Dictionary:

cellophane

  (sĕl'ə-fān')

A thin, flexible, transparent cellulose material made from wood pulp and used as a moistureproof wrapping.

[Originally a trademark.]

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A clear, flexible film made from cellulose. It first appeared commercially in the United States in 1924, and it revolutionized the packaging industry, which had been using opaque waxed paper or glassine as wrapping materials. Cellophane was also the first transparent mending tape. By 1960, petrochemical-based polymers (polyolefins) such as polyethylene had surpassed cellophane for use as a packaging film. Nevertheless, cellophane is still often used for packaging because it is stiffer and more easily imprinted than are polyolefin films.

Cellophane is manufactured in a process that is very similar to that for rayon. Special wood pulp, known as dissolving pulp, which is white like cotton and contains 92–98% cellulose, is treated with strong alkali in a process known as mercerization. The mercerized pulp is aged for several days.

The aged, shredded pulp is then treated with carbon disulfide, which reacts with the cellulose and dissolves it to form a viscous, orange solution of cellulose xanthate known as viscose. Rayon fibers are formed by forcing the viscose through a small hole into an acid bath that regenerates the original cellulose while carbon disulfide is given off. To make cellophane, the viscose passes through a long slot into a bath of ammonium sulfate which causes it to coagulate. The coagulated viscose is then put into an acidic bath that returns the cellulose to its original, insoluble form. The cellophane is now clear.

The cellophane is then treated in a glycerol bath and dried. The glycerol acts like a plasticizer, making the dry cellophane less brittle. The cellophane may be coated with nitrocellulose or wax to make it impermeable to water vapor; it is coated with polyethylene or other materials to make it heat sealable for automated wrapping machines. Cellophane is typically 0.03 mm (0.001 in.) thick, is available in widths to 132 cm (52 in.), and can be made to be heat sealable from 82 to 177°C (180 to 350°F). See also Polymer.

Trade name for the first of the transparent, non-porous films, made from wood pulp (cellulose), patented in 1908 by the Swiss chemist Jacques-Edwin Brandenburger; waterproof cellophane for food wrapping was developed by Du Pont in 1926. Still widely used for wrapping foods and other commodities.

Cellulose is treated with alkali and carbon disulfide to yield viscose.

Cellophane is a thin, transparent sheet made of processed cellulose.

Cellulose fibers from wood, cotton or hemp are dissolved in alkali and carbon disulfide to make a solution called viscose, which is then extruded through a slit into an acid bath to reconvert the viscose into cellulose. A similar process, using a hole (a spinneret) instead of a slit, is used to make a fibre called rayon.

Cellophane was invented in 1908 by Jacques E. Brandenberger, a Swiss textiles engineer. After witnessing a wine spill on a restaurant tablecloth, Brandenberger initially had the idea to develop a clear coating for cloth to make it waterproof. He experimented, and came up with a way to apply liquid viscose to cloth, but found the resultant combination of cloth and viscose film too stiff to be of use. However, the clear film easily separated from the backing cloth, and he abandoned his original idea as the possibilities of the new material became apparent. Cellophane's low permeability to air, grease and bacteria makes it useful for food packaging.

Whitman's candy company initiated use of cellophane for candy wrapping in the United States in 1912 for their Whitman's Sampler. They remained the largest user of imported cellophane from France until nearly 1924, when DuPont built the first cellophane manufacturing plant in the US. In 1935 British Cellophane Ltd was established, a joint venture between La Cellophane SA and Courtaulds, which opened a major factory producing cellophane in Columbus, OH in 1937. Cellophane is also used in gift baskets and flower bouquets.

Cellulose film has been manufactured continuously since the mid-1930s and is still used today. As well as packaging a variety of food items, there are also industrial applications, such as a base for self-adhesive tapes like Sellotape and Scotch Tape, a semi-permeable membrane in certain types of battery, and as a release agent in the manufacture of fibreglass and rubber products. The word "cellophane" has been genericized, and is often used informally to refer to a wide variety of plastic film products, even those not made of cellulose.

Cellophane sales have dwindled since the 1960s, through use of alternative packaging options, and the fact that Viscose is becoming less common because of the polluting effects of carbon disulfide and other by-products of the process. However, the fact that cellophane is 100% biodegradable has meant it is returning in popularity as a food wrapping.^[1][2] It is also used in the making of Bendy Rulers, although it is not common.

See also

• Genericized trademark
• British Cellophane

References

1. ^ at Pak-Sel Inc Accessed March 2007.
2. ^ Biodegradable cellophane at Green Earth Office Supply. Accessed March 2007.

External links

• Cellophane Invention

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - cellofan

Nederlands (Dutch)
cellofaan

Français (French)
n. - cellophane

Deutsch (German)
n. - Cellophan (eingetragenes Warenzeichen)

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (χημ.) σελοφάν

Italiano (Italian)
cellofan

Português (Portuguese)
n. - celofane (m)

Русский (Russian)
целлофан

Español (Spanish)
n. - celofán

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - cellofan

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
玻璃纸

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 玻璃紙

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 셀로판

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - セロハン

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) ورق السلوفان, ورق شفاف عازل للتغليف‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮צלופן (נייר)‬

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