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Organization honors moms from Champaign, Paxton

Organization honors moms from Champaign, Paxton

CHAMPAIGN — A national organization has named a Champaign woman as the state's Mother of Achievement and a Paxton woman as the state's Mother of the Year.

American Mothers Inc., an interfaith, non-political, non-profit organization dedicated to recognizing mothers for their work with their community, announced this week that Gail Rost is this year's Mother of Achievement for Illinois.

The organization also named Judith Jepsen-Popel of Paxton as the state's Mother of the Year.

Rost is executive director of the Champaign Urbana Schools Foundation.

The Mother of Achievement award recognizes women "whose positive influence, talents and community service have made a significant impact in the lives of children and families," according to Connell Branan, president of American Mothers Inc.

"Our goal is to recognize and thank moms for the many jobs they do on a daily basis and the significant contributions they are making in the community and our country," Branan said in a written statement.

Jepsen-Popel was a teacher and principal for 30 years. She taught at Tolono Primary School, St. Malachy School in Rantoul and Ludlow Grade School.

To qualify for the National Mother of the Year award, at least one of the nominee's children must be over the age of 18.

"Motherhood is important because the family is the foundation of society," Jepsen-Popel said. "It is very important that we have stable families."

Rost, Jepsen-Popel and the winners from the other 49 states will be honored at a convention in New York City in April. At that time the organization will announce the national winners.

Rost said she found out about her state award when she opened her mail on Tuesday.

"I received a letter notifying me I had won," Rost said. "All I could say was, 'Wow!'"

Rost and her husband, Craig, have three children: Anna, 28, John, 26, and Christopher, 19.

"It is because I became a mother that I was compelled to learn about and commit myself to children's issues and education in particular," Rost said. "Most of my adult life has been driven by my experience of being a mother."

Rost is the current president of the Urbana Rotary Club and former president of the Junior League of Champaign-Urbana.

Under her leadership, the Urbana Rotary Club has emphasized education for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. The club provides clothing and shoes for needy students. It provided support for the Urbana Middle School library and works with the Eastern Illinois Foodbank to provide food for low-income students.

When Rost served as chair of the Junior League's public affairs committee, she designed a public awareness campaign for children's abuse and neglect issues.

In addition to Rost's work as executive director of the Champaign Urbana Schools Foundation, she also serves as general manager for the foundation's I.D.E.A. Store, which she started more than two years ago as a way to provide money for the foundation. I.D.E.A. stands for "Invest. Develop. Elevate. Achieve."

The I.D.E.A. Store sells reusable materials that can be used for educational or art projects.

"Outreach and education is a primary function of The I.D.E.A. Store, too," she said.

Jepsen-Popel and her husband, Gary Popel, have three children, Anne Leonard, Therese Wyman and Margaret Seibring. They have eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

She is the president of the Ford County Historical Society and vice president of the Paxton Foundation, a trust that has raised money for improvements at Majestic Park.

Jepsen-Popel helped found the Paxton Meals on Wheels program, helped organize Paxton's Old Fashioned Fourth of July Celebration and serves as director of religious education at St. Mary Catholic Church in Paxton.

When she served as president of the Paxton Woman's Club, the organization helped to provide a bench for a memorial park and refurbished some historical gates at the Glen Cemetery in Paxton.

This year, Jepsen-Popel and her husband helped to raise money to save the Paxton pool.

She has also served on the board of the Paxton Daycare, a community daycare program, since 1980.

Comments embraces discussion of both community and world issues. We welcome you to contribute your ideas, opinions and comments, but we ask that you avoid personal attacks, vulgarity and hate speech. We reserve the right to remove any comment at our discretion, and we will block repeat offenders' accounts. To post comments, you must first be a registered user, and your username will appear with any comment you post. Happy posting.

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BUNNELL -- Flagler County officials opted to "cooperate and compromise" to set up speed zones along some of the county's 18 miles of Intracoastal Waterway to protect manatees, despite strong beliefs by some that regulation isn't necessary because of sparse herd size in the area.

A special meeting was held after Tuesday's workshop so county commissioners could make a recommendation to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to establish speed zones in three areas from May 10 to Sept. 10. The number of miles also was reduced somewhat from the 3.8 miles proposed by the wildlife commission.

Manatee numbers "sharply increase" in May and decline after August, said County Administrator Craig Coffey. The restriction date was moved into September to ensure slower speeds during Labor Day Weekend because of the sheer number of boaters that use the waterway during that time.

Palm Coast Mayor Jon Netts, speaking as a citizen, said whatever is done needs to balance protecting manatees, which are on the endangered species list, the rights of boaters and the economic impact to the county.

Manatee deaths in Flagler County have been few, averaging one a year, and mostly are from causes other than boating accidents.

"There doesn't appear to be a problem in Flagler County," said Chairman Alan Peterson. "We don't have the regulations, but we don't have the problems either."

Kipp Frohlich, section leader for imperiled-species management, said it's the wildlife commission's job to protect manatees even in areas where their populations are small and where there have been relatively few problems.

Netts argued that a "hot spot" in Flagler County based on the number of animals and encounters with boats may be designated a "cold spot" in Volusia County, where manatee numbers are much higher.

Commissioner Nate McLaughlin said the rationale should be based on equal percentages, if not on equal numbers.

"I'm for protecting manatees but I'm against speed zones because we never can get wildlife to participate," he said.

Resident Jim Booth complained that he paid $800,000 for a house on a canal and will now be limited to 6 mph to get his boat to and from his home.

Palm Coast resident Jack Carroll chided him for his indifference to an endangered species that occupied the waterways well before the city was built.

"We don't want to destroy," Carroll said. "Boats are recreational vehicles. Sit back and relax."

Jane Culpepper said the manatees should be used to bring tourists to the county, not boats.

"I wouldn't go a lot of places to see fast boats, but I would go a lot of places to see these animals," she said. "We should be better than other counties. We should have better regulations. It's my understanding they (boaters) are only losing 20 minutes in this strip (because of reduced speeds)."

Frohlich said it would be November before the wildlife commission makes any final decision about whether to accept the county's recommendations.

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Iowa DOT News Release

Ankeny Motor Vehicle Division facility closed temporarily

Posted on: October 30, 2012

AMES, Iowa – Oct. 30, 2012 – The Iowa Department of Transportation’s Motor Vehicle Division facility in Ankeny has closed due to mechanical problems. The facility will remain closed for the rest of today. The public will be notified when the building is reopened.

Services provided at this facility include driver’s license issuance, vehicle and motor carrier services, and motor vehicle enforcement.

The Iowa DOT’s renewal-only driver’s license facility at 2339 Euclid Ave. in Des Moines remains open. Persons needing other driver’s license services who are unable to wait until the Ankeny facility reopens may go to any of the other driver’s license issuance locations in the state

Iowa highway in the evening


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Iowa DOT News Release

Proposed Reconstruction of U.S. 63 From Hudson to Waterloo to be Discussed Jan. 15

Posted on: January 03, 2013

AMES, Iowa – Jan. 3, 2013 – The Iowa Department of Transportation will hold a public information meeting Tuesday, Jan. 15, to discuss the proposed Portland cement concrete reconstruction of U.S. 63 from south of Iowa 58 in Hudson north to U.S. 20 in Waterloo.

The public is invited to attend the meeting anytime between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. at the Hudson City Hall, 525 Jefferson St. Iowa DOT staff will be available to individually discuss the proposed improvements. In addition, a formal presentation will be made at 6 p.m.

Through traffic would be detoured during construction of the segment of U.S. 63 south of Iowa 58, using Black Hawk County roads D-46 and D-35 and Iowa 21; and the segment north of Iowa 58, using Iowa 58 and U.S. 20.

For general information regarding the proposed improvement or public meeting, contact Mark Callahan, design engineer, Iowa DOT District 2 Office, 1420 Fourth St. SE, Mason City, Iowa  50401, telephone 641-422-9442 or 800-477-4368, email

 Visit the Iowa DOT’s project-related public involvement event website at for information about scheduled public meetings and hearings, and opportunities to offer input to the Iowa DOT during the development of certain projects.

Federal and state laws prohibit employment and/or public accommodation discrimination on the basis of age, color, creed, disability, gender identity, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or veteran’s status. If you believe you have been discriminated against, please contact the Iowa Civil Rights Commission at 800-457-4416 or Iowa Department of Transportation’s affirmative action officer. If you need accommodations because of a disability to access the Iowa Department of Transportation’s services, contact the agency’s affirmative action officer at 800-262-0003.

Iowa highway in the evening


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Sunday, 17 September 2017

Econet Media Limited owned Kwese TV stopped operations in Zimbabwe yesterday after the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) successfully approached the Supreme Court challenging a High Court decision to overturn a ban it had earlier placed on the satellite broadcaster.

Last month, BAZ banned Kwese TV from operating, arguing that the licence of its content distribution partner – Dr Dish – was specific to the provision of My TV Africa services only.

The ban was later overturned by High Court judge Justice Charles Hungwe after Dr Dish filed an urgent application arguing that it could suffer financial prejudice if the ban was effected.

Dissatisfied with the outcome, BAZ filed a notice of appeal at the Supreme Court seeking the overturning of the High Court decision.

Dr Dish has since approached the High Court with an urgent chamber application for permission to operate pending the Supreme Court determination.

However, sources inside Econet, the owners of Kwese TV, say the broadcaster has suspended operations and hundreds of workers recruited to drive the initiative have been sent home.

Econet yesterday released a statement confirming that it had suspended its services and is now offering refund to over 35 000 subscribers.

“We would like to inform you that the broadcasting of the Kwese TV service has been temporarily suspended following an appeal to the Supreme Court by the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe,” reads the statement.
“We have approached the High Court on an urgent basis for permission to continue broadcasting pending determination of the appeal in the High Court.

“In the meantime, we are happy to make a refund to you at any point in time, should you so wish. You can, however, keep your installed decoder and equipment until the ruling is issued.”

Executive assistant to Econet Group chief executive officer Mr Lovemore Nyatsine declined to release more information on the matter.

“In any case this is not an Econet issue, it is between Dr Dish and BAZ , that’s all we can say for now,” he said.
“We simply have to wait for the courts.”

In 2007, Dr Dish was issued a licence to provide MY TV channels to Zimbabwean viewers but it struggled to pay the required fees for years.

It failed to provide the service until BAZ issued a notice of intention to cancel the licence in October last year.

Last month, Dr Dish partnered Econet Media Limited (Mauritius) and paid all the outstanding fees before notifying BAZ of its intention to include Kwese TV channels on its content.

BAZ received the money but went on to terminate the licence through a letter in August. Sunday Mail

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10 Lessons Learned From Squatting 400 Pounds

December 15, 2014 6:12 PM

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Last week, I set a new personal record by squatting 405 pounds (184 kilograms).

I have plenty of friends who can squat more weight--and a few who regularly squat over 500 pounds--but this was my first time passing the 400-pound mark so I'd like to share a few lessons I learned along the way.

Read more

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Greece: Talks Will Settle Last Details for Bailout Deal

May 27, 2015 2:22 PM

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A Greek government official expects talks with creditors in Brussels on Wednesday to "sort out the last pending issues for the agreement" on more aid.

Speaking on customary condition of anonymity, he said the meeting was delayed because the Greek negotiators' plane was diverted to Dusseldorf, Germany, due to air traffic control problems at Brussels airport.

Also read: Wyndham Worldwide buying La Quinta for $1.95 billion

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The Hulk Hogan Case Could Set the Line Between Press Freedom and Privacy. The Press Might Not Like It

March 21, 2016 9:57 PM

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The Hulk Hogan case could force the Supreme Court to finally draw the line between press freedom and privacy. The press might not like it.

On Friday a Florida jury awarded Terry Bollea, better known as Hulk Hogan, more than $100 million in damages for Gawker’s publication of his sex tape. The jury’s decision valued Hogan’s right to privacy over the freedom of the press. Gawker publisher Nick Denton said prior to the trial that he expec...

Also read: Trump Administration Sets New Priorities for Immigration Courts

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The New Rogue One Trailer Is Here—Complete With Darth Vader

August 12, 2016 6:13 AM

26 3

A new trailer for this winter’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has arrived. And trust us: The Force is strong with this one.

In the two-plus-minute clip, which premiered during tonight’s Rio Olympics telecast, we get not only Director Orson Krenic (Ben Mendelsohn) and his Death Troopers, but also a glimpse of Mr. Dark Side himself, Darth Vader. (There’s also a lot of stressed-out running and rebels in handcuffs.)

Also read: ‘Star Trek’ Lives Long and Prospers in Pop Culture

Read more

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Ricky Gervais to make comedy film for Netflix

April 7, 2015 9:14 AM

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Ricky Gervais is to make a comedy film for streaming service Netflix that will see the star of The Office and Derek appear alongside Australia's Eric Bana.

The satirical comedy, Special Correspondents, is a remake of a 2009 French film about a struggling radio journalist who files fake war reports.

Also read: SpongeBob-inspired comedy filmed in Hawaii hits Amazon Prime

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Accident kills 3 at South Korean nuclear plant construction site

December 26, 2014 06:43 AM

More Videos

  • Chilean Navy helicopter pilot shoots video of UFO

    On Nov. 11, 2014, a Navy captain and technician were on a routine daytime patrol mission flying north along the Chilean coast, west of Santiago, and filmed an unidentified flying object.


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Follow my blog with Bloglovin
Saturday , 20 January 2018
Breaking News

Tag Archives: #Jelena

Jelena Ostapenko wins the French Open – 2017

French Open 2017 saw a new Women’s Champion. The tournament has always caused an upset to top seeds every now and then both in Men’s and Women’s championships since it is played in the hard court. The Women’s Finals which concluded yesterday saw a new Champion altogether. It was Jelena Ostapenko this time. The tournament saw some of the big ... Read More »

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Chinese Communist Party Bans Golf Club Membership, Extramarital Affairs

Xi Jinping
China's President Xi Jinping is taken on a tour during his visit to Inmarsat in London, Britain October 22. Xi has laid the foundations of what could be a power grab. Anthony Devlin/Reuters

China’s ruling Communist Party has banned its 88 million members from playing golf, having sex outside of marriage and partaking in “extravagant eating and drinking,” according to the country’s state media .

The new rules announced earlier this month by the Communist Party, part of an ongoing anti-corruption drive by President Xi Jinping, are intended to be a “moral ethical code that members must abide by,” according to China’s Xinhua News Agency . Members are barred from "obtaining, holding or using membership cards for gyms, clubs, golf clubs, or various other types of consumer cards, or entering private clubs.” Chinese authorities banned the construction of new golf courses in 2004, but they have continued to be built in the decade since, the AFP reports .

The bans on playing golf and ostentatious displays of eating and drinking are included as violations for the first time, says Xinhua. While party members were already prohibited from “keeping paramours and conducting adultery,” the new rule against “having improper sexual relationships with others” is stricter.

Additional rules for the party’s 88 million members include bans on forming cliques and engaging in nepotism, Al Jazeera reports . Xi has tried to drive down corruption within the party since assuming office in 2012, but a number of high-profile cases have drawn international attention over the past few years. In June, the former domestic security chief, Zhou Yongkang, was sentenced to life in prison on corruption charges , including taking bribes worth 128 million yuan ($21 million), The Washington Post reports .

While the new regulations don’t explicitly outline the punishments for rule infraction, Xinhua reports that party rule is considered stricter than and above the law. Many critics see the crackdown as a way for Xi to purge the party of unwanted rivals rather than cleaning up its image.

China is ranked 100th out of 175 countries in Transparency International’s 2014 Corruption Index.


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Spring Conference

Wednesday, May 2nd, 2018
Our spring conferences are designed to appeal to businesses across the spectrum of sustainable/socially responsible business operations, allowing attendees from large and small companies alike to find the perfect opportunity to learn and share best practices.

Recent conferences have highlighted networking as a means for sharing of best practices and the day opens with such an event to allow attendees to make connections immediately.  Keynote speakers are chosen based on their relevance to current sustainability and social responsibility issues businesses face.

Nominations for the Cornerstone Award and the Partnership for Innovation Award
will open September 1.

NHBSR 2017 Spring Conference Keynote Addresses:

andrewwinston_image.jpg                                                                  chrismiller_photo.jpg

      Andrew Winston's keynote available here.                                        Christopher Miller's keynote available here.

Simon Mainwaring's Keynote address available!

Conference Background:

NHBSR hosts an annual Spring Conference in May that explores corporate social responsibility (CSR) as it relates to the workplace, community, and environment. The conference features a prominent, respected thought leader in the world of CSR as an opening keynote address, a series of educational workshops and CSR discussion circles during lunch. Networking is also a key element to the day, allowing a space for elevated discussion between like-minded businesses around key issues surrounding social responsibility.

Past keynotes have been; Andrew Winston, Winston Eco-Strategies; Simon Mainwaring, CEO and Founder, We First Branding; Myron Kandel, one of the founders of CNN and president of the newly created Concord, NH based Initiative for Corporate Responsibility and Investor Protection as well as Jeffrey Swartz, CEO of The Timberland Company and Will Raap of President and Founder of Gardner's Supply.

Educational session topics have included; corporate ethics; sustainability; green design and energy innovation: business response to disasters; employee volunteer programs; and the challenge of affordable housing. These sessions are designed for business people to interact and learn from their peers as they address common social concerns and CSR issues in order to find a more ethically developed and communally sustainable solution to every day business issues. The conference also explores the importance of building a corporate culture that recognizes the role businesses play as stewards for the generations that follow.

"CSR is clearly an important issue in today's business climate as evidenced by the number of leading NH companies involved with the event," said Jill Wurm, former conference chair and director of public relations at Fairpoint. "All of the speakers we've brought to the conference were helpful in outlining how employees can drive CSR and the benefits to having employees involved in CSR."


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The Wylde effect was born one day by one client’s comment. “It must be the Wylde effect” … saying that people are drawn to her jewellery, with words such as ‘that’s amazing, stunning, where did you get it made?’

Another client was on a flight from London to New York and sat next to a stranger whose first words to her were “That must be a Wylde ring” and then proceeded to chat about their Wylde collections designed by Nicholas and his team. Another example of the ‘Wylde Effect’ at work!

Over the 29 years that Nicholas has been in business, his strong style and years of imaginative eye catching adverts and window displays has attracted many devotees.

Collectors and followers also appreciate his particular style of listening and then designing something truly stunning for his clients whilst keeping to his trademark simplicity – mixing lines and curves with colour and diamonds.

Nicholas is proud that there are now over 30,000 pieces of individually designed items of jewellery out there in the world and that they do meet up in the oddest of places. However, to see them return and worn at various functions truly pleases him and is the best Wylde Effect of all.

Please enquire about any item shown in advertising visuals. Nicholas works very closely with Wayne McMaster from to ensure all Wylde advertising consistently uses fresh ideas with bold, eye-catching designs to capture the imagination and show our gorgeous jewellery to its best effect.


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North Korea’s Central Court has sentenced two South Korean journalists and two media executives to death for reviewing a book that outlines a sprawling underground capitalist economy in the secretive Communist state.

In an article on North Korean state media outlet KCNA, a spokesperson for the court said that the book originally published in English and since translated into Korean “insulted the dignity” of North Korea.

It declared that journalists Son Hyo Rim and Yang Ji Ho who work for South Korean newspapers
Dong-A Ilbo and Chosun Ilbo and Kim Jae Ho and Pang Sang Hun, who serve as director general of the two titles respectively, had received a death sentence by the Central Court of the DPRK.

"The criminals hold no right to appeal and the execution will be carried out any moment and at any place without going through any additional procedures as soon as the objects are confirmed," the spokesperson said.

While North Korea singled out the conservative Dong-A and Chosun newspapers, they weren’t the only publications that reviewed the book, which was released in South Korea earlier this month.

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Army Infantry Soldier Costume Child Medium

Kids Army uniform costume includes camouflage shirt, pants, vest, helmet, belt, mock grenade, walkie talkie and personalized sticky letters. Medium US Army costume fits child size 7-8

item #   PM769811    In Stock

Qty:   $35.67

  Shop for More Halloween Costumes and Haunted House Props
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What's New — By Nina Brown on October 30, 2010 at 3:24 pm

So you’re stuck on a sightseeing tour of Oxford and you find yourself desperate to pee (that is, to micturate if we’re speaking Oxford English).

NEVER FEAR!! Oxford is awash (mmm) with lovely loos (deriving from the term lavatory- a very proper, British term).

Oxford loos are fairly bog-standard (excuse the pun). Nothing fancy here I’m afraid, but one blessing is that you will not generally be expected to pay for public loos.

When asking where the loo is, feel free to go wild and experiment with any one (or more!) different English words for loo from the list below…

John, Can, Privy, Toilet, Lav, Loo, Bathroom, Water Closet (WC), Commode, Crapper (From Mr Thomas Crapper, a London plumber who did much to publicise the Water Closet), Potty, Throne, Pot, Bog, Little Boy’s/Girl’s Room, Gents, Ladies.

Eg. Excuse me kind Sir, where might I find a Commode…?

OR… Oi, mate, where’s the nearest Privy?

OR SIMPLY..Excuse me, do you know where the nearest loo is?

This incredibly helpful website below gives you a map of all the Public Loos in Oxford. What is more, if you click on the map it actually gives a brief resume of what you can expect from any given loo! This could be most helpful if you were a Toilet Spotter ( Like a Train Spotter but for toilets…yes, they do exist).

If I was to pick my favourite restaurant loo in Oxford, it would have to be the Kazbar on the Cowley Rd. The sinks are so huge they have to be seen to be believed!

Probably the best Public Loo would be the Covered Market loos- very central and usually always clean with loo paper available.

One thing I would advise is that you take some tissues with you on a day out. Oxford gets incredibly busy, particularly in Summer when its streets are almost full to bursting with students and tourists. Loo paper therefore is usually guzzled before the loos have a chance to be restocked.


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firefox tools add ons

Complete guide on how to remove facemoods

I wrote an article about how to get rid of Facemoods search before. But it seems people are thirsty to find out how to remove facemoods software completely. Therefore I decided to rewrite and update this article.

People install this software in two ways.

01.Mozila Firfox Addon
02.Facemoods web site

01. Here is how to remove Facemoods if you have installed it as an add-on on Firefox.

Open Firefox and Tools –> Add-ons
firefox tools add ons

Find the “Facemoods” extension and hit on “Uninstall
firefox add ons uninstall facemoods

And restart the Firefox 😀

02. Remove facemoods if you have installed it from their web site.

In this way facemoods installs on your computer extensively. That means it is installsed in all the browsers.

Go to “Control Panel” and open Add or Remove Programs. Find the “Facemoods” application from the list and simply hit on “Remove” button.
add or remove programs uninstalling

Not finish yet. Open your Firefox you can see Facemoods enhanced search and the toolbar is still there. To remove these go to “Tools” and hit on “Add-ons” uninstall the facemoods extension like we did earlier.
firefox add ons uninstall facemoods

Restart the browser. Now you can see facemoods toolbar has disappeared.
Firefox facemoods search

But Facemoods enhanced search is still there. I do not think that you will be happy if some other search engine takes over your browsers. Actually facemoods changes core setting in Firefox. Sounds advanced ahh ? 😀

Type “about:config” (without quotes) and press enter.
firefox aboutconfig

Hit on “I’ll be careful, I promise” button
hit on I'll be careful I promise

Type “facemoods” in the filter bar.

And it will bring you everything relevant to facemoods. Right click on the “browser.startup.homepage” (first one) and hit on “Reset”
right click on browser.startup.homepage reset

Hit on “Reset” on “keyword.URL” as well
right click on keyword url reset

Restart the browser you will see facemoods has disappeared.

With Google chrome

Click on “Customize and control google chorme” and go to “Options”
Google chrome Options

Change home page to and Hit on “Manage”
Google chrome Options manage

Select “Google” and hit on “Make Default”
Google make defult

Select “Facemoods” and hit on “Remove”
Google chrome remove facemoods

With Internet Explorer

Go to “Tools” and hit on “Internet Options”
Internet Explorer Tools Internet options

Hit on “Use Default”
Internet Options hit on Use Defaults

You are done.

(Note: This article was old but I had to do some major changes to this blog. Therefore I loosed all comments for this page.)

90 thoughts on “Complete guide on how to remove facemoods

  1. bedee

    I tried all the fields regarding “facemoods” and “search” in about:config but I wouldn’t guess the “keyword.URL” one.
    Thanks a lot, now everything is back to normal.

  2. Bob Hopkins

    Thanks man, good work on details of removing this ‘wart’ of a program. I use all 3 of these browsers and had managed to sort IE & chrome out but firefox had me stumped until the config stuff. 🙂

  3. sharan

    thanks a lot man
    i googled a lot but couldn’t find how to remove facemoods search
    thanks to about:config and you 🙂

  4. Lene

    The seachpage for facemood loads while I press CTRL + T in Internet Explorer, how can I make that go away so that it loads with the default blank page??

  5. Leonardo Marques

    I tried to uninstall facemood from Internet Explorer, but it still working as my deafult home page. Is it only change the page in tools<options ?? There is something else that i cand do ? Thank U !

  6. uzma

    Thankyou so much….!! The best and most systematic, and very very helpful information I could locate after days of trouble. thanks a lot

  7. darr

    Thank you for the information I guess but you should be very concerned that this horrible virus has targeted Firefox. It probabmy came from Microsoft . Most people will not go tp the trouble of finding the solution and will simply delet your browser.

  8. Richard Roe

    I cannot remove facemoods as my default search engine. It is the default search engine and the “remove” cannot be selected. I removed facemoods from my computer but have not been able to remove it as my search engine. Can you give me a suggestion that will work.

  9. Wayne Cooper

    I tried as you said but I had no “Keyword.URL….just..
    1 Browser search
    2 extensions facemoods.aflt
    3 extensions facemoods.firstrun
    4. extensions facemoods.lastactv
    when I do as you suggested with the first and set it to ‘reset’ it still shows the facemoods search bar…even after a restart
    Firefox 3.6.15
    Any further advice would be most welcome as this garbage is most unwanted.

  10. Wayne Cooper

    As Randy Newman said….Please excuse my unfocused words…I was flying blind…I lost my mind…….. WORKED SPLENDIDLY….SECOND TRY!!..
    Must have had a brain fart…Thank you SO MUCH!!!

  11. Wayne Cooper

    Interestingly enough the SAME search bar is on IE and your method does not seem to get rid of it although easy to rid the homepage etc.
    Any suggestions for the search window problem with IE 7?

  12. Olaf

    Thy for this guide! Do you have any idea how to remove the leftovers “extensions.facemood.aflt” and the other ones? It’s kinda annoying and I just don’t want to kill my FF and reinstall.

  13. Mário

    Thank you very much.
    I’ve been annoyed by this facemoods that I nearly gave up using Firefox.

    This search thing screwed up the navigation speed. But now it’s OK.

    Again, thank you.

  14. Tom

    I was REALLY fed up with this stupid facemood thing. Then I followed your instructions but the search engine entry would still not disappear.

    Strangely enough, after going back to “Software” and uninstalling Pidgin, it was gone.

    Thanks for the tutorial anyway 🙂

  15. Mari

    OMG THANK YOU SOOO MUCH, this FACEMOODS I accidently downloaded was seriously bugging me, I couldn’t get rid of it.

  16. Anne O'Mause

    THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! The stupid Facemoods was stuck on my computer and I really needed help so once again thank YOU!

  17. Jeff

    Thank you so very much for your extremely helpful instructions for removal of the facemoods malware from my internet search engines. I will keep your website in mind when I may have similar problems in the future.

  18. Reddiamonds

    Thank you so much, Nimantha; what a cool name, by the way. You absolutely rock!
    Like someone else said, I’ll never look at facemoods again, especially those horrible blinking white envelopes.

  19. thierbox

    and hoew you make it for google chrome. this it is a nightmare. I didn’t install it. i don’t for where it come from. the only program i install was a screen capture call patato and from this moment start my nightmare and on the top i was not abble to install it. please tell me how to take it off from my chrome. Thanksssssssssssss

  20. István Tisser

    Hi Nimantha Dias! Thanks for your help, I tried everything, I thought I never get rid of it, Facebook picked up, reorganized my PC! Yu has been implemented. Really, really thank you!

  21. J Robles

    I was about to hire a technician to get rid of that facemood unwanted search, your help has been wonderful, thanks!

  22. KeyofEarle

    I have Chrome. I followed every single one of your instructions, checking and double-checking. It still won’t get off. How do I delete this thing???? It’s so frickin’ annoying. I even removed it from my Programs in the control panel, and it persists. Help please.

  23. Wei

    Hi. Many thanks for your informative guide on how to remove this Facemoods plague. However, after following your instructions carefully, search results from Facemoods still appear when I type a word(not a website URL) in the URL box and press ‘Enter’. My control panel on Vista does not have the ‘Add or Remove Programs’ function and so I used the ‘Uninstall Programs’ function instead. Can you PLEASE help me on this? 🙂 Thank You.

  24. Mike

    Hello there, thx for your help. I have firefox 5 on my system (win7x64). After i did all these, firefox google toolbar and firefox URL address returns me google results when i type something. But when i open firefox and the home page ( opens and i type something in there, then my results open with facemood…

    1. efroriz

      The same happens to me. I’ve followed this guide for FireFox and even deleted every registry key related to Facemoods, but when I type in a search in FF’s homepage, the results are provided by Facemoods. Also, how about those other Facemoods lines in FF’s about:config menu? Can’t you get rid of them?

  25. gem

    Thank you. I just returned home from 3 weeks in the hospital. Was home a couple of days and found this nightmare facemoods on my start up page firefox 4 – made mistake of taking off 4 and then put on firefox 5 and did not get rid of. This became a problem as Firefox 5 says not comparable with my security program. But that is another issue. Took facemoods off from Control panel but did not work. (I did not put on in the first place either) … just appeared – but had been on Facebook (where came from?) the night before and did not log out – not sure if that is where came from. All and all I’ve put in over 12 hours or more over several days trying to get rid of this as slowed my computer down considerably and especially emails. Thank you for your solution. It worked. I saw when researching at first on Internet but was afraid when said caution if you proceed could warrant your computer. But today tried and worked. You are a wonder Nimantha and by comments … you’ve helped many folks. When folks get hit by (trojan or virus or such as this was) (and I had programs for protection and malware running … cause so much harm – well is so frustrating. I am also disabled and the thought of having to pay someone to fix this and how to pay was so stressful. Thank you again.

  26. Mahar

    just as you planned, Facemoods, unwanted unwelcome and uninvited is uninstalled. The way you delicately navigated me through a sensitive area of the computer makes me feel I am still in charge of this machine. Thank you for your outstanding support.

  27. Karin-Renate

    Someone totally slap the maker(s??) of this facemoods-cr4p silly!!! THANKS Nimantha for this guide, totally ban the piece of foul-ware junk that is facemoods .. bleeeeeerrghh!

  28. phil wilson

    I think it worked on FF, but I did not have the URL key to click on or the browser choice. I still have facemoods as a search engine choice on the pull down. Is there anyway to delete that?

  29. Enni

    Thank you for the step by step guide, the most comprehensive. I was able to remove the facemoods search from the navigation bar following your instructions.

  30. louis

    Thank you so much,
    I did this on both chrome and internet explorer.. for internet explorer, if you want to get the little icon things to go away all you need to do is go to toolbar and disable them (facemoods).
    Lol, it actually feels satisfying knowing I got rid of them (:

  31. victim

    Thank you pretty much. I downloaded something and this “crap” – if i may use this term – came with it and screwed my settings, such as the search engine and start page. Who knows, what else this thing did!

  32. Tharindha

    Nice work bro. You saved lot of my time. If I found your article earlier I would save lot of time which I was googling on removing this facemood crap. Thank you very much.

  33. Calvin J.

    I simply wish to convey my thanks for your help with about:config in gettin’ rid of Facemoods. Thanks ! I was really getting irritated with this intrusive crap. Really irritated! Your advice was excellent, did the job! Thanks again!

  34. John

    Wow! I thought this thing had beat me – I was missing one step in Google Chrome and your tutorial is the best….thanks so much!

  35. someone that doesnt get rid of facemoods

    i cant get rid of it cause when i put the option on google chrome, in default i dont find facemoods i want to get rid of it! cause even in facebook those facemoods are still there!

  36. Jane

    Maybe the Facemoods cretins got wise to your removal suggestions because when I follow the instructions and get to the “Search Engines” part, Google Chrome is already my default browser and Facemoods is listed as one of the other choices. But there is no Remove option. Actually there are no “Add” or “Edit” options either. Maybe Chrome has an updated version since your original post.

    If you are still checking this message board, it would be great if you could take a look at what Chrome is doing now and suggest a fix. Of course, there is always the option that I may be missing something but I don’t think I have. Thanx.

  37. Laurence

    Hi, I’ve done what you suggested and can’t see it in my programmes list but when I run a Spybot search and destroy it tells me it’s still there and can’t be fixed! Any suggestions?

  38. Ian

    Tried everything! Do not have or use Firefox; facemoods no longer listed under Add/Remove programs in Control Panel. Cannot access Google Chrome at all now as it defaults to facemoods even though the default page is Chrome!
    If I change Internet Explorer to default Google Chrome, it opens facemoods!!!
    Surely this has to be illegal!

  39. Jax

    Just a heartfelt thank you for your solution. I had been working on this ‘situation’ for hours, and finally found your website. Its the last piece, “about:config” that was the key. It works! Very much appreciated.

  40. googli

    I used to be suggested this blog by way of my cousin. I am not positive whether this publish is written by way of him as nobody else understand such specific approximately my trouble. You are incredible! Thank you!

  41. Shady ISSA

    Thank you so much for this wonderful HELP removing this unsupportable “Facemoods” to be my main browser search on Firefox!!

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Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Boys of Steal

Not a typo, unfortunately.

The secret origins of both Superman and Batman revolve around theft. While this crime connection may seem like a cosmic joke given superheroes’ raison d’être, in real life, no one laughed about it.

Some fans still rail against the company now known as DC Comics for neglecting Boys of Steel Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster for decades. Some fans also rail against DC for not giving Bill Finger equal credit for Batman alongside Bob Kane. Siegel and Shuster versus DC is David versus Goliath. Kane versus Finger is Cain versus Abel.

Of course, neither story is that simple and both have been debated extensively across the years and the web, including elsewhere on this blog.

The purpose of this post is to make a few brief and sometimes quirky comparisons of the men, not the melodrama.

Siegel and Shuster were both shy, though Siegel would go gregarious—sometimes to the annoyance of others—when his passion (namely science fiction) came up in conversation. Finger was not shy but has been described as reserved. He was a bright man who would’ve had an informed opinion about a range of topics, yet he was not the liveliest bat in the belfry. He may have been an example of a person who speaks less in groups so that when he
does open his mouth, people listen.

Siegel and Shuster had loving relationships with their parents, though not particularly intimate, partly due to the culture of the era; hence neither mentioned his parents in any interviews I’ve seen. Finger dislike and possibly resented his parents and became estranged from them; I don’t know exactly when but the latest it would’ve been was soon after Batman debuted. Kane’s father was instrumental in Kane securing legal advice that made him rich.

Prior to marriage, Finger and Kane were both ladies’ men, though their styles differed. Kane showed off as a wooing strategy whereas Finger would’ve downplayed his career (which, to some of the time, was not impressive anyway). His approach would’ve been more rakish and cerebral. Even shy Shuster blossomed and had an affinity for tall, showgirl-type women.

Siegel and Finger were both married twice. Both have been described as flawed fathers (Siegel with respect to his first child, Michael, from his first marriage). Shuster married once late in life, and it lasted briefly.

Shuster and Finger were both interested in physical fitness as young men; Shuster took to lifting weights and Finger was an avid golfer. Later in life, Finger also began working out at a gym.

Siegel, Shuster, and Kane all enjoyed minor celebrity—Siegel and Shuster at the dawn of Superman (they even garnered a
swank spread in The Saturday Evening Post) and Kane most prominently in the 1960s and again around the time the first Tim Burton Batman movie came out (1989).

All four were Jewish yet none mentioned Judaism in any interviews I’ve seen.

And all four were, in their own ways, thieves.

In creating Superman, Siegel and Shuster mined elements from books (including, some argue,
Gladiator by Philip Wylie and the Bible itself), pulps, strips, and movies (though I believe it was often done subconsciously, and besides, all characters are variations of ones that have come before). Finger admitted to cribbing from the Shadow, the Phantom, and other characters when building Batman, yet he combined these elements with some of his own design in such a way that the result seemed startlingly fresh. And Kane for all intents stole Batman from Finger.

This leads to perhaps the most frustrating difference between the Superman and Batman men: Siegel and Shuster fought back. Finger did not—or if he did, it was not documented. Growing up, Siegel and Shuster were not fighters. As with the secret origins of many heroes, perhaps most notably Batman, it was a gross injustice that brought out the warrior in them. Some underestimate the strength it took for Siegel and Shuster to do all they did—over the course of 30 years—to reclaim some stake in Superman.

Hence Siegel and Shuster, the underdogs, are now forever linked to their creation, the ultimate overachiever. Their names are on every Superman story in every medium
and they lived to see it. Whereas Finger died in 1974 with no official connection to Batman, as it still stands today.

He was inspired by the Shadow and the Phantom, and then he became them.

"T.V. Barnum" said...

you can also look at the situation this way ...

Jerry and Joe were two midwestern boys who didn't know how to "play the system" and were taken advantage off by DC.

Bob was a street-smart kid from NYC and knew how to play the system - he knew how to manipulate Bill and how to get what he wanted from DC.

Bill Finger was a smart guy,and still the likes of Bob Kane got the best of him. Jerry and Joe were bright but not "worldly".

Marc Tyler Nobleman said...

I like all of your additions, T.V.

msven said...

Well, I see your point, but I think there is a big flaw uncharacteristic of your excellent research.

Jerry and Joe had bylines on their work from the beginning and Bill Finger did not. The editor Vince Sullivan was asked by Rich Morrissey many years ago why Bill Finger was not given a byline on that first Batman story in Detective Comics #27. His answer was that he did not know Bill Finger existed, or he would have given him credit. Vince knew that Bob was getting help writing the scripts, but he did not know who it was. When the character took off, the work of the fully flushed out scripts were done by Gardner Fox. (This was also research done by Rich Morrissey. I was shocked to learn that the Meddling Monk stories were not by Finger when Rich told me in the 1990s. And Fox even kept records of his stories!)

When DC's editorial finally learned of who Bill was, then they hired him directly. (Vince was gone at this point.)

That is how Bill got lured down to All-American for the creation of Green Lantern. He was promised a byline, something he was denied by both Bob and DC.

Marc Svensson 11/06/2010

Marc Tyler Nobleman said...

Great to hear from you! But I, too, say Finger never received credit (of course - it's the focus of my book), so I don't see the flaw in my research here?

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Biological Diversity and Ecosystems

Deep Sea Biodiversity and Ecosystems

In the next five years, we aim to take significant steps in the advancement of our knowledge concerning the biological diversity and ecosystems of the deep sea frontier

The Challenge

The deep sea harbours a spectacular diversity of life, from tiny microbes to large corals and fishes. Around 97% of the Ocean’s biome occurs below 200 metres depth and this life performs many key ecosystem functions, from the cycling of carbon and nutrients to fisheries provision. The deep sea may also provide solutions to societal challenges, such as alternatives to mining on land and options for sequestering carbon to mitigate anthropogenic climate change.

Yet human activity in the deep-sea has been escalating, with increasing fishing pressure and greater numbers of oil and gas wells being drilled. Furthermore, research has shown that climate variation can readily influence deep seafloor ecology over timescales that are similar to terrestrial habitats.

However, the deep sea is a very challenging habitat to research. Therefore working to understand human impacts is a core part of the NOC’s research.

Our Research

Our research aims to answer the general question: What are the influences on, and implications of, biogeochemical and ecological change on the seafloor? Answering this question involves investing in advanced technology development, since the deep sea is among the least accessible habitats on the planet. These developments include Autosub6000 and Autosub Long Range, as well as the sensors they carry to measure different aspects of the deep sea.

The NOC also works with industries operating in deep water to collect and interpret information about the deep sea. This includes advising on baseline and environmental survey work and researching the potential impacts of specific nascent activities, like seafloor mining. Our research is also increasingly focused on understanding how to efficiently asses the effectiveness of marine protected areas for the protection of vulnerable habitats or species. Additionally, we are actively seeking to understand how the deep seafloor, or sub-seafloor, can act as a reservoir to sequester carbon from the atmosphere to mitigate anthropogenic climate change.

How this provides a benefit to society

Our research on the Biological Diversity and Ecosystems of the Deep Sea Frontier helps provide clear and objective scientific evidence to inform policies on resource use and the protection of the environment, its biodiversity and function. The NOC regularly provides advice to government and international regulatory bodies, like the Department of Environment, food and rural affairs (Defra), the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) and the United Nations International Seabed Authority (ISA).


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Preventing Combustible Dust Explosions

Dust explosions are lethal. When a cloud of dust ignites, it creates a fireball that can cause serious damage and take lives. Combustible dust has caused explosions all over the world in all types of facilities, from sugar processing plants to coal mines. Any time dust collects, explosion is possible.

So how do you prevent combustible dust explosions?

Preventing explosion is simple: you have to remove one or more of the five factors that lead to dust explosions. One of those factors is an ignition source. A common ignition source in dust explosions are system components that are out of alignment. For example, belts or bearings that are inefficiently situated can overheat.

Taking moving parts like these out of the equation significantly reduces possible ignition sources. Pneumatic conveying keeps moving parts to a minimum. Fewer moving parts mean less friction and less risk.

Nol-Tec can help you reduce risk even further by eliminating oxygen from convey lines and replacing it with inert gasses. We also take steps to prevent dust from accumulating. By taking these three steps, we remove three of the five factors necessary to create an explosion.

For more information about preventing combustible dust explosions, contact Nol-Tec at 651-318-2438.

Combustible Dust: Preventing Accumulation

Dust explosions happen when five factors are present:

  • Oxygen
  • Ignition source
  • Dispersion of dust particles
  • Confinement of a dust cloud in a small space
  • Combustible dust

When dust gathers, it can become volatile. This applies to virtually any type of dust. Explosions have happened at flour mills, sugar processing plants, coal mines and even custard factories. For any application that can create clouds of accumulated dust, explosion prevention measures are absolutely necessary.

Removing one or more of the five elements of a dust explosion is essential. The dust is the fuel for dust explosions, so preventing dust from accumulating is a very important aspect of explosion mitigation. Dense phase pressure or vacuum pneumatic conveying help to move product through convey lines without causing it to break down – which means the material can move through the convey lines without creating a lot of dust.

It’s also important to make sure dust doesn’t collect in covey lines. Nol-Tec’s unique Air Assist technology moves material past critical chokepoints where dust accumulation is common.

To learn more about combustible dust mitigation, contact Nol-Tec today at 651-318-2438.

Minimize Dust Explosion

The site of the Washburn “A” Mill, which exploded in 1878, is not far from Nol-Tec’s Lino Lakes headquarters. Situated along the Mississippi river in Minneapolis, the Washburn “A” Mill was the largest flour mill in the world when it was destroyed by a cloud of dust that ignited. The explosion not only brought down the “A” mill – it also brought five other mills down with it. 18 mill workers died.

In the 19th century, the technologies we use to minimize dust explosion risks simply didn’t exist. Unfortunately, dust explosions still happen in facilities where dust collection equipment is not well maintained or not up to date.

That’s why the Nol-Tec team is working hard to get out the message that dust explosions – and the deaths they cause – are preventable.

How to Minimize Dust Explosion Risk

At Nol-Tec, we’ve discovered that commonly-used explosion panels, venting systems, and explosion suppression systems help to mitigate explosions, but cause a whole host of other inefficiencies. For example, suppression systems use a chemical agent to stop explosions in convey lines. But the chemical contaminates the convey lines, which means all materials have to be tossed out and the convey lines have to be scrubbed. The result: downtime and increased costs.

Our team has worked hard to find better alternatives that both mitigate explosion risk and help keep plants up and running. One innovative solution is to use inert gasses, rather than oxygen, in our convey lines. Since oxygen is one of the 5 elements necessary to create a dust explosion, removing oxygen removes the risk!

For more information about preventing dust explosions, contact Nol-Tec Systems at


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Friday, 21 September 2007

Nonwovens: What Happens Next?

The fabulous growth of the nonwoven industry in general and the disposable diaper in particular has been fuelled by the availability of low-cost synthetic polymers, by-products of low-cost energy production from fossil reserves priced close to extraction –as opposed to replacement- cost.
Fibre forming, web forming and web bonding technologies have evolved to use these synthetics ever more efficiently. Sustainability, biodegradability, carbon-footprint, intergenerational equity, and depletion of fossil reserves have been concerns which remained in the background throughout, until now.
Will the growth continue? The big changes which are increasingly familiar to all consumers may soon affect their purchasing decisions and it may no longer be safe simply to extrapolate past nonwoven industry trends.
We review the past 40 years and think about the future over the next few postings.

Coming Next: Diaper Trends

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Monday, 4 October 2010

A Brief History of Regenerated Cellulosic Fibres

Like so many major new materials, man-made fibres did not arise from the clear identification of a customer need followed by carefully planned research aimed at meeting that need. Visionaries foresaw the potential of man-made fibres but the amateur scientists and professional inventors who made the groundbreaking discoveries were often motivated by products unrelated to today's fibre industry. They worked without knowledge of the underlying chemistry and physics of polymers and progressed towards their goals by trial and error accompanied by careful observation.

Industrially speaking, man-made fibres had their origins in the paper industry, in war materials, and in electricity, that "internet" of the late 19 th century. However the inspiration for the man-made fibre industry is generally credited to Robert Hooke (1635-1703), an English physicist better known for his discovery of the law of elasticity and the development of improved microscopes. In Micrographia (Small Drawings - London 1665) he discussed the possibility of imitating the silkworm by making "an artificial glutinous composition [and] to find very quick ways of drawing it out into small wires for use". He also deserves a special mention in the particular context of regenerated cellulose fibres for being the first scientist to use the word "cell" to describe the honeycomb structure of plant matter.

Renee-Antoine de Réaumur (1683-1747) recorded in 1734 his attempts to force different kinds of varnish through perforated tin-cans to form coarse filaments that hardened in warm air. He is therefore credited with the first dry-spinning process even though his extrudate was unusable as fibre. Cellulose itself was discovered in 1839 by a Frenchman, Anselme Payen (1795-1871) the Professor of Agricultural and Industrial Chemistry at the Central School of Arts and Manufactures in Paris, during an extensive analysis of wood. He also discovered pectin and dextrin and was the first to isolate and concentrate an enzyme - diastase.

More so then than now, silk was the luxury fibre and far too expensive for general use in clothing. Attempts to reduce its cost led to several abortive attempts to extrude the silkworm gum artificially, but the first indication that Hooke's idea might be realisable came in the 1840's when Louis Schwabe, an English silk weaver, developed the precursors of today's spinneret's, the nozzles with fine holes through which liquids could be forced. He extruded molten glass filaments and proceeded to weave fabrics from the resulting continuous filament yarns. At the same time, in apparently unrelated developments, several continental European chemists were working with cotton and the twigs, branches and barks of assorted trees, especially mulberry (the leaves of which are the silkworm's preferred food). Charles Freidrich Schönbein is credited with the accidental discovery in 1846 that nitric acid could nitrate these cellulose sources and result in an explosive substance, "Schiesswolle" or guncotton. This line of research was to lead to the discovery of dynamite and the founding by Alfred Nobel in 1867, of the explosives industry. But in the early 1850's, it also led to the first successful attempt to make textile fibres from plant cellulose.

Cellulose Nitrate

George Audemars of Lausanne, Switzerland dissolved the nitrated form of cellulose in alcohol and ether and discovered that fibres were formed as the resulting "collodion" was drawn into the air. His 1855 patent on "Obtaining and Treating Vegetable Fibres" covers the pulping of the inner bark of mulberry to extract cellulose fibre which "may be hackled, combed, or carded, and then spun like cotton; or it may be converted into an explosive compound by the action of nitric acid, and then dissolved in a mixture of alcohol and ether, then mixed with an [ether] solution of caoutchouc, and drawn out into fine threads or filaments".
These soft strong cellulose nitrate fibres could be woven into fabrics but had a very serious drawback that ultimately prevented their widespread use in textiles: they were very flammable.

It was Joseph Swan, the English physicist and chemist, developer of the first electric lamp and inventor of bromide photographic print paper, who learnt how to de-nitrate the cellulose nitrate using ammonium hydrosulphate. This was part of his quest for a better carbon fibre for lamp filaments and was patented as such in 1883. Swan was nevertheless fully aware of the textile potential of his process, and in 1884, "some samples of artificial silk…the invention of Mr. J.W. Swan" were displayed at a meeting of the Society of Chemical Industry. The first fabrics made from the new artificial silk were also shown at the Exhibition of Inventions in 1885. However with carbon lamp filaments being his main focus (for which he was knighted in 1904) he failed to follow up on the textile possibilities, allowing the Frenchman, Count Louis-Marie-Hilaire Bernigaud, Comte de Chardonnet justly to become regarded as the founder of the regenerated cellulosic fibre industry.

Chardonnet, a scientist and professional inventor, had after all been concentrating on developing artificial silk fibres and textiles, and he did follow through to set up a company to manufacture it. His research evolved a process practically identical to Swan's, albeit slightly later, but he nevertheless perfected the fibres and textiles in time for the Paris Exhibition in 1889. There he attracted the necessary financial backing to produce the first "Chardonnet Silk" from J.P. Weibel, a French wood-pulp producer. His first factory started up in 1892 in Besançon near to Weibel's pulp and paper mill. His commercial process involved treating mulberry leaves with nitric and sulphuric acids to form cellulose nitrate, which could then be dissolved in ether and alcohol. This collodion solution was extruded through holes in a spinnerette, but where Swan used a liquid coagulant, Chardonnet used warm air to evaporate the solvent and form solid cellulose nitrate filaments. Both Swan and Chardonnet denitrated the fibres in a separate step.

British developments began when Freidrich Lehner left the Chardonnet factory in Switzerland and set up his own business, Lehner Artificial Silk Ltd., with British capital in 1892. He wished to exploit his own patented improvements to Chardonnet's process and collaborated with Lister and Co of Bradford Ltd., producing small quantities of cellulose nitrate yarn in 1893. (H.G.Tetley, the prime mover behind the development of viscose rayon worked at ister and Co before joining Samuel Courtauld & Co. – see below)
The New Artificial Silk Spinning Co. based at Wolston near Coventry (led by Joseph Cash the Coventry ribbon weaver), also produced cellulose nitrate yarn but with much difficulty. The company went into liquidation in 1900. Their machinery was bought by Glanzstoff (see below).

Although this first man-made fibre process was simple in concept, it proved slow in operation, difficult to scale up safely, and relatively uneconomic compared with later routes. Denitration of the fibres, necessary to allow safe use wherever the fabrics may risk ignition, spoilt their strength and appearance. Neverthless, Chardonnet earned and truly deserved his reputation as the "Father of Rayon". His process was operated commercially until 1949 when the last factory, bought from the Tubize Co. in the USA in 1934 by a Brazilian company, burned down.

Direct Dissolution in Cuprammonium Hydroxide: Cupro

The second artificial silk process to be commercialised was based on a discovery made by the Swiss chemist Matthias Eduard Schweizer in 1857. He found that cotton could be dissolved in a solution of copper salts and ammonia and then regenerated in a coagulating bath. The fibre process was however invented by a French Chemist, Louis-Henri Despeissiswho in 1890 worked on spinning fibres from Schweizer's solution. He extruded the cuprammonium solution of cellulose into water, with dilute sulphuric acid being used to neutralise the ammonia and precipitate the cellulose fibres.
Despeissis died in 1892 and his patent was allowed to lapse. However in 1891, the German chemist Max Fremery and the Austrian engineer Johan Urban were also using Schwiezer's reagent and cotton to make lamp filaments in Oberuch near Aachen. They decided to expand into artificial silk (in German, glanzstoff) and patented their approach in the name of Dr. Hermann Pauly to avoid attracting the attention of competitors. Pauly, a director of the technical school in Munchen Gladbach, other than lending his name, made no contribution to the development. This patent, essentially a reiteration of the Despeissis process with a practical spinning method added, was however upheld after dispute thereby allowing Fremery and Urban to begin large scale manufacture as Vereinigte Glanzstoff Fabriken (VGF) in 1899. In 1901, a Dr Edmund Thiele working at J P Bemberg developed a stretch-spinning system. The resulting improved Bemberg® silk went into production in 1908. Its early commercial success owed much to the flammability disadvantages of the Chardonnet process, but it was competition from the viscose process (see below) that led to its decline for all but the finest filament products.

The process is still used to day, most notably by Asahi in Japan where sales of artificial silk and medical disposable fabrics still provide a worthwhile income. However the relatively high costs associated with the need to use cotton cellulose and copper salts prevented it from reaching the large scale of manufacture achieved by the viscose rayon process. Most producers (Asahi and Bemberg excepted) had abandoned the approach by the outbreak of war in 1914.

Dissolution via Cellulose Xanthate: Viscose

In 1891 the British chemists Charles Cross, Edward Bevan, and Clayton Beadle, working at Kew in England, discovered that cotton or wood cellulose, could be dissolved as cellulose xanthate following treatment with alkali and carbon disulphide.

The treacle-like yellow solution (initially called "viscous cellulose solution", later contracted to "viscose") could be coagulated in an ammonium sulphate bath and then converted back to pure white cellulose using dilute sulphuric acid. They patented their process in 1892 without mentioning fibres.

Cross and Bevan had set up a partnership as analytical and consulting chemists to serve the pulp and paper industry in 1881. They collaborated with the Swedish inventor of the sulphite pulping process, C D Eckman to help the British paper industry develop a wood pulp alternative to the cotton and linen rags that were then the main raw materials of the paper trade. As a natural extension of their work on pulping chemistry, and cotton mercerising* they became interested in dissolving cellulose and the 1892 patent application, entitled "Improvements in Dissolving Cellulose and Allied Compounds" was the result. In 1893 they formed the Viscose Syndicate to grant licences for non-fibre end-uses, and in 1896 the British Viscoid Co. Ltd, was formed to exploit the process as a route to moulded materials. These companies were later merged to form the Viscose Development Co. in 1902. Early licences were granted to papermakers and calico printers for the use of viscose as a coating or size, and to makers of artificial leather and artificial flowers.

In another laboratory at Kew, Charles Henry Stearn and Charles Fred Topham developed the continuous filament spinning process and the machinery needed to wash and collect, the viscose yarns. The two had met in about 1874 in Liverpool where Topham was helping his father blow glass for Stearns spectrum tubes and radiometers. At the time Stearn was a cashier in the Liverpool branch of the Bank of England but also an amateur scientist specialising in high vacuum technology. In 1877 Stearn was collaborating with Joseph Swan on the electric lamp, Stearn taking the carbon filaments from Swan's experiments in Newcastle, inserting them in tubes made by Topham in Rock Ferry, and evacuating them at home. In 1889 with a workable lamp filament still eluding Swan and Stearn, Stearn left to direct the Zurich Incandescent Lamp Co. of Zurich and London, also at Kew. In 1893, on seeing the viscose patent, he immediately recognised the potential of the process as a cheap route to the now successful Chardonnet silk, and contacted Cross with a view to commencing fibre spinning developments.

His work on spinning equipment culminated in 1898, when, describing himself as an electrician, Stearn patented filament manufacture "by projecting the [viscose] solution [of cellulose] into a precipitating solution such for instance as alcohol, brine, chloride or sulphate of ammonia or other suitable precipitant."

In order to finance the development of a commercial spinning process from these ideas, Cross and Stearn set up the Viscose Spinning Syndicate Ltd., incorporated in May 1899. Alfred Nobel (explosives) and Andrew Pears (Soapmaker, and Beadle's father-in-law) were among the first shareholders. The continental European rights went to a group of German businessmen who set had set up Continentale Viskose GmbH in 1897. The Viscose Spinning Syndicate under Cross and Stearn was keen to attract buyers and sell the process, an attitude that inhibited the necessary development of a deeper understanding of fundamentals of cellulose dissolution. D.C. Coleman * describes the syndicate as "a curious assemblage of talent and inexperience… that managed to be neither a research laboratory nor a production pilot-plant".

 The next few years were fraught with difficulty as the original process was repeatedly shown to be inconsistent and largely uncontrollable. Economics went uncalculated and the consequences of toxic gases and viscose solidifying in sewers were ignored. Filaments produced by spinning into the then favoured alkaline bath were so weak they could only be collected in Topham's specially devised spinning box. Topham's box, later to be regarded as one of the fundamental breakthroughs leading to successful commercialisation of the viscose process, would have appeared unnecessary had acid spinning baths been developed earlier (as they were in Europe). However the box is still relevant to this day as a gentle way of collecting high quality yarn without incurring the strain applied by bobbin systems. His candle filter (to remove particles from the viscose prior to spinning), spinning pump (to allow careful control of filament size), and his development of hot acid fixing were however key, if underated, process improvements.

The first licencee to discover the inherent unreliability of the early viscose process was Prince Donnersmarck, the majority shareholder of the Continentale Viskose Co. who in 1902 decided to set up a plant, using equipment commissioned from Dobson and Barlow, at Settin, near his pulp and paper mill in Altdamm. It started production in August 1903 but despite heavy investment in machines and men failed to exceed 100kgs/day of yarn output over the next two years. His managers became frequent visitors to Kew, but despite free access to the latest technology, they continued to struggle.

An American chemist, Dr. Arthur D. Little of Boston, had also visited Kew in 1899, and with a Philadelphia businessman, Daniel Spruance, had acquired the US rights to the Cross, Bevan and Beadle patent. They were instrumental in setting up the Cellulose Products Co. in the USA to make viscose solutions in 1900, and in 1901 set up the General Artificial Silk Co. - acquiring rights to the Stearn spinning patent - to spin fibres. Five years of difficulty later, the rights were bought by Silas W. Petitt, Spruance's attorney, for $25,000. He dissolved the original companies but continued the project as the Genasco Silk Works until his death in 1908.

The Société Français de la Viscose, who like the pioneering Donnersmarck, ordered three Dobson and Barlow spinning tables with 50 spindles each, acquired the French rights. His factory commenced operations in the summer of 1903, but like Donnersmarck, they failed to xceed 100kgs/day output by 1905.

In February 1904, the Kew laboratories were visited by Henry Greenwood Tetley of Samuel Courtauld & Co. Ltd. Courtauld were silk weavers looking for new raw materials and new opportunities to grow. The success and profitability of Samuel Courtauld had been built on the 19th century fashion for black silk mourning crepe, and the company was planning its stock market flotation. The visitors to Kew knew that Chardonnet's now established cellulose nitrate process was creating a lucrative market for artificial silk in France. Having also visited Donnersmarck's plant in Germany, they believed that Cross and Bevan's viscose route could make a similar fibre at about a third of the manufacturing costs of the Chardonnet's route. Nevertheless, it took two presentations, the second to a changed Board of Directors after the flotation, before Courtaulds was persuaded to acquire the viscose process rights.

On July 14th 1904, the Viscose Spinning Syndicate agreed to sell the viscose process rights and patents to Courtauld & Co for the sum of £25,000. Courtauld took over the Kew laboratories to gain practical experience in the new technology while constructing a production plant. In September 1904 they gained full access to the technology developed by the Société Francaise de la Viscose, and in December took delivery in Kew of a 12-end Dobson and Barlow viscose yarn pilot line. Siemens Timber Yard by the canal in Foleshill, Coventry, England was acquired, and the Kew equipment transferred to Coventry in August 1905. The first small samples of Coventry viscose filament yarn were shown to the Courtauld Board in November 1905.

While the first fabrics were woven in March 1906 at Courtauld and Co.'s Halstead Mill in Essex, Coventry's output was largely put to waste. By August 1906, only 25% of the yarn produced was saleable and the Courtauld Board were advised that any expansion of the plant would be folly. The problem was largely due to the tender nature of the yarns emerging from the alkaline ammonium sulphate spinning bath. The solution, an acid-salt bath, was however emerging from work in at the Donnersmarck plant in Germany and at Société Français de la Viscose in France, and, via the technical exchange with the French, at Courtauld & Co in Coventry.

It was Dr Paul Koppe, the technical manager of Donnersmarck's plant, who took out the first patent (May 1904) on what later became known as the Müller spinbath, a mixture of sulphuric acid and another soluble salt. Donnersmarck, a major shareholder in the Viscose Spinning Syndicate, presumably realising this crucial new discovery would devalue the licence being acquired by Courtauld from VSS, had the patent withdrawn. It was re-applied for in May 1905 ( Germany) and April 1906 ( Britain), this time in the name of Dr Max Müller. By then the alkaline bath process that Donnersmarck had proved unworkable had been safely sold to Courtauld.

Courtauld's first attempt to get the British Müller patent revoked was made jointly with the other European viscose producers and failed in May 1907 in a judgement with curious consequences. The British judge, apparently confused by the complexities of the case, concluded that while the sulphuric acid concentration could vary over the full range claimed in the patent, the salt level always had to be at saturation. So in Britain, lower concentrations of the salt were deemed outside the Müller patent but in the rest of Europe, Donnersmarck's competitors were much more constrained. Courtauld opted for a sulphuric acid/ammonium sulphate/sodium sulphate spinbath with appropiate salt concentrations in mid-1907, and were never challenged by Donnersmarck.

Spinbath evolution in Coventry continued apace with progressive improvements in yarn quality. The addition of glucose in 1907 followed by the progressive removal of the costly ammonium salt in 1909 and the fundamental breakthrough achieved by adding zinc sulphate in 1911 firmly established Courtauld's lead in the new technology. The yield of first quality yarn increased to around 40% in 1907 and 4 years after taking over the Kew operation, early in 1908, the Courtauld viscose business had its first profitable month. By 1911, with the zinc additions to the spinbath, more than 90% of Coventry yarn was meeting the original first quality standard, but by then the standards in use had been re-based to allow further progress.

The acquisition of the rights to the viscose process by Courtauld was to become one of the most profitable investments of all time, and the opening up of the American market was the key to this greater success. Just before he died in 1908, Silas Pettit the owner of the Genasco Silk Works in the USA entered into a royalty agreement to allow Courtauld to sell Coventry yarn in his territory. After his death, his son, John Read Pettit Jnr. decided to sell up. He travelled to Coventry in May 1909 and on June 3 rd reached agreement with Tetley to sell Courtauld the US plant and rights for $150,000. The Courtauld board, by then fully convinced of the enormous potential of the process and encouraged by the take-off in US demand for the Coventry yarn, approved the deal on the same day.

On August 6 th 1909, the US government applied a duty of 30% to the imported Coventry yarn, but by then Tetley had visited the US and decided to start production there. 50 acres of land were purchased in November 1909 and the American Viscose Company registered on March 15th 1910 at Marcus Hook in Pennsylvania. It was set up as a private company with shares bought in cash by Samuel Courtauld and Co. UK. The new US company acquired the rights to the viscose process from Courtauld in exchange for further shares. George Henry Rushbrook, the Courtauld company secretary became the first President. The first yarn was spun on December 23 rd 1910.

From 1910 to 1920, with the Courtauld viscose patents in force and the production technology developed to provide quality yarn at competitive prices, Tetley's 1904 vision became reality. Donnersmarck's plant in Germany, the originator of Müller process, failed to achieve Courtauld's level of first quality and was bought out in 1911 by Verienigte Glanzstoffe Fabriken, the leading producer of cuprammonium silk.

That they too appreciated the superiority of the viscose route, simply underlines the fact that by 1910, viscose was emerging as the winning fibre process. Viscose yarn output may only have been a third of the cellulose nitrate production and a half of the cuprammonium output, but technology and economics were now clearly in it's favour. VGF had, in 1908-10 set up a British cuprammonium plant at Flint on the River Dee to protect their rights to operate the cupro patents in Britain. While at the time Courtauld did not feel this a significant threat, the VGF acquisition of the Donnersmarck viscose process a year later sounded the alarms. In 1911, Courtauld informed VGF they would be prepared to reach a "general understanding between the makers of cuprammonium and viscose artificial silks."

The outcome was a consortium of three groups, a German Group (VGF, Austrian Glanzstoffe and Donnersmarck, an Anglo-American Group (Samuel Courtauld and Co., The American Viscose Company, and British Glanzstoff at Flint) and a Latin Group (The French, Italian, Belgian, Swiss and Spanish companies). All technology was to be shared, prices fixed, production quotas allotted, and each group would sell yarn only in its own area. While this 'protocol' was signed and put into effect at the end of 1911, it was never converted into a formal contract. It was nevertheless observed in principle if not in detail and provided some marketing consistency and stability at a crucial time. It also allowed faster technical progress by sharing rather than restricting access to innovations, it kept prices high, and it did not prevent the leading exponent, Courtauld, from obtaining even higher prices than its competitors. Only Courtauld had silk weaving know-how allowing them to open up the woven fabric market with a yarn quality the other consortium members could not match.

From 1920 to 1931, after the expiry of the viscose patents, world output increased from 14,000 to 225,000 tonnes per year, as more than 100 companies entered the man-made fibre field. In Europe, V.G.F. (Germany), Enka (Holland) , I G Farben (Germany), Snia Viscosa, (Italy) Comptoir des Textiles Artificiels (C.T.A. - France), Rhodiaceta (France), Tubize (Belgium) and Chatillon (Italy) were among the new starters.

In the USA the new entrants incuded Dupont (with help from CTA), Tubize, Chatillon, American Enka, The Industrial Fibre Corporation (later The Industrial Rayon Corporation), American Glanzstoff (later North American Rayon) and American Bemberg.

By 1939 Courtaulds had 6 factories in the USA, 7 in the UK , 1 in France 1 in Canada, and joint ventures in Germany and Italy.
From the '20's onwards, sales grew explosively, but the rayon process evolved in a more or less predicable manner. Discoveries enabling the production of stronger yarns led to the development of the tyre-yarn process and, driven by the war and a massive expansion in automobile use in the 40's and 50's, this technology boomed.

The introduction of staple fibre, which could be converted on traditional textile spinning equipment, was crucial to continued expansion in the 1930's but did not involve any startling innovations. However what had been devised as a route for getting extra value out of yarn waste (chopping it into short lengths an selling it to cotton spinners as a cotton diluent) ultimately outsold the original continuous filament yarns and resulted in many new factories being built in the 50's and 60's.

By 1941 as the first synthetic polymers were being converted into the first nylon and polyester fibres, World production of viscose rayon had risen to 1,250,000 tonnes. It continued to expand into the 1970's recording it's highest ever annual output at 3,856,000 tonnes in 1973. Since then a steady decline has occurred as more and more end-uses switch to the now cheaper synthetic fibres based on oil valued at little more than the costs of extraction.

Also in 1973, the century's leading exponent of viscose technology, Courtaulds, who, since the late sixties had realised that the end was in sight for viscose, began to explore new ways of converting cellulose into fibre and this is our next subject.

Direct Dissolution in Amine Oxide: Lyocell

Lyocell technology was pioneered in the USA by Eastman Kodak and American Enka, but it was Courtaulds in the UK who persisted with development until a commercially viable fibre process emerged. Furthermore, Courtaulds did it at a time in its history when the very wisdom of continued involvement, not just in cellulosics but in any fibre or textile activity, was being called into question.
As early as the mid 1950's, Courtaulds believed the future of viscose to be so unattractive that it started to divert viscose profits not only into other fibres, but also into totally unrelated businesses.

By the late fifties, despite accounting for 80-90% of Courtaulds earnings, the reality of viscose's decline was becoming apparent. The usual remedies, reducing costs, improving quality, selling more aggressively and internationally were yielding diminishing returns so the Board's reaction was a new strategy involving:
  • Developing new internal sources of profit i.e. utilising the viscose wet-spinning expertise to move into wet-spun acrylic fibres ("Courtelle"), and opening up a vast, and with hind-sight, transient, new market for a coarse and tough viscose in tufted carpets. ("Evlan")
  • Developing new external sources of profit by acquisitions in "related but different" products, in reality British Celanese (Cellulose acetate fibres and related products) and Pinchin Johnson Paints (Later renamed International Paint)
  • Developing greater market power by acquiring key elements of the rest of the fibre value-chain - "Verticalisation" - resulting most notably in the acquisition of the Lancashire Cotton Corporation Ltd and Fine Spinners and Doublers. (representing about 35% of the entire Lancashire cotton industry.)
Of these three, a) was least favoured with funds. Furthermore, little emphasis was placed on modernisation* of regenerated cellulose fibre production methods to counteract the intertwined problems of synthetic fibre expansions, rising costs and diminishing returns. The demise of viscose thus became a self-fulfilling prophecy. The leading exponent of the technology turned it's back on cellulose at a crucial time in it's history, a time in fact when new ways of dissolving cellulose were already evident in the research work of other organisations.

Reviews of this early work on direct dissolution are provided by Turbak , who records the efforts to dissolve cellulose directly as a base using phosphoric, sulphuric and nitric "protonic" acids, or using zinc chloride, thiocyanates, iodides, and bromides as Lewis acids. However, despite early promise, the problems of developing fibre production routes using these systems, have, with the single exception of the amine oxide route, so far proved insurmountable.
The amine-oxide solvent, later to become the focus of Courtaulds most costly development project, and the most acrimonious patent battle since the dispute over the Müller bath in 1910, had in fact been discovered back in 1939 by a pair of Swiss chemists Charles Graenacher and Richard Sallman. But it was not until 1969 that Dee Lynn Johnson of Eastman Kodak described the use of cyclic mono(N-methylamine-N-oxide) compounds (e.g. NMMO: see Fig 1 .6) as a solvent-size for strengthening paper by partially dissolving the cellulose fibres.

Fig 1 .6: N-methyl morpholine-n-oxide

Other Johnson patents , covered the preparation of cellulose solutions using NMMO and speculated about their use as dialysis membranes, food casings (sausage skins), fibres, films, paper coatings, and nonwoven binders.

NMMO emerged as the best of the amine-oxides and a team at American Enka demonstrated its commercial potential in the late '70's. In their laboratories in Enka, North Carolina, Neil Franks and Julianna Varga, developed a way of making a more concentrated, and hence economical, solution of cellulose, by carefully controlling the water content of the system.

In this Figure, the concentrations of water and cellulose where complete dissolution of the cellulose occurs (at 95C), lie between lines B and C. Between lines A and B there can be 95% confidence that the solution would be free from undissolved cellulose fibres, and to the right of Line A, undissolved cellulose fibres are bound to be present. Similarly, between C and D there is a 95% chance that crystals of undissolved NMMO will be present, and such crystals will always be present to the left of line D.

Clarence C. McCorsley III, also at Enka, developed the key elements of several possible commercial processes. In one, cellulose pulp sheets were soaked in NMMO solution, and after mild heat and vacuum treatment to adjust the water content, the ground-up sheet was fed to an extruder from which fibres could be spun. In another, the solution was made in a large mixer prior to casting it as thick film, freezing it solid, and grinding up into chips for later extrusion. In a continuous process, a vented extruder fed directly with the ground-up wood-pulp and NMMO, mixes the ingredients, creates the solution by removing excess water and volatiles through the vent, and feeds the spinning pumps.

Both American Enka and Courtaulds set up pilot plant work in the early eighties with the objectives of developing the fibre spinning and solvent recovery operations. Courtaulds commercialized first and this, and the continuing development of lyocell is dealt with by White , who from the outset of practical work in 1979, led the lyocell development effort at Courtaulds.

American Enka decided not to commercialise the process and stopped the research in 1981, probably because at that time engineering issues associated with the difficulty of avoiding exothermic reactions looked too hard to resolve economically. However when Courtaulds had demonstrated practical solutions to the many problems discovered during American Enka's early work, they (Enka that is, now part of Akzo-Nobel) re-entered the field with the continuous filament version of the lyocell process under their brand name "Newcell". The Akzo deal with Courtaulds involved their gaining access to Courtaulds technology in exchange for granting Courtaulds rights to use some of the key steps in the early patents mentioned above.

Coming right up to date, Akzo Nobel acquired Courtaulds in 1998, and formed Acordis Fibres, bringing together in one company all the key lyocell technology. However, Akzo-Nobel had earlier granted a lyocell license to Lenzing, the Austrian viscose fibre maker, allowing Lenzing to enter the field with a very similar process to Courtaulds. The ensuing patent litigation between Lenzing and Courtaulds was to prove costly to both companies.

Lenzing obtained a patent in the USA for a process, some aspects of which had been operated by Courtaulds for many years, and indeed were used in production at Courtaulds Tencel® plant in Mobile. Courtaulds naturally objected, and applied for summary dismissal of both the US and the subsequent European patent. In Europe, the Munich court would not allow the Lenzing patent to be dismissed summarily and the case went to trial. Courtaulds won, and Lenzing's European patent was disallowed with no right of appeal. In the USA, the Lenzing patent was summarily dismissed, but Lenzing appealed successfully, winning the right to another costly trial. At this point the two companies reached a settlement out of court. The lyocell patent estates of both companies were pooled, to be available royalty-free to both companies. It is perhaps worth noting that the settlement only covered patented technology. There was to be no sharing of "know-how" gained in the operation of the process, which at the time, had only been commercialized by Courtaulds.
Other Routes Work on other routes to cellulosic fibres has continued, often driven by a desire to utilize the large capital investment in the xanthate route and hence cost less than a completely new fibre process.

The Finnish viscose producer Kemira Oy Saeteri collaborated with Neste Oy on the development of a carbamate derivative route. This system was based on the original work of Hill and Jacobsen who showed that the reaction between cellulose and urea gave a derivative which was easily dissolved in dilute sodium hydroxide:

Cell-OH + NH2 -CO-NH2 ---> Cell-O-NH 2 +NH3

Neste patented an industrial route to a cellulose carbamate pulp which was stable enough to be shipped into rayon plants for dissolution as if it were xanthate. The carbamate solution could be spun into sulphuric acid or sodium carbonate solutions, to give fibres which when completely regenerated had similar properties to viscose rayon. When incompletely regenerated they were sufficiently self-bonding for use in papermaking. The process was said to be cheaper than the viscose route and to have a lower environmental impact. It has not been commercialised, so no confirmation of its potential is yet available.

Chen, working on a small scale at Purdue University, claims that solutions containing 10-15% cellulose in 55-80% aqueous zinc chloride can be spun into alcohol or acetone baths to give fibres with strengths of 1.5 to 2 g/den. However, if these fibres were strain-dried (i.e stretched) and rewetted whilst under strain, strengths of 5.2 g/d were achieved.

Kamide and co-workers at Asahi have been applying the steam explosion treatment to dissolving- pulp to make it dissolve directly in sodium hydroxide. In technical papers,, they claimed a solution of 5% of steam-exploded cellulose in 9.1% NaOH at 4 o C being spun into 20% H 2 SO 4 at 5  o C. The apparently poor fibre properties (best results being 1.8 g/d tenacity dry, with 7.3% extension) probably arise because the fibres were syringe extruded at 75 denier/fil. Asahi felt at the time that this would be the ultimate process for large scale production of regenerated cellulose fibres but in reality it’s use appears confined to the production of thickeners.

Chanzy, Peguy and co-workers at the Plant Macromolecules Research Centre (CERMAV-CNRS) in Grenoble studied the cellulose/NMMO system in depth; one paper indicating that further strength increases can be obtained by adding ammonium chloride or calcium chloride to the dope.

* John Mercer's 1850's process of using caustic alkali to finish cotton fabric, later (1894) found to be capable of making cotton look like silk if the process was carried out under tension.
* Courtaulds. An Economic and Social History: Vol 2, D C Coleman, Clarendon Press Oxford, 1969
* Projects described as "modernisation" were in fact common but their scope was restricted largely to taking cost out of viscose dope making, often with losses of quality, by automating the original process.
H de Leeuw, "Les Soies Artificielles" (Paris 1932)
British Patent 283 (Apr 17, 1855), G Audemars
British Patent 5978 (Dec 31, 1883) J W Swan
French Patent 165,349 (Nov 17 th 1884) A M Chardonnet
E. Schweitzer, J. Prakt. Chem. 72, 109 (1857)
French Patent 203,741 (Feb 12 th 1890), L H Despeissis
German Patent, 98,642 (1897), H Pauly
British Patent 8,700 (May 7th 1892) C F Cross, E J Bevan and C Beadle,
British Patent 23,158 (1900), C F Topham
British Patent 1,020 (Dec 23, 1898), C H Stearn
British Patent 23,158 (Dec 18 th 1900), C F Topham
British Patent 23,157 (Dec 18 th 1900), C F Topham
British Patent 16,605 (1903) C F Topham
British Patent 10094 (April 1906) Dr Max Müller
British Patent 21405 (1907) L.P. Wilson, for Samuel Courtauld & Co.
British Patent 406 (1911)
CIRFS: 1997 Information on Man-Made Fibres
D C Coleman, Courtaulds: An Economic and Social History Vol III.
A F Turbak et al, "A Critical Review of Cellulose Solvent Systems", ACS Symposium Series 58, (1977)
A F Turbak, TAPPI, Proceedings of the 1983 International Dissolving and Speciality Pulps Conference, p105 (1983)
US Patent 2,179,181 (Nov 7, 1939), C Graenacher and R Sallman (to Society of Chemical Indstry in Basle)
US Patent 3,447,956 (June 3, 1969), D L Johnson (to Eastman Kodak Company)
US Patent 3,447,939 (June 3, 1969), D L Johnson (to Eastman Kodak Company)
US Patent 3,508,941 (Apr 28, 1970), DL Johnson (to Eastman Kodak Company)
US Patent 4,145,532 ( Mar 20, 1979) , N E Franks and J K Varga ( to Akzona Inc)
US Patent 4,196,282 ( Apr 1, 1980), N E Franks and J K Varga (to Akzona Inc)

C.C. McCorsley, Belgian Patent 868,735 (1978)

C.C. McCorsley, and J.K.Varga, US patent 4,142,913 (1979)

C.C. McCorsley, Belgian Patent 875,323 (1979)

C.C. McCorsley, Belgian Patent 871,428 (1979)
R N Armstrong et al, TAPPI, Proceedings of the 5th International Dissolving Pulps Conference (1980)
US Patent 2,134,825 (Nov 1, 1938), J W Hill and R A Jacobson (to E I du Pont de Nemours)
K Ekman, O T Turenen and J I Huttunen, Finn Pat 61,033 (1982)
V Rossi and O T Turenen, "Cellulose Carbamate", PIRA International Conference, 10-12 Nov 1987
US Patent 4,999,149 (Mar 12 ,1991), L Fu Chen (to Purdue Research Foundation)
T Watanabe et al, Preprint for the 20th Annual Meeting of Polymer Science, Japan, p.427, (1971)
K Kamide et al, "Characterisation of Cellulose Treated by the Steam Explosion Method", Parts 1- 3,British Polymer Journal, 22, pps 73-83,121-128,201-212 (1990)
K Kamide and T Yamashiki, "Cellulose Sources and Exploitation",Chapter 24, Ellis Horwood Ltd. (1990)
K Kamide et al, J. Appl. Poly. Sci, Vol 44,691-698 (1992)
H. Chanzy and A. Peguy, J. Poly.Sci, Poly.Phys.Edn, 18,1137-1144, (1980)
H. Chanzy , M. Paillet and R. Hagege, Polymer, Vol 31, March 1990


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Thursday, 19 July 2012

7th European Bioplastics Conference – Programme preview

Berlin, 19 July 2012. While brand owners are already testing bioplastics, all levels of the bioplastics value chain are working dynamically on optimising processes and creating new solutions. Bioplastics are now ready for the mass market. Current innovations and trends will be discussed on 6th and 7th November 2012 at the 7th European Bioplastics Conference in Berlin – the leading industry event in Europe.

The bioplastics industry is on the move – in the certification of biomass cultivation, new materials and products, and waste disposal and recycling solutions currently being developed. The most recent findings and positions will be presented at the annual conference of the European industry association, European Bioplastics. The event will take place on 6th and 7th November 2012 at the Maritim proArte Hotel in Berlin.

A highlight of this year’s programme is, amongst others, the inaugural speech from Alfredo Aguilar Romanillos, European Commission, Directorate Biotechnologies, Agriculture and Food.

Furthermore, visitors can expect interesting contributions from science and industry. For example, from Professor Hans-Josef Endres of the Institute for Bioplastics and Biocomposites of the University of Hannover on the recycling of bioplastics, an update on biobased PET by Kieran Furlong, Virent, and insights into the Chinese market by Bruno Rudnik of SusTech Consult. A further highlight of the 7th European Bioplastics Conference will be the announcement of the ‚Annual Global Bioplastics Award’ from Bioplastics Magazine. Applicants may submit products, services or developments. Further information can be downloaded from the following link:

The conference this year will once again be enhanced by the adjoining product exhibition. Due to strong interest, the exhibition space has been expanded by a third.

“The industry is in demand and is currently finding solutions to existing challenges. The Networks have developed strongly since last year and new co-operations are being announced almost weekly, whether with a view to new plants, products or studies,” says Andy Sweetman, Chairman of European Bioplastics. “The 7th European Bioplastics Conference in 2012 will once again provide the most efficient opportunity within Europe to network with heads of industry and gain an overview of the current situation in the industry.”

Until 10 September 2012, participants have the opportunity to reserve a reduced-rate room at the Maritim proArte hotel (offer valid until quota filled). To reserve, send an email to the hotel or access the conference website:

Further information on events, sponsoring and the registration process is available at the following link:

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