U.S. Commercial Rayon Fiber Production Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

U.S. Commercial Rayon Fiber Production - Essay Example But this artificial production of the fibers is just a century old. It was in 1890s that the first artificial silk, which was nothing but rayon made its beginning as a commercially produced fiber and it was in the year 1911; American Viscose Company, the first company to pioneer artificial fiber production began producing rayon.2 Though the fiber revolution begun in later half of 19th century, its roots have got a beginning with the description on minute bodies in the book â€Å"Micrographia† by Robert Hooks in 1665.3 That humble beginning got translated into the production almost two centuries later and now this man made fiber production has reached up to 24 million ton. These artificial fibers have got its application not only for apparel manufacturing but also for home furnishings, medicine and many others.4 Rayon was first artificially produced fiber and was called as artificial silk. Developed in France by Count Hilaire de Chardonnet, this fiber despite being a man-made product is still not synthetic.5 Its production involves wood pulp which is a naturally occurring raw material. The basic nature of rayon is very much like naturally occurring fibers such as cotton or linen. The industry as of now produces four different types of rayon namely Regular rayon, High Wet Modules (HWM) rayon, High Tenacity Rayon and Cupramonium Rayon. The production of these different types is due the use of two different chemicals and varying manufacturing techniques.6 The United States at one time was the leading producer of rayon with companies like Viscose Co. and DuPont being the two largest producers in US. But as of now there is not even a single rayon manufacturer in United States.7 Rayon still forms a major part of total fiber consumption with companies mostly from Europe and Asia are making it avai lable to the customers. The production of rayon made its beginning in US in the year 1911. It was the American Viscose Company (A. V. C.) who started the