Mercer, John

Gaynor W. Dawson and Basil W. Mercer, John Wiley Sons, Inc., 1986, ISBN 0471-82268-X, 532pages. 110. 

Cotton treated in this way is almost pure cellulose, and su Is in greal demand by those industries using cellulose. The pure cellulose of the fiber may be dissolved and then precipitated in sheets, giving the familiar thin transparent cellophane. Or the dissolved cellulose may be pressed through fine holes and solidified, giving rayon. If treated wilh concentrated causlic soda, cotton fibers lake on a high degree of luslcr. The product of this process is called mercerized collon, after John Mercer, its discoverer. 

A. Nieto-Galan, Calico-printing and chemical knowledge in Lancashire in the early nineteenth century the life and colours of John Mercer , Ann. Sci., 54, 1997, 1-28. 

The process of mercerization was invented by John Mercer in 1844. It involves soaking cotton in an 18% solution of NaOH (sodium hydroxide), which causes the fibers to swell and the cellulose to relax. Afterwards, the fibers retain their increased diameter and are less convoluted. 

Alkali celluloses are extremely important intermediates because they exhibit a markedly enhanced reactivity compared with original cellulose. The reagents can penetrate more easily into the swollen cellulose structure and thus react with the hydroxyl groups. For instance, preparation of alkali cellulose, named mercerization after its inventor John Mercer (1844), is an important step when producing cellulose xanthate, from which viscose fibers and cellophane are prepared. 

Parnell, E. A., Life and Labours of John Mercer, Longmans, Green ... 

The swelling of cotton with an aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide is an important com mercial treatment. It is called mercerization after its discoverer, John Mercer, who took a patent on the process in 1850 [308]. Other alkali metal hydroxides, notably lithium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide, will also mercerize cotton, but normally sodium hydroxide is used. Mercerization is utilized to improve such properties as dye affinity, chemical reactivity, dimensional stability, tensile strength, luster, and smoothness of the cotton fabrics [309]. The treatment is normally applied either to yarn or to the fabric itself either in the slack state to obtain, for example, stretch products, or under tension to improve such properties as strength and luster. The interaction of alkali metal hydroxides and cellulose has been extensively reviewed. Earlier reviews can be traced from relatively recent ones [99,310,311]. 

The following people have proof read various parts of the manuscript. Some have read a few pages related to their own speciality, while others have read through and corrected several chapters. They include Ian Mercer (who has also helped me with many identifications over the years, and whose patience is unlimited), Mary Burland and Stephen Kennedy at the Gemmological Association of Great Britain Gary Jones, Richard Sabin, Jill Darrell, Dr Brian Rosen and Professor John Taylor at the Namral History Museum in London Dr Paul Jepson at the Institute of Zoology in London Dr Julia Horrocks of the University of the West Indies Christine Woodward Sylvia Katz and... 

John Samuel Apperson, Repairing the March of Mars The Civil War Diaries of John Samuel Apperson, edited by John Herbert Roper (Macon, GA Mercer University Press, 2001), p. 119. 

Mercerization was discovered by John Mercer in England and the process is named after him mercerizing. The process of alkaline treatment of cotton was patented in 1850. Later Horace Lowe in England found that the glazing effect became even more pronounced when cold caustic soda acted on cotton under tension. He discovered the actual mercerizing process and applied for its patent in 1890. 

Dawson SW, Mercer BW. 1986. Hazardous waste management. New York, NY John Wiley and Sons, 55. 

So-called because it was discovered by the Lancashire textile chemist John Mercer in 1844, who found that passing cotton thread through a bath of caustic soda gave the resultant cloth an attractive sheen. 

The swelling of cotton with an aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide is an important com mercial treatment. It is called mercerization after its discoverer, John Mercer, who took a patent on the process in 1850 [308]. Other alkali metal hydroxides, notably lithium hydroxide... 

In one of the many seminal papers published by John Mercer he reported the presence of thick coherent drift capping...peaks and ridges in the Beardmore Glacier area in Fig. 19.4 (Mercer 1972). The till deposits Mercer described occur on Ml Sirius (2,3(X) m, 84°08 S and 163°15 E) and in the Dominion Range (2,300 m, 85°20 S and 166°30 E) at the head of the Beardmore Glacier. 

J. Newton, quoted in W. Phipps, Amazing Grace in John Newton (Mercer University Press, Macon, 2001), p. 202... 

John Mercer (Dean or Great Harwood, nr. Bolton, Lancs., 21 February 1791-Oakenshaw, Lancs., 30 November 1866), a calico-printer, discovered mercerising (1844), the use of potassium ferrocyanide and potash for the discharge of indigo (1848), the use of arsenates as a substitute for phosphates in dunging the manufacture of sodium stannite and stannate, stannous sulphate from tin and copper sulphate solution, Turkey-red oil, the solubility of cellulose in ammoniacal copper solution, and blue-print photography. He taught himself chemistry from a second-hand copy of the Chemical Pocket-Book of James Parkinson, of Hoxton Square, London (2 ed. 1801, 3 ed. 1803). ... 

E. A. Parnell, The Life and Labours of John Mercer, the self-taught Chemical Philosopher including numerous recipes used at the Oakenshaw Calico-Print Works, 1886 (portr.), 100 f. (catalysis) Hartog, DNB, 1909, xiii, 265. 

Mercerization m9r-s9- rlz [John Mercer t 2866 English calico printer] (1859) vt. A treatment of cotton yarn or fabric to... 

This close relationship between maker and customer was fostered in Manchester by a relatively open scientific community. Joule and Dancer undoubtedly met socially at the Lit and Phil as well as at lectures or conversaziones at the Royal Manchester Institution. Dancer also made several of the instruments Joule required for the long series of experiments on atomic volume he carried out in conjunction with Lyon Playfair. (46) Both Playfair and Dancer were close friends of John Mercer, (47) a manufacturing chemist from Oakenshaw, Lancashire, who was responsible for inventing the process of treating cotton with strong alkali to ensure a good uptake of dye, which continues to bear his name. 

Mercerization m3r-s3- rlz vf [John Mercer f 2866 English calico printer] (1859) A treatment of cotton yarn or fabric to increase its luster and affinity for dyes. The material is immersed under tension in a cold sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) solution in warp or skein form or in the piece, and is later neutralized in / acid. The process causes a permanent swelling of the fiber and thus increases its luster. 

Mercerisation The treatment of cellulosic textiles in yams or fabric form with a concentrated solution of caustic alkali, whereby the fibres swell, the strength and dye affinity of the materials are increased, and the handle is modified. The process takes its name from its discoverer, John Mercer (1884). 

In the 1840s, John Mercer noted that when strong caustic soda solutions were filtered through cotton fabric, the cloth shrank, had greater thickness and strength and increased dyeing capacity. 

Alkali treatment Mercerization or alkali treatment with strong alkali bases was developed as a method for cotton fibre modification by John Mercerin 1850 [55], It is a common method to produce high quality natural fibres, by removing the natural and artificial impurities from the fibre surface. The chemical treatment reduces the fibre diameter and thereby increases the aspect ratio [26]. Mercerization is usually performed applying aqueous solutions of sodium hydroxide (NaOH), at reaction times of 30 min up to 3 hr. 

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