Acetate CA

Acetate filament yarns are referred to as "Fibers of Beauty", because they have luster and tactile feeling as silk fibers. The quantity of production in Japan is not so large, but in the USA, a large quantities of acetate filament yarns are used for apparel manufacturing. Acetate filament yarns are same as rayon fibers in those points that pulp is used as main raw material. However acetic acid is reacted chemically, thus, acetate filament yarns have characteristics of both vegetable fibers and synthetic fibers.

Acetate fibers are frequently used for women's dresses and exhibits their beauty in the form of women's formal wear, suits, coats or knitwear.

Acetate (staple tow) is used for almost all cigarette filters.

Triacetate fibers are fibers to which more acetic acid is combined than to acetate fibers.

Although cellulose acetate was first prepared in 1865 by the French chemist Paul Schützenberger, it was not until 1894 that the first industrial process for its manufacture was patented in the UK by Charles Cross and Edward Bevan. At about the same time, Little in the US made cellulose acetate filaments experimentally, as did Bronnert in Germany. However, this material was essentially cellulose triacetate, a rather intractable polymer, not readily soluble in commonly available solvents. In 1904 George Miles, an American chemist, discovered that if the polymer was partially hydrolyzed, it became soluble in acetone.

Two Swiss brothers, Drs. Camille and Henri Dreyfus, began chemical research in a shed behind their father's house in Basel, Switzerland. In 1905, Camille and Henri developed a commercial process to manufacture cellulose acetate, a compound that seemed to offer a broad and untapped commercial potential. The Dreyfus brothers initially focused on cellulose acetate film, which was then widely used in celluloid plastics and motion picture film. By 1913, Camille and Henri's studies and experiments had produced excellent laboratory samples of continuous filament acetate yarn. In 1924, the first commercial acetate filament was spun in the United States and trademarked "Celanese."

After the war they concentrated their efforts in England, and in 1919 introduced the first acetate yarn Celanese. In 1924, they switched entirely to the US where acetone and acetic anhydride were cheaply available. In the same year, rayon became adopted as a generic term for all 'artificial silk'.