The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-12-26
Six FROM WOOD PULP.
Description of the French Discovery
of Cellulose SILK.


Description of the French Discovery
of Cellulose SILK.
Among the varied exhibits connected
with the display Of textile industries at the
Paris exposition. said the American Ana
tyst some time ago, there is one which, from
the unostentatous manner in which il is
displayed, has hardly attracted the atten-
ton which IL deserves. This is ths process
OF N: de Chardonnet Of Lyons, for making
arnnclai silk. In an out-of-the-wav corner
OF the Palais des Machines may be seen a
case hlled with what appears to be an ex-
hlbit OF le dress goods, while within the
same railing is wrought iron tank
ana stand contai ling some curl
Gus looking apparatus, from which
four tubes. of glass project. Above
these are four reels steadily revolving
ana reeling of fine silky-like fbers, which
come from the glass tubes. The semblance
to natural silk is very great, and the manu-
featured goods in the case ara undistin-
guishaole from the product of the cocoon
and loom. Yet before the observer Is the
apparently endless thread running from
what appears TO be glass tube filed with
clear, transparent liquid. As matter Of
met, this little exhibit Is producing artifi-
cial silk made from a cellulose produced
from wood pulp, and while the details of
the operation are not entirely given to the
PuoAAOs q ClOoo ODScFFdCiOu TeVedl6O enough
70 snow the line upon which NJ. de Char
donnet is working. The fiber is really pro-
duced from sort Of collodion, not greatly
different from that employed in phorog-
raphy and surgery. Collodion as used IN
arts is generally made from gun cotton,
or pyroxylin, dissolved in a mixture of
ether and alcohol. and is remarkable for
the ease with which smooth. tough film
may be produced by flowing It over a
smooth surface, such as glass, whore 1t
soon sets and may be used as base for
sensitive silver solution, as in photography,
or may be stripped and used for
any desired purpose. The nature of
collodion depends very largely
upon the proportions of ether and
alcohol in which the pyroxylin /, dissolved,
and an excess of ether renders the film very
tough and strong, although the quick
evaporation of the ether makes such col
lodion very rapid in setting. M. de Char
donnet has taken advantage of this property
and devised his process aud apparatus to
form threads Of collodIon and use them as a
substitute for silk. Instead Of using gun
cotton for the pyroxylin, he uses nitrated
cellulose prepared from wood pulp, but
by process which he has succeeded in
keeping secret, this otherwise dangerous
explosive Is rendered entirely unin-
Hammable. This cellulonitr n is dissolved
in ether and confined in a close tank as ex
posture to the atmosphere would permit the
rapid evaporation of the other, and cause
the qualification of the entire mass 1t
will be seen that thus far he has produced q
substance very much like the gun;my LIQUID
In the glands of the silk worm before it be-
gins to spin its cocoon. The prepared col
lodion is subjected iu the tank to sufficient
pressure to be capable Of forcing the gummy
liquid though the fine capillary apertures
which determine the 1neness of the pro-
posed threads. In order to prevent the
cumming up of these minute OPEN
lngs which are made by drawing glass
tubes out to very fac apertures, the open
lngs deliver threads into larger tubes filed
with water; and as this is the only part
OF the operation which is visible to the
spectator, the rest of the process ia not very
evident. After the threads emerge from |
the water they pass through a space of |
about two or three feet before reaching the |
reel, thus giving ample opportunity for
the evaporation of the ether and the |
setting of the silky thread of collodion. |
The artificial silk threads thus formed
possess brilliant silky luster are exceed. |
1ngly tough and elastic, and appear in every
way to be suitable to take the place Of |
natural silk. Indeed, in some respects the |
artificial silk possesses superiority over the
natural article, particularly in the matter
OF uniformity. Silk from the cocoon, as is
well known, is very unequal in thickness,
being thickest in its middle portion and
tapering off toward each extremity. This
variation Is so great that the diameter of
the fiber varies from IL, 900 to 1-7OO of an
inch in thickness at various portions of
its length. The natural fiber is also not
round, but somewhat hattened In cross
section. The artificial silk is perfectly
uniform in thickness, being produced con-
tinuously through constant opening, and
is also perfectly round, Its section being de- |
term1ned by the shape of the aperture The |
solution from which the silk is prepared
may be colored with aniline, and in tae ap- |
paratus at the Paris exposition the differe it |
reels are winding different colored silks.
The product requires no further treatment
natural silk, and as an evidence
of its similarity it can be inter- |
woven with silk from cocoon without diff |
Guilty. The process as above described is
the result of much careful experimenting
and has been developed in the midst OF the
silk industry of LYONS by those who have
become familiar with the requirements of |
the trade. The future of the process must |
depend wholly upon comm srcial considera-
tions, for the perfection of the product
and the practicability of the process
seem to be assured. The use of the
artificial silk as an insulating material for
electrical conductors has been suggested,
and it appears to be particularly fitted for
this use. While no definite figure about
the cost OF the process can as yet be OBJ
tanned it is evident that upon COM
mercial scale 1t can be greatly reduced over
the expense which must attend a small
apparatus such as is exhibited at Paris, but
even with this small plant the simplicity of
the apparatus and the rate OF production
show the economy of the process.
q