Cotton lint cellulose

DuPont in the U.S. developed about 1909, a smokeless powder from cotton of relatively low nitrogen that was quite soluble in ether alcohol. A small amount of diphenylamine was used as a stabilizer. After forming the grains and removing the liquid, a coating of graphite was added to make the smokeless powder that was used in the U.S. Other double-base types contain about 25% nitroglycerin. Cotton lint for nitration has been replaced by purified wood cellulose. 

Cotton "lint , the substance from which cloth is made, is too expensive for use in the explosive industry. It has also been found that these long fibres are much more difficult to nitrate than the shorter and less expensive "linters . Hence the purified "linters constitute the principle source of cellulose for the manufacture of nitrocellulose explosives and plastics (See also under Cotton, Chemical ... 

Some workers refer to cotton lint (the normal fibers) as cellulose to distinguish it from seed cotton (fiber still on the seed) or the entire plant. Herein, the word cellulose has only the strict chemical meaning linear p-(1 4)-D-glucan. In the cell wall, cellulose occurs in small, crystalline microfibrils that are arranged in multilayer structures (see Figure 5.1). An especially important layer is the primary wall (see Figure 5.2) although it is a small fraction of the mature, fully developed fiber. 

In addition to the various markets for cotton lint, there are also markets for cottonseed and its products [616]. Cottonseed represents about 15-20% of the total value of cotton. Vegetable oil for human consumption, whole cottonseed, meal, hulls for animal feed, and linters for batting and chemical cellulose are the major end uses for cottonseed [616]. 

Cotton plantations are intrinsically tied to the history of the erstwhile Confederate States of the USA. Cotton is a crop that, besides fibre (cotton lint), delivers food (cottonseed oil) and feed (meal). For each 100 kg of cotton fibre produced, the plant produces about 150 kg of cottonseed. About 50 cottonseeds are contained in a pod, which opens when it is ripe. After removal of the cotton, the seeds are still covered with fine hairs (linters), which are removed with delintering machines. The linters are used as a chemical cellulose source in personal care products, in batting for upholstered furniture and mattresses, in high-quality paper and for celluloseether production. 

Regenerated cellulosic fibers are made out of cellulose from wood or cotton lint. The most used fibers are viscose, acetate, cupro (very small quantity), and lyocell. These fibers are produced in various titers as filament (endless fiber) or staple fiber. 

For the production of acetate and triacetate, high-grade cellulose - e.g., cotton lint - is converted into cellulose acetate with acetic anhydride, and dissolved in acetone. In contrast to triacetate, only 2.5 of the three hydroxyl groups of a basic cellulose unit are... 

The seed hairs, called lint, are removed by saw-like machines (gins). Slots in the machine allow lint to pass and keep the seed back. Modem gins are multifunctional that also dry, blend and clean the lint and the seed. Packing of the long cotton fibers into bales of 220 kg follows. The seed, 65% by weight and 15% by value, is source of ->cottonseed oil and cotton linters (->cellulose). 

Cotton strains and species with green fiber have lamellar layers (up to 26) of suberin and wax deposited alternately with cellulose during formation of secondary walls in the epidermal cells, including fiber cells, of the seed coat. Seeds of cotton with green lint are less permeable to water than those with white lint, indicating that suberin may be involved in regulating water uptake by seeds. 

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