Manufacturing Process of Cuprammonium Rayon

Cuprammonium Rayon


Like Viscose Rayon, cuprammonium rayon is also a regenerated cellulose fibre. Cotton linters are used as the source of cellulose for this rayon.

Ammonical copper oxide solution is also known as cuprammonium hydroxide solution. Cuprammonium hydroxide solution is a solvent for cellulose. When a solution of cellulose in cuprammonium hydroxide is diluted with water or treated with dilute sulphuric acid, the cellulose is regenerated or reprecipitated. By using a spinnerette, filaments of this regenerated cellulose can be produced.

Manufacture of Cuprammonium Rayon

The source of cellulose for this rayon is cotton linters, the purification of cotton linters is carried out in two stages:

a. Mechanical Treatment
b. Chemical Treatment

Mechanical Treatment

The cotton linters are transported in bales in highly compressed state and the object of the mechanical treatment is to loosen them and to remove mechanically admixed and loosly bound impurities such as dust sand, seed residues etc.

Chemical Tratment

The mechanically opened and purified cotton linters are boiled under pressure for several hours with dilute sod ash ( Na2Co3) solution (2%) to which a little amount of caustic soda may be added. The natural fatty matter present in the cotton is converted into soluble substance by the action of soda ash and thus removed from cotton linters.

Dissolution of Cellulose

In this, a solution of hydrated copper sulphate in 300-400 liters of water is introduced in a vessel at ordinary temperature with stirring. Some sugar is also added followed by caustic soda solution to form copper hydroxide.

Ground linters suspended in water are added to the above mixture to form copper cellulose.

The copper cellulose is filtered to remove the liquid, well ground and dissolved in a solution of ammonia in water.

Spinning Solution

By adding certain compounds to the cuprammonium cellulose solution, the solution is made more suitable for spinning. These compounds include glycerine, glucose, tartaric acid, citric acid, oxalic acid, can sugar etc.

Stretch Spinning

In the spinning process, the cuprammonium cellulose solution is discharged through nozzles ( spinnerette) into a solution of sulphuric acid in the form of relatively thick threads which are subsequently pulled( stretched ) to very fine filaments.