Cellulose Acetate - History

History

Paul Schützenberger discovered that cellulose could react with acetic anhydride to form cellulose acetate in 1865. The use of chloroform to make it soluble was expensive, but in 1904 George Miles, an American chemist, discovered that hydrolyzed cellulose acetate is soluble in other solvents, such as acetone. The German chemist Eduard Schweizer discovered that tetraaminecopper dihydroxide could dissolve cellulose.

Acetate was first introduced in 1904, when Camille Dreyfus and his younger brother Henri did chemical research and development in a shed in their father's garden in Basel, Switzerland. Since their father was involved with a chemical factory, his influence was probably a factor in their choice of careers. And since Basel was a center of the dyestuffs industry, it was natural that their first achievement should be the development of synthetic indigo dyes. In search of a field that offered great potential, they selected cellulose acetate products, including fibers for textile use.

For five years, the Dreyfus brothers studied and experimented in a logical, systematic manner in Switzerland and France. By 1910, they had perfected acetate lacquers and plastic film and opened a factory in Basel capable of producing about three tons a day. This was largely sold to the celluloid industry in France and Germany, and to Pathe Fréres in Paris for non-flammable motion picture film base. A small but constantly growing amount of acetate lacquer, called "dope", was sold to the expanding aircraft industry to coat the fabric covering wings and fuselage.

By 1913, after some twenty-odd thousand separate experiments, the brothers produced excellent laboratory samples of acetate continuous filament yarn. In 1918 they founded the American Cellulose & Chemical Manufacturing Company in New York.

The outbreak of World War I postponed development of successful commercial production until 1921. The war necessitated rapid expansion of the Basel factory: its trade with Germany was stopped and it exclusively supplied the Allied governments with acetate dope for military aircraft. In 1927 the American Cellulose & Chemical Manufacturing Company name was changed to the Celanese Corporation of America.

In 1849 Mazzucchelli Spa. opened in north of Italy in Castiglione Olona near Varese, Como and Milan. The founder, Santino Mazzucchelli, and his son Pompeo begin working Cellulose nitrate sheets in the late 1800. The idea was to transform the sheets in to combs, brushes, buttons and hair ornaments. These entrepreneurs were able to establish a company that would influence the development of bioplastic material world wide til today. Mazzucchelli grew to become the largest producer of Celluloid Acetate sheets and Cellulose Nitrate sheets worldwide. Today this warm and aesthetically pleasing material is used mostly for making the frames for eyeglasses, followed by hair ornaments, jewellery, stationary and other accessories. The history of Mazzucchelli 1849 Spa. is fascinating being one of the few family company that lasted for 6 generations. The family is still involved in the business and it continues to influence the bioplastic manufacturing development in Europe, USA and Asia. Through the years many tests were done and many patterns were created with acetate sheets the most famous is the Tortoise shell look made exclusively by Mazzucchelli.

In November 1914, the British Government invited Dr. Camille Dreyfus to come to England to manufacture acetate dope. The "British Cellulose and Chemical Manufacturing Co" was set up. At the end of World War I, the British Government canceled all contracts and the company changed to produce acetate fibers. In 1918 the company name was changed to British Celanese Ltd.

In 1917, the War Department of the United States Government invited Dr. Dreyfus to establish a similar factory in the US after their entry into war. After about six weeks, a contract was negotiated for sale of acetate "dope" to the War Department and a plant site was sought. Dr. Dreyfus and his associates started construction of the American company at Cumberland, Maryland in 1918, but the war was over before the plant could be completed. The business with the Government was completed in due time, construction of the plant continued, the early nucleus of the management began to assemble, and the organization in England completed development of the first commercially successful acetate textile yarn. In England, in 1912, the British company produced the first commercial cellulose acetate yarn. The yarn was sold primarily for crocheting, trimming, and effect threads and for popular-priced linings.

The first yarn spun in America was on Christmas Day, 1924, at the Cumberland, Maryland Plant. The first yarn was of fair quality, but sales resistance was heavy, and silk associates worked zealously to discredit acetate and discourage its use. Acetate became an enormous success as a fiber for moiré because its thermoplastic quality made the moiré design absolutely permanent. The same characteristic also made permanent pleating a commercial fact for the first time, and gave great style impetus to the whole dress industry.

This was a genuine contribution. The mixing of silk and acetate in fabrics was accomplished at the beginning and almost at once cotton was also blended, thus making possible low-cost fabrics by means of a fiber which then was cheaper than silk or acetate. Today, acetate is blended with silk, cotton, wool, nylon, etc. to give to fabrics an excellent wrinkle recovery, good left, handle, draping quality, quick drying, proper dimensional stability, cross-dye pattern potential, at a very competitive price.