Celluloid Manufacturing

Uses. Rubber antioxidant and accelerator fungicide in veterinary medicine stabilizer for nitrocellulose explosives and celluloids manufacture of dyes... 

Nitrocellulose of 11.8-12.3% N intended for celluloid manufacture is obtained in a way resembling the production of lacquer-grade material with the exception that the viscosity of the product is not of such decisive importance. Low viscosity of the nitrocellulose can cause the celluloid gel to be brittle, however. For this reason care should be taken to keep the viscosity above a certain limit. The essential stabilization can be carried out in boilers without recourse to autoclaves, but in order to shorten the stabilization process it is possible to carry out the kiering in autoclaves, the process then requiring only a few minutes. 

Before long, Hyatt returned to his native New York state, where he settled in the Albany region. There he founded a number of companies, including the Albany Dental Plate Company, the Celluloid Manufacturing Company, and the Albany Billiard Ball Company, all with his two brothers... 

Bornanol, endo- Borneo camphor Borneol DL-Borneol trans-Borneol Bornyl alcohol 2-endo-Bornyl alcohol Camphane, 2-hydroxy- 2-Camphanol Camphol CCRIS 7300 Dryobalanops camphor EINECS 208-080-0 FEMA No. 2157 HSDB 946 2-Hydroxybornane 2-Hydroxycamphane 2-Hydroxy-1,7,7-trimethylnor-bornane, endo- Malayan camphor Sumatra camphor 1,7,7-Trlmethyl-bicyclo(2.2.1)heptan-2-ol, endo- UN1312. A terpene from Dryobalanops camphora used in perfumery, in celluloid manufacture, and in medicine as an anSseptic. Crystals mp = 208" bp = 212" insoluble in H2O, soluble in organic solvents LD50 (rat orl) = 500 mg/kg. 

Nitration of the Fibre.—Mixed cotton and flax fibre in the form of paper, from 2/1000 to 3/1000 inch thick, and cut into 1-inch squares, is nitrated by the Celluloid Manufacturing Company, and the same paper, left in long strips, 1 inch wide, is used for nitration by the Xylonite Manufacturing Company, of North Adams,... 

The Acid Mixture —Various formulae have been published for producing soluble nitro-cellulose. In many instances, although the observations were correct for the single experiment, a dozen experiments would have produced a dozen different products. The composition of the acids used depends upon the substance to be nitrated, and the temperature at which the nitration will be worked. Practieally there are three formulae in general use—the one used by the celluloid manufacturers another in which the cotton is nitrated at high temperatures and a third in which the temperature of the immersion is low, and the time of nitration about six hours. Of the three, the best method is the last one, or the one in which the cotton is irmnersed at a low temperature, and then the reaction allowed to proceed in pots holding from 5 to 10 lbs. of cotton. The formula used by the celluloid manufacturers for the production of the low form of nitrated product which they use is —... 

Trebouillet and De Besancele on celluloid manufacture, 92. Tri-nitro-cresol, 158. 

Hexachloroethane (carbon hexachloride, perchloroethane) n. A substitute for camphor in celluloid manufacture. 

A celluloid is a thermoplastic material made by the intimate blending of cellulose nitrate with camphor. Alcohol is normally used as a volatile solvent to assist plasticization and is subsequently removed. The type of cellulose nitrate used for celluloid manufacture usually contains 10.8-11.1 percent nitrogen. 

Ordinary commercial camphor is (-i-)-cam phor, from the wood of the camphor tree. Cinnamonum camphora. Camphor is of great technical importance, being used in the manufacture of celluloid and explosives, and for medical purposes, /t is manufactured from pinene through bornyl chloride to camphene, which is either directly oxidized to camphor or is hydrated to isoborneol, which is then oxidized to camphor. A large number of camphor derivatives have been prepared, including halogen, nitro and hydroxy derivatives and sulphonic acids. 

Dehydrated (e.g. AICI3) to cyclohexene. Used in the manufacture of celluloid, esters (plasticizers), detergents and printing inks. 

Colourless liquid with a strong peppermintlike odour b.p. 155" C. Manufactured by passing cyclohexanol vapour over a heated copper catalyst. Volatile in steam. Oxidized to adipic acid. Used in the manufacture of caprolactam. Nylon, adipic acid, nitrocellulose lacquers, celluloid, artificial leather and printing inks. 

Uses Plasticizer for cellulose esters and ethers manufacture of plastics, cymene, incense, celluloid in lacquers, explosives, and embalming fluids pyrotechnics moth repellent preservative in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics odorant/flavorant in household, pharmaceutical, and industrial products tooth powders. 

Uses Intermediate for phthalic anhydride, naphthol, 1,4-naphthoquinone, 1,4-dihydro-naphthalene, 1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene (tetralin), decahydronaphthalene (decalin), 1-nitro-naphthalene, halogenated naphthalenes, naphthol derivatives, dyes, explosives mothballs manufacturing preparation of pesticides, fungicides, detergents and wetting agents, synthetic resins, celluloids, and lubricants synthetic tanning preservative emulsion breakers scintillation counters smokeless powders. 

Uses. Manufacture of lacquers, artificial leather, photographic film, artificial glass, celluloid, artificial silk, and furniture polish... 

The most widely used inorganic ester of cellulose is cellulose nitrate (CN), also called nitrocellulose or gun cotton. Celluloid is produced from a mixture of CN and camphor. It was first made in 1833 when cellulose-containing linen, paper, or sawdust was reacted with concentrated nitric acid. It was the first synthetic cellulose product that was recognized. Initially, CN was used as a military explosive and improvements allowed the manufacture of smokeless powder. A representation of CN is given in structure 9.7. 

Recovery of solvent by isothermal compression. This method was proposed by Claude [14]. It was applied to the recovery of alcohol containing camphor which escapes during the manufacture of celluloid. With alcohol and ether this process entails compressing the vapours to 7 atm, thus causing the condensation of the alcohol and after that rapidly expanding them. Ether is condensed by intensive cooling. The necessary plant was very expensive and there was risk of explosion when the mixture of the air with alcohol and ether was compressed too rapidly. It never attained wide application. 

Today nitrocellulose is used in the manufacture of all types of smokeless powder, blasting gelatine and dynamites, celluloid, films, varnishes, and artifical leather, in the printing industry and in the pharmaceutical industry. 

There exists a range of various kinds of nitrocellulose differing from one another in their physical properties according to the application intended. Nitrocellulose for smokeless powder manufacturing (guncotton) represents one type while other properties are demanded from the raw material to be used for making celluloid or artificial fibres (collodion cotton, collodion nitrocotton). 

Esters and ethers of cellulose, and especially nitrocellulose, are most widely used in the form of a colloidal solution. This technique is applied in the manufacture of smokeless powder, nitrocellulose varnishes, film and celluloid. 

If the linters are to be used for the manufacture of particularly pure, white collodion cotton intended for production of varnishes or celluloid, it is necessary to remove any iron compounds from the cellulose. This can be carried out by washing the cotton with an oxalic add solution, followed by a water rinse. 

Bleaching. Crude wood cellulose is bleached by means of calcium or sodium hypochlorite in large tanks, bleachers , equipped with stirrers. Bleaching cellulose is of great importance for nitrocellulose manufacture, particularly in the case of nitrocellulose intended for the production of smokeless powder. It is essential that the powder should be pale in colour, as a change in the colour of the powder often indicates decomposition. Similarly, cellulose destined for manufacturing collodion cotton, for varnishes, celluloid and film, should be carefully stripped of colour so that the final products are colourless. 

In 1855, the moldable features of collodion were exploited by the British inventor and chemist Alexander Parkes, who marketed the material as Parkesine. Combs, earrings, buttons, bracelets, billiard balls, and even false teeth were manufactured in his factories. Parkes chose to focus more on quantity than on quality, however. Because he used low-grade cotton and cheap but unsuitable solvents, many of his products lacked durability, which led to commercial failure. In 1870, John Hyatt, a young inventor from Albany, New York, discovered that collodions moldable properties were vastly improved by using camphor as a solvent. Hyatts brother Isaiah named this camphor-based nitrocellulose material celluloid. Because of its greater workability, celluloid became the plastic of choice for the manufacture of many household items. In addition, thin transparent films of celluloid made excellent supports for photosensitive emulsions, a boon to the photography industry and a first step in the development of motion pictures. 

The second successful dense smokeless powder was the ballistite which was invented by Alfred Nobel.6 This was a stiff gelatinous mixture of nitroglycerin and soluble nitrocellulose in proportions varying between 1 to 2 and 2 to 1, prepared with the use of a solvent which was later removed and recovered. Nobel appears to have been led to the invention by thinking about celluloid, for the patent specification states that the substitution of almost all the camphor in celluloid by nitroglycerin yields a material which is suitable for use as a propellant. In the method of manufacture first proposed, camphor was dissolved in nitroglycerin, benzene was added, and then dry, pulped, soluble nitrocellulose the mixture was kneaded, the benzene was allowed to evaporate, and the material was rolled between warm rollers... 

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