444 NEW FIBRES 



NEW FIBRES 1 



Through the " fibres " of the organic world mankind exhibits in a striking way his 

 direct dependence upon natural products, both for the useful and the decorative and 

 aesthetic elements of his life. It is in such regions of activity that we become aware that 

 the arts have antedated " Science " by centuries, and moreover that our modern Science 

 is contributing no few factors of primary importance. It might be presumed that the 

 application of scientific investigation to the wealth of material presented by the organic 

 world would certainly lead to the selection and industrial application of fibres outside 

 the range of staple materials of natural empirical selection. The presumption however 

 is not justified by the facts, and there are few elements of material and fundamental 

 novelty in the present development of the textile and allied industries. 



The only noteworthy exception is in the artificial fibres, which are chemical trans- 

 formation products of the natural celluloses. These are manufactured in a large variety 

 of dimensions, from a " monofil " of 0.5 mm. diameter, to a unit thread of 0.5 mgr. per 

 metre. The " artificial silks " are assemblages of the finer units, suitably twisted. 

 The world's production of these yarns has steadily grown, and is advancing to 10,000 

 tons per annum. Hitherto, the artificial silks have not seriously competed with, or dis- 

 placed, the true silks: they have rather made for themselves new applications. With 

 increasing perfection of the product, however, the situation may be different. The in- 

 dustrial applications of cellulose derivatives have followed the lines of development in- 

 dicated in E. B. v, 609. The viscose process is supplanting the nitrocellulose, and to a 

 certain extent the cupr-ammonium process, for the production of artificial fibres. 

 The acetates of cellulose are in certain directions supplanting the nitrate for films, and 

 massive solids. The pure cellulose sheet or film in continuous length has developed 

 into an important industry, and the product is on the market as " Cellophane." .V '"' 



The production of Phormium fibre (New Zealand " flax ") is again engaging the 

 attention of the colonial authorities, and the New Zealand Government offers prize 

 money to the amount of 12,000 to inventors who shall improve the yield or quality of 

 the fibre, or cheapen the production by utilisation of wastes or by-products. 



In papermakers' raw materials there are supplies of new fibrous products on the 

 market. The most important is the cotton hull fibre. Cotton hulls are the envelopes of 

 the cotton seed, and they retain a residual proportion of cotton fibre, which escapes the 

 ginning process of separation of the textile cotton from the seed. The treatment of the 

 waste hulls, after removal of the endosperms for the purposes of oil and feeding cake 

 manufacture, has been the subject of various inventions for the separation and concen- 

 tration of the fibre (see Beadle & Stevens, J ' . Soc. Chem. Ind. 28, 1015). The machines 

 invented by De Segundo (English Patent 3268 and 11,137 of 1908) effect a very complete 

 separation of the fibre from shell residues, giving a raw material of 85 per cent cellulose 

 concentration, and on a low rate of working costs. By this process a supply of 5000 

 tons of fibre per annum is already rendered available for European consumption, and 

 bought at " rag " cellulose prices. 



Bamboo has long been recognised as a potential source of papermakers' half-stuffs 

 and cellulose. An important report has recently been published by Mr. W. Raitt, de- 

 scribing investigations carried out for the Forest Research Institute at Dehra Dun. 

 This report puts the cost of production of unbleached bamboo pulp as 6. 55. od. per ton 

 (in India). It is also to be noted that a bamboo half stuff is offering in the London 

 market, and the present available supply is stated to be 1000 tons per annum. This is 

 produced in Tongking, where work has been started on a unit plant of 10 tons per day 

 capacity. The undertaking is an Anglo-American capitalisation, and is projected for a 

 possible extension to 100 tons a day. 



Papyrus (Cyperus). The massive reed growth on the Nile river is attracting atten- 

 tion as a possible source of paper-making cellulose. Practical investigations under the 

 auspices of Sudan Industries Ltd., and Sudd Fuel (Suddite) Ltd., have established the 



1 See E. B. \, 309 el seq. 



