Cellophane . Thin and flexible sheet, like transparent paper, made of solidified viscose, which is mainly used to wrap objects and preserve them from moisture.
Summary
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- 1 Origin
- 2 Appearance
- 3 Manufacturing
- 4 Main uses
- 5 Source
Origin
Cellophane was invented by the Swiss textile engineer Jacques E. Brandenberger in 1908 . After seeing wine spill onto a tablecloth from a restaurant table, Brandenberger came up with the idea of producing a transparent coating for the fabric that would make it waterproof.1 Experimenting, he found a way to apply the liquid viscose to the fabric, but the combination was too stiff to use. However, the transparent film was easily separated from its fabric backing, so he abandoned his original idea attracted by the possibilities of the new material. Cellophane’s low permeability to both air and grease and bacteria makes it useful as a food wrap material. The Whitman Candy Company of theThe United States began using cellophane to wrap treats in 1912 . They were the largest consumers of cellophane imported from France until about 1924 , when DuPont built the first North American cellophane plant. In 1935 British Cellophane Ltd, a joint venture between La Cellophane SA and Courtaulds, starting to operate a factory for the manufacture of cellophane in Bridgwater was established in 1937 . Cellulose film has been manufactured from 1930 to date.
Appearance
It has the appearance of a thin film, transparent, flexible and resistant to tensile stresses, but very easy to cut.
Manufacturing
The manufacturing process consists of dissolving wood, cotton, or hemp fibers in an alkali to make a solution called viscose, which is then extruded through a slot and submerged in an acid bath that turns it back into cellulose. Through a similar process, using a hole instead of a groove, a fiber called rayon is produced.
Main uses
It is mainly used as wrapping, to wrap and decorate gifts and floral bouquets (since in addition to colorless it is also made in transparent colors), although it was also widely used in the production of adhesive tapes, being largely replaced by other polymers of qualities most appropriate for such use. In addition to its use as a food wrap, it also has industrial uses, such as self-adhesive tapes and semi-permeable membranes used by certain types of batteries. For some uses, coatings are applied to complement or modify its properties. Over time, the term cellophane has become widespread, and is commonly used to refer to various plastic films, even those that are not made from cellulose. Currently cellophane has been replaced by polypropylene, which is a derivative of petroleum since due to manufacturing costs it has been more practical. To such an extent that practically everything we popularly know as cellophane is actually polypropylene.
