Invented by : John Mercer
Invented in year : 1844
Mercerised Cotton is a Cotton that has been treated with sodium hydroxide to shrink it and increase its lustre and affinity for dye. Mercerization of Cotton enables it have a silk-like lustre and somewhat greater strength than that of ordinary cotton. Mercerised cotton is at present a direct competitor of silk in a great number of ways, both as an imitation and as a substitute. It is also known as "Pearl" or "Pearle" Cotton because because of the deeply lustrous appearance of the finished cotton thread. The process of Mercerization starts with gathering the cotton and spinning it normally. Because cottons with long fibers take better to mercerization, Pima, Egyptian, and Sea Island cotton are usually chosen for the process. The cotton thread is held under tension and submerged in a highly alkaline bath of sodium hydroxide in a percentage which ranges, but usually hovers around 22%. After treatment, the mercerized cotton is placed into an acidic bath to neutralize it. Once this process is complete, the cotton can be dyed and knitted, woven, or packed as stand-alone spools of thread.
History of the Invention Mercerised Cotton
John Mercer was an English dye and fabric chemist and fabric printer born in Great Harwood, Lancashire. At the age of sixteen he became drawn to the art of dyeing. He set up a small dye laboratory in the Mercer home, and there experimented with new mixtures and colours. He became quite skilled at the manufacture of dyes, and that year he entered into partnership with an investor to open a dyeing shop. Their business, though small, was quite successful, and Mercer was only drawn away by an offer to become an apprentice at a print shop in nearby Oakenshaw. His time there was, unfortunately, somewhat wasted: he was prevented by a spiteful foreman from gaining any real experience, and after a year he was relieved of his apprenticeship.
Mercer spent several years as a simple weaver before once again becoming a dyer. His return to the profession was sparked by an interest in chemistry. In his home laboratory he experimented with a number of chemicals, eventually producing a new orange dye that (unlike previous dyes) was ideal for calico-printing. In 1818 he was once again employed by the Fort brothers (who had owned the Oakenshaw print shop) as a colour chemist; there he invented a number of dyes of yellow, orange, and indigo. He was made a partner in 1825.
While his employ with the Fort brothers was profitable, it took away a great deal of Mercer's free time--time that he had previously spent in his laboratory developing new chemicals for textile processing. The partnership was dissolved in 1848 and, at the age of fifty-seven, Mercer finally had both the time and financial resources to pursue the research that had been put off. His first experiment turned out to be his most important. For years he had wondered about the effect upon cotton fabric of certain sodas, acids, and chlorides. He soon found that, when treated with these caustic chemicals, the material would become thicker and shorter; this made the cotton stronger, shrink-resistant, and more easily dyed. It also imparted to the material a lustrous sheen that became highly valued by textile manufacturers. Mercer called his chemical process Mercerization and patented it in 1850. He went into Blackburn and bought the suitable constituents of dyes and a chemistry textbook. By experimentation and hard work he taught himself the basics, and started in business as a dyer, dyeing the pieces of the handloom weavers of Great Harwood. He went as an apprentice to Richard Fort at Oakenshaw, but after ten months he returned to handloom weaving. The process of mercerising cotton was discovered by him in 1844 but he thought so little of his discovery that he took no patent on the process until 1850. At the time of his invention, he was a chemist in a large calico printing plant.
Development in the invention of Mercerised Cotton
At the time Mercer introduced these processes, the British cotton trade showed no interest in any of it and it all sat in obscurity for about forty years. In 1890 Horace Lowe was granted a British patent in which he claimed that by applying Mercer's caustic soda process to cotton yarn or fabric under tension a resultant high lustre (a result of the light reflection off the smooth, round surface) was imparted to the fiber. It became an overnight success and revolutionized the cotton industry in such a way that mercerised cotton is famous till date.
Role of Mercerised Cotton in the Improvement Of Human Life
- It became a popular alternate to silk which was very expensive.
- Various types dresses evolved as a result of the invention
- It also supported many techniques which became an essential part of the fashion industry
