280 



[May 1907. 



TIMBERS, 



POSSIBILITIES OF WOOD PRODUCTS III. 



Prof. E. Pfulil has recently published a very interesting book on " Paper 

 Yarn : Its Production, Properties, and Uses." In his book, Prof. Pfuhl gives an 

 account of the progress that has been made in producing yarn from threads prepared 

 by a wet felting of fibres, and the results are most interesting. The raw material, 

 consisting largely of chemical wood pulp, is dealt with in a special manner in the 

 beating engine, so as to reduce the length of tli6 fibres to the necessary extent, and 

 convert the whole into a good felting paper pulp. The pulp is then brought on to a 

 Pourdrinier machine, and a layer of this pulp produced in the ordinary manner, 

 after which it is divided into a number of narrow bands, which bands are twisted 

 by mechanical means, and converted into threads. According to Prof. Pfuhl there 

 are two processes in practical working. One is for the production of a material 

 known as " xyloline " based on the patents of Claviez & Co. In this the strips of pulp, 

 as they come away from the machine, are wound on to reels, and these reels are then 

 fixed to revolving forks, so that on winding the strip off the reel, it receives the 

 necessary twist, and is mechanically treated otherwise. The material produced 

 yields a strong yarn, and is so cheap that a complete suit of clothes can be sold for 

 7s. to 10s. It is further stated that it can be washed without being damaged in any 

 way. Silvaline is also produced at Golzenn-Grimma on the lines invented by Herr 

 R. Kron. Here paper is divided into strips and subsequently spun into threads, and 

 the'machinery is very delicate and beautiful. The first factory was erected in Spain, 

 near Bilbao, and another factory has been erected in Holland. Other factories at 

 Rattimau and Mesterlitz, in Germany, are being erected, and the enterprise is 

 extending to Russia, and there is no doubt that silvaline and xyloline will enter 

 into direct competition with jute, and possibly coarse cotton yarn. 



The rapidity of the progress made in this branch of technology is a marvel 

 among modern enterprises, and it is doubtful if, in the history of the nations of the 

 world, any one industry has achieved such a success in comparatively so short a 

 period of time. Probably few realise what an amount of wood pulp the publication of 

 our daily newspapers requires. I may here remark that in London one "daily" has 

 recently entered into a contract for the purchase of 10,000 tons of paper per annum 

 for three years, and I think it would be fair to estimate that each day one of our 

 large London daily papers consumes 10 acres of an average forest. Wood pulp owes 

 its wide range of application to the fact that it is a material that can be made to 

 any degree of consistency, from a delicate almost intangible fabric to a dense mass 

 as hard as metal. It can be dyed to any colour or shade ; it can be rendered fire and 

 waterproof ; and in the hands of the chemist may be converted into a number of 

 very useful combinations. 



Ekman, it is not generally known, succeeded in producing a substance which 

 he called " Dextrone," from sulphite liquois. This substance had special qualities. 

 It could be mixed with glue and precipitated in the form of leather when diluted 

 with water only. It could be used in giving strength to brown papers, in weighting 

 jute, or as a mordant for dyes. It was of the nature of tannin, and yet it had quite 

 distinct properties. Seeing that for every ton of chemical wood pulp produced about 

 a ton of dextrone would be recovered from the liquors, an enormous quantity could 

 be produced if required. This substance was not, I think, manufactured in England 

 after the Ekman works stopped making pulp. Captain Partington has recently 

 made use of sulphite liquors for watering the roads, and claims to get very excellent 

 results. 



