New Plastic from the Redwoods

Out of the intcusive conservation-utilizatiorr 1)f()gral11 carried on by The Pacific Lumber Con'rllany {or :L ttutnl>er of years, has enrergerl the discor.ery of A ne\'v plastic derived fron'r Reds'ood mill u'aste. To ttrany persolls toclltr-, the term "plastic" is still somervhat shroudecl in a m1'stif-ving array of chemical uarnes, such as vir.rvls, phenolics. ureas, phenol-frrrfural, methyl rnethacrvlate, phenol-{ormalclehycle, ancl the like. In tl.re rrairr thel are prir-rcipallv 11erived from a variett' of rliffcrcnt rau' ttraterials rvhich inclucle wood rl,aste, brine, coat tars, petrolettm gases, litnestone, cotton, oil from plarrts, sl<im nrilk, tratrtral gas, ctc. There should be, hot'er-er, tro rnvsterf in collnectiorl u'ith the u-orcl "plastics" as it descrilres a llroarl cllrss oi s,r't.ttheticallJ' prodttce<l Inaterials, jtrst :rs the u'or<l "glass" or tl-rc u'orcl "lr.ood" irlcntifics a gerrcr:rl all-irtcltrsivc ('itlcgot-r' rrnclcr u.hich srtlrstanccs arc cllrssi{iccl. ln tlre frcld r,I pl:rs tics, thcre :Irc nr()rc th:Ltr 30 tliffcrent lirld distinct grotll)s of rnateri:rls rvith unlirniterl vari:rtions cleterminetl 1lr- diffcrcnt chernical arrcl ph1'sicltl ltrollertics. NTosi lllastics ltrc moldecl ttndcr he:tt :itr<1 ltrcssttt'c; rltlters lLre cold castc, lil<c concrcte; still others arc cxtrrt<1c<l into strips, t'orls, or trrlrcs. 'l'hev car.r bc trltrrsparctrt or ol)aqt1e, rigicl or flexible, soit or brittle. Somc can lre produced in a rrrvriatl of colors. rvhile others. such as the Pherrolics of u'hich thc rren'Redr,vood Plastic cal1ed "Shellcrite" is arr inrllortant acljurrct, are black or brorvn.

This ne\y Redn'ood Thern.roplastic cn,ltorlies irt olle composite form both binder ancl filler rcquired irr the nrolding of a countless varietv of products such as scr:crv llottlc caps, electric light plugs and sockets, atttttmobilc steerirrg u'heels, storage batterv cases, roller casters for furniture, rvire cord reels, etc. Fron.r its composite form fine quality finishecl prodrrcts of goorl tcnsile strcr.rgth artcl appearance are produccd. In cases lvhere special properties are desirerl, it can be frrrther cotnpoturclecl ut'rcler variotts fortnulations l'ith other resins or plasticizers.

Investig:ition into the various components of Redwood to determine the reason for its great abilitl' to resist rot and clecar', led to the discover-y of Rerhvood's plastic properties. In conjunctiorr u'ith thc Institutc of Paper Chemistry of '\ppleton, \Visconsin, u'i<lcl1' recognizecl for their contributions in the fields of cellulose, lignin ancl the utilization oi pulp and pa1>er procltlcts, a long term prograrn of funcliimental research atr<1 subserlttcnt technical developrnent u'as set tlp atrtl crttr<lrtctecl by The Pacific l-umber Ci,rnrp:rnv. llach ol thc inrport:Illt comi)onents of Redlvood l-cre isolatecl :rnd investigatctl. lt was thtts discovered that tlic u'atcr-solrrblc catcclrol tannin, fractiotr of the wood convertc<l throrrgh tl.rc processes of tratttre ir.rto insoluble phlol;aphenes lrecame the princillal cletnent respclnsible {or Ileclu'ood lreing cl'r:iracterized trs lt I)crmancnt \'vood.

In atten.rpting to extr-act the thermoplastic properties distributed throughorrt thc r'r'alls and cells of the wood, it was found that Reclrvoocl chips cottlcl lle reacted rvith stearn at clevatcd pressurcs. The rcsultant Piastic pulp fibre rvhich ret;rir.rs all but the gaseous decomposition products of tl.re n'oocl. ma1- be molded dircctly, in its converted form.

Based on tl-re laboratory findings a plant u'as especially clesignecl and erected by The Pacific Lumber Company at their mills in Scotia. California. Select rvaste is graded an<l fetl into a chipper from u'hence chips of uniform size and shape are pneunlaticallv transferred by air conveyor into large storage bins in the nerv Plastic plant. Automatic convef ing equipment rvithdraws chips from storage and

*

A transports tl'rcm to the giant stcatn digestcr l,vhere they are subjectc(1 to high pressrlrc stealr rlnder tl're crntroilecl process. After c.rr'ersion fr.rr Iterlrv..cl cl.ri1rs, the I)lastic pulp is disiratclrcrl lr-r- rre:rr-rs ,i lr "lunretric fccrlcr- thr'rrgh a dryer-con\rc,\.()r to a l-rvclrarrlic lraler. Comprcsscrl 'ba1es are then tiecl, rvcighecl ancl registercrl bcfore lreing shippccl east to the Sheller Nlanlrfacturins. Corp., at portlancl, In_ diana, whcre the miLterial is put irrto use in its rarv plastic

Hoo-Hoo Club No. 39 Hcs Big Membership

East lla-v lftio-Ho. clrrlr No.39 rras 10.5 p:ricl rp lrclrlbers, accorrlir-rg to ii statcnlclrt l;1. G. \\'. (Chris) Sechrist, the ef6cient secretar\-. l:rte ir-r Nor.embcr, and hc exDects this nurnlrcr to bc substantiallv increaserl l,r.tlrc.,i.l ,,f this month.

fornr ; or recluccd to plastic por,r,dcr; or frrrther cornpouncled rvith .tl.rer resiurrrs plasti'cizers. For ccrterin purposcs the pulp is usecl alorrc; Ior other applicatior-rs sl.rrerlclerl rags rrav be aclded to pr,r'ide increased impact; for still others, hardc'ing agerrts 'ra-r' be ernplo'ecl irr small quantities. I' sonre instzrnces reacti'e chemicals snclr as furfural, phenol, anilinc or a form of lignin nray likervisc be rrsed.

-\sirlc frorl tl.re grcat contribution that l.ras been maclc irr tlic rliscovery of this ,cr'r' Redwoocl plastic, this cle'elopnrent is notable from the stanclpoint of cooperative re_ searclr :rlr11 coorciir.raterl elTort jointlr- ur-rdertaken by a na_ tional researcl.r organiztLtion and a leading factor in the field of lierlrroocl lun-rltering.

Ba:lt Frorn Northwest

R. W. (Jack) Dalton, R. W. I)alton & Co., I-os Angeles, returnecl l)ecember I fronr a trip to the Pacific Northwest. He visited the nrill of the West Coast plyv,,oo<l Co. at -\berdeen, \\'ash., n,hich he represcnts in California, and lutnber rnills in Wasl.rington ancl Oregon. He also sDcnt a ieu rl;L_v- irr Sarr Francist-o.

We wish you and express the hope that 1944 wilt see us a long way along the road to final victory.