Apparatus for removing liquid from fibrous materials

Abstract

Liquids, such as sugar cane juices, are removed from fibrous materials by an apparatus which receives the fibrous, felt type or matted materials in strand form, for example from a sugar cane diffuser. Two hollow compression rollers having perforated circumferential walls are pressed toward each other for working in a compression range of about 0.5 kg/cm.sup.2 to about 50 kg/cm.sup.2, and form a material feed-in gap facing substantially upwardly. The rollers are arranged above liquid collecting troughs. Lateral funnel forming walls sealingly close the ends of the feed-in gap so that the rollers together with these lateral walls form a feed-in funnel. Material entraining members cover the holes in the perforated circumferential roller walls but with a spacing between the outer roller wall surface and the respective entraining member to form a liquid flow channel into each hole. The material is supplied into the feed-in gap through a substantially vertically extending chute reaching to or into said funnel. The substantially vertically downwardly extending column of material in the chute assures a uniform and continuous material supply into the feed-in gap due to the pressure of the material column. Further, the liquids pressed out of the material between the rollers flow along the shortest possible path through the interior of the rollers into the collecting troughs.