SYNTHETIC TEXTILE FIBERS — MAUERSBERGER 223 



FILAMENTS FROM LICHENIN, PECTIN, ICELAND MOSS, AND AGAR- 

 AGAR 



Vegetable mucilages such as lichenin, pectin, Iceland moss, and 

 agar-agar have been experimented with in England, for use in 

 gauzelike fabrics. By incorporating into the viscous mass before 

 extrusion glycerol, borax, or gluten the fibers become rather flexible. 

 Such fibers are said to be sufficiently resistant to atmospheric moisture 

 and to be nonhygroscopic. Colored fabrics are made by incorpora- 

 tion of ground colored pigments or by spraying on dyes. 



ALGINIC ACID FILAMENTS 



A synthetic textile fiber has been produced in Germany by Goda 

 from a jelly like substance containing algin (alginic acid) prepared 

 from seaweed by dissolving it in ammoniacal copper solution con- 

 taining alkali metal hydroxide, and spinning it into a bath containing 

 a salt prepared from furfural and caustic soda, an aliphatic acid, 

 alcohol and formaldehyde. The filaments are afterward treated 

 with solution containing a sulfate and sulfite. Sarason, of Great 

 Britain, also has a method of preparing such filaments; also the 

 Japanese have a method for forming filaments. Nothing is known 

 of their success or their commercial introduction. It is merely cited 

 here to show the possibilities for future synthetic textile filaments 

 and fibers. 



