A TEXTILE SUBSTITUTE

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 219, 4 June 1918, Page 9

A TEXTILE SUBSTITUTE

PAPER YARN AND PAPER FIBRE

Considerable progress lias been made in Germany ami Austria in the manufacture of |«ihct yams. .Samj/kvi of German fabrics containing these yarns have been received in this country, ami it is therefore possible to form nit estimate of'the general utility of this substitute, in comparison with established fibres. There is no novelty in lie announcement that paper yarns can bo mauufac. til/red into a ce-tain grado of cloth and sacking. Ir. fact, the industry was to a certain extent established' in the United Kingdom, United States, Japan, and Sweden before the outbreak of tho predont war. The greater interest "attaches to. tho extended use of the yarn which the dearth of cotton, jute, flax, wool, etc., has enforced upon the Central Powers.

The importance of this textile substitute industry to Germany at the present timo is evidenced by a professor of the Munich Handels-hochschule, who stated, in a'lecture delivered in November, that before the war Germany and Austria imported jute to the value of 122,000,000 marks. Cut off from their overseas source of raw material, factories would have been compelled to close down had It not been for the substitution of spun paper for juto yarn. At the end of 1917 there were 15,000 persons employed in this textile substitute industry, _ producing daily (according to his statistics) a total of 100,000 kilogrammes of paper yarn.

In the manufacture of paper yarns various accounts agree that the paper employed must be of a certain quality; paper pulp from mechanical and chemical wood pulp, or from the waste of fibre spinning, may be employed. The pulp may be divided into narrow strips whilo still wet, and then rolled up into a round thread. This method is said to be comparatively cheap, but the disadvantage is that the production of the papen pulp and the yarn 'must be carried on continuously in a single machine. The process preferred is one in' which a broad ribbon of paper pulp is prepared, dried, and cut up into strips of the desired width; the strips are then spurn or twisted into yarn in a distinct and separate operation. Tho strips may be led, from a horizontal reel, down over a damping-roller, with dips into a trough of somtion. Thenco between the two horizontal rollers and through a circular guide which twists the edges of tho paper inwards, and so to a traveler running on a, horizontal ring whereby the spinning or twistintr operation ia effected. As a modification of this process a flyer is ndopted especially when it is desired to make paper,yarns with jute or hemp core. . *■ In one type of machine the mechanism is so arranged that tho damping of the paper strips occurs just before the twist begins to make its appearance in the strips. The mechanism is further arranged that if the machino itops the twist of the ships extends backwards over the damping-rolleV and remains so extended until the machine starts up ngiiin. This arrangement obviates a too prolonged damping of a flat strip portion, which would result in a loss of strength and an inability to 6tand the strain, of ..twisting'. >

A further modification of these machines is the "pan-spinning machine" (Tollespinnmachine), in which the paper strips are wound up in flat spirals and inserted into roumd, flat, covered pans. The spinning or twisting of the strips takes place from these pans.. The inner ends of tho strips are led up to bobbins through apertures in tho par: covers, and the twisting effected by the rotation of the pans. To increase its strength a core of fibTe may bo embodied in the yarn as tho strip leaves the aperturo, or wiro may be used for tho core to produce insulated wiro.

Jute-spinnin; machinery is considered more adaptable than cotton-spinning machinery for paper yarn. If the latter is usod, it is necessary in the first place' to set up a contrivance to ensure tho inroiling of tho paper at a uniform tension. For this the pan arrangement may bo employed, and the. pans placed in fnotional contact.) The damping of tho strips may be eftectcd by dipping the pans into solution bodily, or by arranging a damping-roller between them and the spindles.

Much is expected in Germany from tho dovolopmcnt of this industry. A lecturer stated before the Association of the German Textile Industry, on Decomber 9, 1916, that the manufacture of woven fabrics from paper jam will -be one of the most important tasks of tho textile industry after the war. He considered that thsi-o was no doubt that paper yarn would yet bo a satisfactory substitute for jute. Toughness in tho yarn is assured by impregnation with size, tannin, and sait/s of alumina (formate of alumina or water-glass). Tho dyeing of the yarn, he added, is a simple process. In most cases "direct dyes" are •used, and are usually satisfactory. In the case of yarns and fabrics of tho better quality, sulphur or vat dyes are recommended. Bleaching, on tho other kind, has presented some difficulties, but the best results have been obtained by treatment, with a weak solution of chloride of lime (bleaching powder), followed by a slight acidification, and finally rinsing with water. If bleaching proves difficult.' it is advisable to have the pulp bleached in tho paper factories before being mado up into yarn. Although a great future' is predicted for the industry in some quarters, opinion in- the German technical Press has been consistently cautious. The industry is benefiting for the present from a shortage of jute and cotton. I'or tho moment the quality of the. goods is not 60 important as the quantity. After tho war tho quality of the substitute must bB such as to make it a commoreial competitor, value for value, with the established textiles. . The quality.of. tho samples, which can be inspected at the' Department of Overseas Trade (Development and Intelligence), is not considered superior to that of similar materials produced in the United Kingdom.. Some of these samples have been found to consist of .10 per cent, of twisted paper, 40 per cent, of cotton, and 20 per cent, of wool waste or shoddp. Passable-looking suits bavo been made of wooden aim paper varn, alternating two by tiro; but tho tendency is for these, suits lo crease in wear, and- to be. heavy -in tho hollows of the figure. The fabric is. certainly not improved by-exposure to ram., tor packing plirposes it may find a readier market, but it will, even in this direction be faced with the formidable advantages and popularity of jute as a competitor. •