Fibres Britain

Secondary cellulose acetate has also been used for fibres and lacquers whilst cellulose triacetate fibre has been extensively marketed in Great Britain under the trade name Tricel. 

In Great Britain, according to the patents of Picton [6] small flakes of sheet wood-cellulose have been nitrated, while in the United States shredded cellulose prepared by the Stem method [7] was most widely used (shreds made of loosely felted cellulose fibres in a special machine). This last form of cellulose is especially suitable for uniform penetration and imbibition of the nitrating acid. Normal nitrators, as used for linters, are also suitable for nitrating this type of cellulose. 

Cotton is the oldest and the most important of the textile fibres. It has been used in the East and Middle East for thousands of years and was found in use in America when the continent was discovered. Cotton spinning and weaving were at one time Britain s most important industry, and during the last century cotton cloth was her greatest single export. 

Barker, S. G., Wool A Study of the Fibre, Great Britain Empire Marketing Board... 

At this period the woollen industry was of supreme importance to Britain copper and brass wires were required in quantity for wool cards used for working short fibres into a fluffy mass prior to spinning. These were wooden instruments with wire teeth on one side set in leather. 

The fibre from cellulose acetate was also known as acetate silk. In general, it was called Celanese in Britain and Lustron in the USA. The term rayon was introduced in 1924. 

Two major developments have occurred in sheet manufacture. The first relates to concern about the carcinogenic properties of certain types of asbestos. In Britain, although most wines and spirits are now filtered through sheets free of asbestos, such replacement has been slower in the case of beers. Alternatives to charged asbestos fibres include aluminium oxide fibres and zirconium oxide fibres. A second development has been the incorporation of insoluble polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVPP) into the sheet material which adsorbs phenolic materials from the beer, especially the tannin materials associated with beer haze. The PVPP can be regenerated by washing the sheet in a 0-5 % solution of sodium hydroxide at ambient temperatures. 

Matthews, F.L. iyA), Joining of Fibre reinforced Plastics, Elsevier Applied Science Publishers., Great Britain, 1987. 

Beltz LA, Gustafson RR, Cyclization kinetics of polyacrylonitrile. Carbon, 34(5), 561-566, 1996. Bailey JE, Clarke AJ, Carbon fibres. Chemistry in Britain, 6, 484—489, 1970. 

Nettle fishing drag-nets were used in Britain up to post-medieval times. The fibre was used in the First World War as a substitute for cotton, to weave soldier s uniforms. In recent times the nettle has made a comeback and village communities in Nepal and India are weaving exquisite fashion accessories like bags and scarves for international markets. 

The refining of cereals leads to an appreciable fall in their mineral content but, on the other hand, dietary fibre decreases the absorption of minerals such as calcium and iron. It has been suggested that in Britain the consumption of wholemeal chapattis may be a factor in causing rickets and osteomalacia in immigrants from the Indian subcontinent. These subjects tend to be deficient in vitamin D (page 156) and therefore to absorb and metabolize the available calcium less efficiently. 

Controversy has been raging for many years as to whether, from the nutritional point of view, white or brown bread is better. Brown bread made from high extraction flour contains more protein, calcium, iron, B vitamins and fibre than white bread but its nutrients tend to be less well digested and absorbed. The case for white bread is based on its more attractive appearance, finer texture, better baking and keeping qualities and also its lower content of fibre and phytic acid which are responsible for the poorer utilization of nutrients. In Britain, where bread is only one of many articles of diet, nutritional differences between wholemeal and fortified white flours are of little practical significance. However, such differences could become important if bread ever became the single staple food. 

The two methods of analysis give different results. Measurement of non-starch polysaccharides in the diet gives average intakes in Britain of between 11 and 13 g/ day, compared with an intake of dietary fibre of about 20 g/day as measured by the less specific method. Non-starch polysaccharides are found only foods of vegetable origin, and vegetarians have a higher intake than omnivores. 

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