October i, 1905.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



THE "GUAYULE" RUBBER PLANT- 111. 



THE Mfxican Htrald s&'xA. in its issue of September 12, in 

 regard to a company o( which the headquarters is in 

 New York : 

 " With nearly a million feet of lumber already or- 

 dered, besides tons upon tons of rubber extracting machinery, 

 the Continental Rubber Co., of which E. B. Aldrich is presi- 

 dent, is preparing; to build at Torreon a rubber factory which 

 shall be the largest ever constructed in Mexico Ciuajule will 

 be the product from which the rubber will be taken and news 

 received here is to the eflect that Mr. Aldrich, who is the son 

 of Senator Aldrich of Rhode Island, is backed by his company 

 with more than enough money to build the plant as well as a 

 number of smaller frame houses which are destined for the ujc 

 of the workmen at the factory. 



"One hundred acres is embraced in the site lor the plant, 

 which will be located near the junctions of the Mexican Central, 

 the International, and the Coahuila and Pacific railways. This 

 land lies just north of the Torreon smelter and is admirably 

 adapted to the purpose for which it was purchased. Captain 

 F. H. Hunicke is credited with having been the father of the 

 enterprise, inasmuch as he demonstrated that rubber is extraci- 

 ible from the Guayule plant with the right kind of machinery. 

 This is the class of machinery which will be used by the Con- 

 tinental Rubber Co. and Captain Hunicke has been retained 10 

 install the machinery and get it into smooth running order. 

 The supply of Guayule will bedtawn from the territory between 

 Monterey and Torreon where the shrub abounds in large quan- 

 tities." 



* « * 



The Continental Rubber Co. is incorporated under the laws 

 of New Jersey with $1,000,000 capital, to exploit, in connection 

 with Gjayule rubber, certain American and foreign patents 

 granted to William A. Lawrence. The president is Edward B. 

 Aldrich and the vice president Mr. Lawrence. They fill the 

 same offices in Continental Mexican Rubber Co., a subsidiary 

 company organized for carrying on the business in Mexico. 

 The New York headquarters is at No. 32 Broadway. It is under- 

 stood that ihisisoneof the two largest com panics now handling 

 Guayule to an important extent commercially. A list of the 

 United States patents granted to William A. Lawrence and as- 

 signed to the Continental Rubber Co. follows : 

 No. 741,256. October 13. igo3. Art of e.xtractirg gum. 



October 13, 1903. Apparatus for extracting gum. 

 October 13, 1903. Art of extracting rubber without 



No. 741.257. 

 No. 741,258. 



solvents. 

 No. 741.259. 



mnlter. 



October 13, 1903. Composition of 



No. 741,260. October 13. 1903. Process of refining crude rubber. 

 No. 787,518. April 18. 1905. Cleaning rubber. 



Patent No. "41.256 is for the continuous process in the treat- 

 ment of the plant with the solvent for the lubber like gum 

 contained in it. In the first place, the shrub is run through 

 corrugated rollers to get it in shape for the solvent, which is 

 naphtha. Other hydrocarbon solvents of rubber, together with 

 ether, chloroform, etc., may be used, but the inventor gives 

 personal preference to low grade naphtha of about 74 Baurre. 

 The inventor evaporates and recovers the naphtha after the 

 gum is in solution until evaporation becomes somewhat diffi- 

 cult. At this point he introduces a hot alkaline solution at a 

 temperature very near its boiling point. This is to dissolve the 

 resin and to separate the gum from the residue of the solvent. 

 The result is that the gum rises to the surface in a mass about 

 the consistency of cream. The alkali is then washed out with 

 cold water and the gum hardens into a doughy mass. 



The apparatus designed to carry out this process consists of 

 a basket with steel ribs, lined with wire cloth, having a fine 

 mesh. This basket, having been filled with crushed shrubs, is 

 put into a jacketed extracting drum. The door is closed and 

 the naphtha at once pumped in. It is left there for four hours, 

 being heated to 1 10° to 114° F. The solution is then drawn tfl 

 into the evaporator which takes out most of the naphtha. The 

 hot residue still in solution is then passed into a tank contain- 

 ing a hot alkaline solution. This is either an open or a closed 

 steam jacketed tank and contains for example 12 per cent, so- 

 lution of sodium hydrate. The liquid in the tank is kept at a 

 boiling point with occasional stirring for about two hours ; the 

 gum is then drawn or skimmed off and subjected to repeated 

 washing of first hot and then cold water in another tank. 



Patent No. 741,257 calls for a drum which rotates continu- 

 ously in one direction, with a rubbing action upon the material 

 to be treated, which is fed between the drum and the closely 

 encircling apron or belt. 



Patent No. 741,258 covers the art of extracting rubber with- 

 out the use of solvents. In this the shrubs are first crushed 

 very finely, the cellular tissue being softened by water, either 

 hot or cold. The rubbing apparatus is then applied which 

 thoroughly rubs the material treated forming the gum into 

 masses, which may be washed in the usual way. The apparatus 

 described consists of a boiling tank provided with steam heated 

 coil. From this the mixture flows out and is received upon an 

 endless belted strainer and conveyer through which the water 

 >i flows readily. The separator is of the 



rubbing type described in the former pat- 



No. 741,256. 



No. 741,257. 



w. A. Lawrence's processes for guayule. 



No. 741,258. 



