liquid 306 in the tank 301 is illustrated in
The exemplary illustration in
The flow pattern of the liquid 406 within the screened cages 407 is illustrated in
Step 701 of
In step 703, fibrous solids are added to at least one screened cage. In Step 704, the at least one screened cage is added to the processing tank comprising the liquid, such that the liquid will freely flow through the at least one screened cage. In Step 705, the liquid in the processing tank is agitated, for instance by means of an impeller, such that the liquid uniformly flows through the at least one screened cage. Such agitation causes the fibrous solids to rotate freely within the at least one screened cage. In addition to steps 701-705, other optional steps may be performed, such as heating the tank, for instance, via a steam jacket, adding one or more additional reagents, incubating the fibrous solids at a desired temperature for a desired amount of time, and rinsing the fibrous solids.
In some embodiments, the performance of the process shown in
During Step 703, the at least one screened cage is provided and receives fibrous solids. Depending on the fibrous solids to be used, one of skill in the art will be able to readily determine the appropriate size openings for the mesh that is on at least one surface of the screened cage. In selecting the appropriate size, the properties of the fibrous solids will be considered (i.e., length, width, etc.) as well as that of any components of the fibrous solids that are desired to be either contained by the screened cage or which are desired to be able to pass through the screened cage. By choosing an appropriately sized mesh opening, a fluid agitation flow will be able to be generated within the at least one screened cage, and the mesh openings will be sized to contain the retained components while preventing the fibrous materials from clogging or wrapping around the mesh.
During Step 704, the at least one screened cage is added to the processing tank in a manual or automatic manner which positions the screened cage to a desired position. Such positioning should be done in a repeatable manner, such that the at least one screened cages can be repeatedly removed from and added to the processing tank into one of a number of specifically defined positions. For instance, one example of such positioning can be seen in
In one aspect, the method additional comprises that the step of removing the one or more screened cages from the tank results in the draining of liquid from the one or more screened cages. In such an embodiment, the at least one screened cage can act as a sieve or strainer, allowing the liquid in the tank to drain from the at least one screened cage as it is lifted from the tank, while any retained components remain within the screened cage. In addition, once removed from the tank, the screened cages can act as a vessel for the retained components and/or fibrous materials to be further subjected to additional processing steps. For instance, the screened cages can be subjected to centrifugal force in order to remove additional liquid and/or reagents from the retained components and/or remaining fibrous materials.
The method described in
Collapsed cocoons were obtained. Three screened cages were each loaded with 50 g of the collapsed cocoons. The degumming phase of extracting fibroin from the cocoons was performed, with a 60 minute boiling time. The boiling solution (water and salt) was kept at 95-100° C. A single impeller was started approximately 2-3 minutes after the degumming phase started, and was maintained at an agitation speed of 900-1200 rotations per minute for the remainder of the degumming phase. The solution did not appear foamy during the degumming phase. Results are shown below in Table 1:
As can be seen from the results in Table 1, the retained contents of the screened cages had a molecular weight following the processing phase of 168.5 kDa, demonstrating that the fibroin was successfully released from the cocoons. This correlates to the screened cages providing good heat transfer to the fibrous solid (cocoon) contents. Further, sericin was completely removed from the retained contents, demonstrating that the mass transfer allowed by the screened cages was also good.
In referring to the description, specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the examples disclosed. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components and circuits have not been described in detail as not to unnecessarily lengthen the present disclosure.
It should be understood that if an element or part is referred herein as being “on”, “against”, “connected to”, or “coupled to” another element or part, then it can be directly on, against, connected or coupled to the other element or part, or intervening elements or parts may be present. In contrast, if an element is referred to as being “directly on”, “directly connected to”, or “directly coupled to” another element or part, then there are no intervening elements or parts present. When used, term “and/or”, includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items, if so provided.
Spatially relative terms, such as “under” “beneath”, “below”, “lower”, “above”, “upper”, “proximal”, “distal”, and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the various figures. It should be understood, however, that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, a relative spatial term such as “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein are to be interpreted accordingly. Similarly, the relative spatial terms “proximal” and “distal” may also be interchangeable, where applicable.
The term “about,” as used herein means, for example, within 10%, within 5%, or less. In some embodiments, the term “about” may mean within measurement error.
The terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, parts and/or sections. It should be understood that these elements, components, regions, parts and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms have been used only to distinguish one element, component, region, part, or section from another region, part, or section. Thus, a first element, component, region, part, or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, part, or section without departing from the teachings herein.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the context of describing the disclosure (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “includes”, “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. Specifically, these terms, when used in the present specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof not explicitly stated. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. For example, if the range 10-15 is disclosed, then 11, 12, 13, and 14 are also disclosed. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the disclosure and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the disclosure unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the disclosure.
It will be appreciated that the methods and compositions of the instant disclosure can be incorporated in the form of a variety of embodiments, only a few of which are disclosed herein. Variations of those embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventors intend for the disclosure to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this disclosure includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the disclosure unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.
The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/215,020 filed Jun. 25, 2021, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2022/034938 | 6/24/2022 | WO |
