Fiber Definitions — textile fibers, yarn fibers and fiber properties from Apparel Search
Cellulose, (C6H10O5)n, is a long-chain polymer polysaccharide carbohydrate of beta-glucose. It forms the primary structural component of plants and is not digestible by humans. Cellulose is the common material of plant cell walls, first noted as such in 1838, and it is the most abundant form of living terrestrial biomass. It occurs naturally in almost pure form only in cotton fiber, and in combination with lignin and hemicellulose it is found in all plant material: wood, leaves, stalks and the rest.
Cellulose is the common material of plant cell walls and was first noted as such in 1838. It occurs naturally in almost pure form only in cotton fiber and in combination with lignin and any hemicellulose, it is found in all plant material - wood, leaves, stalks etc. Cellulose is the most abundant form of living terrestrial biomass (Crawford, R. L. 1981. Lignin biodegradation and transformation, John Wiley and Sons, New York.) Cellulose, especially cotton linters, is used in the manufacture of nitrocellulose, used historically in smokeless gunpowder.
Some animals like ruminants and termites can digest cellulose with the help of symbiotic micro-organisms - see methanogen.
Cellulose is processed to make cellophane and rayon.
Cellulose monomers (beta-glucose) are linked together through 1,4 glycosidic bonds. Cellulose is a straight chain--no coiling occurs. In microfibrils, the multiple hydroxide groups hydrogen bond with each other, holding the chains firmly together and contributing to their high tensile strength. This strength is important in cell walls, where they are meshed in to a carbohydrate matrix, which helps to keep plants rigid.
Given a cellulose material, the portion that does not dissolve in a 17.5% solution of sodium hydroxide at 20 deg C. is Alpha Cellulose, this is true cellulose; the portion that dissolves and then precipitates upon acidification is Beta Cellulose; and the proportion that dissolves but does not precipitate is called Gamma Cellulose.
| The above article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cellulose). 10/30/04 |
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Cellulose monomers, beta-glucose units, are linked together through 1,4 glycosidic bonds, and the cellulose chain is a straight chain in which no coiling occurs. In microfibrils, the multiple hydroxide groups hydrogen bond with each other, holding the chains firmly together and contributing to their high tensile strength. That strength is important in cell walls, where the microfibrils are meshed into a carbohydrate matrix which helps to keep plants rigid. The same structure explains the textile behaviour of cellulose fibers: cotton, flax and the regenerated fibers all inherit the strength of chains that bond tightly side by side, and all of them are processed, spun and woven as variations on this one plant polymer. Cellulose, especially cotton linters, is also used in the manufacture of nitrocellulose, used historically in smokeless gunpowder, a reminder that the polymer's chemistry serves industry well beyond clothing.
Cellulose is where the natural and manufactured fiber families meet. On the natural side, cotton fiber is cellulose in almost pure form, and in combination with lignin and hemicellulose cellulose is found in all plant material, in wood, leaves and stalks. On the manufactured side, cellulose is processed to make cellophane and rayon, the regenerated products in which plant cellulose is dissolved and re-formed. Reading the definitions of the cellulose-based fibers leads back to this one: acetate, rayon and lyocell are all, in chemical terms, cellulose that has been reacted, dissolved or re-formed, and the properties each of them gains or loses in manufacture are measured against the cellulose it started from, its straight chains, its hydrogen bonding and its high tensile strength. The alpha, beta and gamma grading gives makers a shared language for that starting material: alpha cellulose, the portion that does not dissolve in the standard sodium hydroxide test, is the true cellulose on which fiber quality rests.
Cellulose is a long-chain polymer polysaccharide carbohydrate made of beta-glucose. It is the primary structural component of plants, the material of plant cell walls, and the most abundant form of living terrestrial biomass. Humans cannot digest it, although ruminants and termites can with the help of symbiotic micro-organisms.
Cellulose is processed to make cellophane and rayon, and cotton fiber is cellulose in almost pure natural form. In fiber making, plant cellulose from cotton or wood is dissolved and re-formed as a continuous filament, which is the basis of the regenerated cellulose fibers.
Given a cellulose material, the portion that does not dissolve in a 17.5 percent solution of sodium hydroxide at 20 degrees C is alpha cellulose, the true cellulose. The portion that dissolves and then precipitates upon acidification is beta cellulose, and the proportion that dissolves but does not precipitate is gamma cellulose.