The high-speed fourdrinier machine began to replace the cylinder
machines for high volume production of linerboard. Cylinder
machines were slow and inefficient and tended to use lower
grades and higher quantities of recycled fiber.
Chlorine dioxide manufacturing processes were developed to
expand kraft pulping of southern pine. Prior to this, adequate
brightness levels could not be obtained.
The first high-temperature, high-velocity Yankee hood with
a single, large drying cylinder was commercialized and allowed
for specialized papers and finishes at greater speeds.
IPC research developed a new application that used the centroid
wavelength to improve measurements of optical properties with
spectrophotometers, colorimeters, and reflectometers.
IPC established a contract with the Office of the Secret Service
to develop fraudulent passport records.
Institute enrollment reached 60 students; all of whom were
single males.
A laboratory explosion at IPC caused considerable damage.
By the end of 1941, the U.S. Army had substituted bleached
sulphite pulp for cotton linters in the manufacture of smokeless
powder. The industry tried to respond as an increase in government
purchases made it obvious that 1942 demands would far outstrip
capacity. A plan was developed to allocate wood pulp on the
basis of essentiality simplify and standardize paper grades
and conserve all materials and facilities.
Due to a shortage of chlorine, the industry changed its bleaching
processes to cut chlorine consumption by 10%.
The first waste-paper drive was held in an effort to provide
pulp for fiberboard needs; U.S. kraft capacity expanded. Other
solutions included limiting paper consumption by civilians
and reducing the size of the margins in newspapers and books.
It was obvious that there was going to be a paper shortage.
Waste paper drives began in paper mill towns. IPC in cooperation
with the federal government established Appleton, Wisconsin,
as an experimental center for the recovery of waste paper.
IPC acquired one of the first electron microscopes in the U.S.
and began to study the ultrastructure of fibers.
IPC research improved measurements of absorption, strength,
and mechanical properties by evaluating fiber bonding using
coefficients of the Kubelka?Munk scattering theories.
IPC enrollment fell to almost zero during World War 11 as
many of the students were drafted into the service.
As part of its war effort, the U.S. government began to experiment
with a
concentration-production plan. It had considerable impact on
the pulp and paper industry. One of the problems was the possible
curtailment of newspapers and the effect that this would have
on freedom of the press.
Researchers at IPC developed a method to standardize brightness
measurements and continued to provide standard brightness
samples for instrument calibration to laboratories throughout
the world.
Eight IPC graduates received their Ph.D. degrees during commencement
exercises.
IPC directed research to search for a remedy for stream pollution
from waste sulphite liquor. IPC investigated the use of this
effluent as a binder in blacktop highway construction.
S. Parsons of IPC developed a technique for evaluating the
optical characteristics of paper as a function of fiber classification.
John G. Strange of IPC was called to Washington by the War
Production Board to serve as Chief of the War Products Development
Section of the Pulp and Paper Division.
A patent was granted to IPC for research conducted by Ben W.
Rowland and Douglas Fronmuller for a new method of scouring
wool.
The industry devoted many of its technical meetings to devising
solutions for wartime packaging needs. Two separate conventions
were held to discuss the development of special boxes for
the military.
IPC developed technology to use guar gum as a strength additive
when supplies of locust bean gum were cut off in World War
II.
The National Council for Stream Improvement (NCSI) was created
by the nation's pulp and paper industry to address liquid waste.
Twenty IPC graduates were awarded degrees at the commencement
exercises.
J.A. Van den Akker of the research staff of IPC granted a patent
for his invention of an apparatus for measuring the water
resistance of paper. The patent rights were assigned to the
Institute
A U.S. patent was assigned to H.F. Lewis and Irwin A. Pearl
for research on the preparation of azobenzene sulfonate.
Louis Wise of IPC wrote an authoratative book on wood chemistry.
IPC research developments included a spray burner for sulfur;
the pulping of different species of hardwoods; methods for
measuring printability of paper; wax emulsions for sizing
and waterproofing paper; laboratory finishes that were resistant
to heat, water, and acid; and high humidity resistant containers
and packaging.
Waste-paper drives picked up momentum as the U.S. Victory Wastepaper
Campaign set its goal at 666,000 tons of waste paper per
month.
Ph.D. degrees were bestowed on five graduates of IPC.
John Wiley and Sons published a 600-page book titled, The Chemistry
of Cellulose, authored by Emil Heuser of IPC. According to
John Strange, there were more than 100 corporations with
a total of 400 plants backing the Institute, which had a
yearly operating budget of approximately $500,000. Current
research at IPC was largely related to the war effort and
could not be discussed. IPC expended more than 30,000 man-hours
in testing work for the Quartermaster Corps alone.
A U.S. patent was assigned to B.W. Rowland and D. Fronmuller
for research on the processes for preparing sheet rubber.
Thanks to research performed by Boris Berkman of IPC, milkweed
floss was developed as a kapok substitute when the U.S. supply
was cut from Japanese occupation of Java.
Twenty-six faculty and staff members of IPC were cited in the
directory American Men and Women of Science.
A U.S. patent was assigned to B.W. Rowland, D. Fronmuller,
and J.A. Van den Akker of IPC for research on the methods
of determining the receptivity of sheet materials to coating
and inks.
A Canadian patent was assigned to J.W. Swanson for his research
on mannogalactan adhesive compositions.
IPC biochemistry pilot plant developed technology to prevent
sulphite liquor wastes being dumped into streams, a process
which later contributed to the production of penicillin and
the sulfa drugs.
IPC developed a fourperson house from waste paper to serve
as temporary housing for persons left homeless in the war
areas. Waste paper pressed into panels was assembled into
a house in about an hour, at a cost of less than $110. The
house was packaged in a bundle weighing 1,029 pounds.
The Sulfite Products Manufacturing Research League (SPMRL)
established offices in the IPC Research Building.
Government surplus Quonset houses were offered to educational
institutions. IPC acquired 10 houses after the sudden influx
of married students.
Commercialization of the pressurized headbox allowed for higher
speeds in paper production.
Developed during the war, the chain saw became commercially
available and revolutionized timber harvesting.
Perhaps the single most important wartime contribution to
the paper industry was the manufacture of new papers for new
uses, such as waterproof boxes that could resist extremes of
heat and cold. The board industry grew rapidly after the Army
switched to kraft board and fiber boxes early in 1941. By 1944
it was estimated that nearly 3.5 million tons of paper boxes
were being used for entirely new applications.
IPC constructed a new container research building devoted to
the development of shipping containers and solutions to packaging
problems. February 1945 From 1929 to this date, 200 patents
were granted on research performed by IPC.
The National Council for Stream Improvement coordinated research
with IPC to develop wastewater treatment technology to prevent
damage to fish from mill discharges. June 2,1945 A new color
blindness testing device was developed by IPC.
A Canadian patent was assigned to B.W. Rowland, D. Fronmuller,
and J.A. Van den Akker for their research on testing apparatus
and methods.
IPC, by government invitation, directed a national packaging
and plastics research program to develop a plastic coating
for paperboard packages with a higher liquid protection level
than the wax compounds.
John Graff, of IPC, described two new methods for the identification
of melamine and urea resins in wet?strength papers.
Commercialization of the differential drive used a single drive
shift to control web tension, stabilize machine speed in
each section improve the quality of paper produced.
Northern mills began to consider expanding to the South to
take advantage of its vast supplies of pulpwood, which was
replacing cotton, tobacco, and other field crops of earlier
years. During 1946 and 1947, about 56 Million seedlings were
planted on 60,000 new acres.
Postwar developments in the paper industry have led to new
uses for paper. An increase in automobile touring spurred the
demand for map paper, and growth in magazine (machine-coated)
paper was strong. Drinking cups and milk bottles were now made
from paper, and kraft paper was expected to be a growth sector.
Other promising products included hot-melt-coated papers, freezer
papers, transparent papers, laminates with paper bases, paper
pipe, flexible packages, and vaporand leakproof items. It was
obvious that packages, particularly new and exciting ones,
were arousing the most interest.
As the industry grew after the war, papermakers took a more
scientific attitude toward the efficient manufacture of paper.
To stay competitive with other countries, the U.S. industry
had to modernize its obsolete plants.
Two areas of rapid growth were containers and dissolving pulps,
whose market was spurred by the demand for rayon, cellophane,
and cellophane derivatives such as the rayon cord used in automobile
tires. As a result, this sector of the industry was at first
very profitable.
The neutral sulfite semi chemical (NSSC) process commercialized
the use of Aspens and other hardwoods in the corrugating industry.
The new process later offered substantial economic benefits
to northern paper mills, since technology at that time was
limited to pine utilization.
IPC performed extensive field studies to evaluate the performance
of various shipping and container materials for the food
industries.
George Sears of IPC received a certificate for meritorious
service in the research and development of materials for
the Army's food program.
IPC research supported war efforts by developing new products
which included, special map papers, including fluorescent
maps, a paper house, testing of packages for K-rations, and
fortified paperboard v-boxes.
Examples of new war-time products developed by IPC include:
techniques for hardening wood as a substitute for scarce
teakwood in naval vessels; the production of chemicals from
wood tars used as antiseptics, food additives, and in textiles;
the development of new adhesives and coatings for specialty
war papers, including fungus resistant, moldproof, and water
resistant map papers.
Rag paper mills developed a plan to purchase upgraded market
cotton for use in papermaking during 1947.
IPC Container Research Laboratory acquired a pilot corrugator
that was originally used as a lamp shade wrapper production
machine.
L. Forman's pulping research at IPC established the use of
southern pine in paper manufacturing and its eventual expansion
to bleach kraft papers in the Southeastern U.S.
IPC enrolled 44 new students, 41 of whom were World War II
veterans. March 1947 The third volume in the series Bibliography
of Paper Making (1936-45) was compiled and edited by C.J.
West at IPC and published by TAPPI.
IPC hosted a paper industry symposia on research and commercial
uses of enzymes in paper manufacturing.
A Canadian patent was assigned to B.W. Rowland and N.A. Kjelson
for their research on paper web manufacture.
IPC research by Wink and Van den Akker identified a new method
for determining water resistance of insulation-board sheathing
for the Insulation Board Institute. IPC lignin research performed
by Irwin Pearl identified opportunities that later developed
into new commercial products, including the production of
vanillin as a flavoring.
A U.S. patent was assigned to Reineck and Dunlap for their
research on thermosetting plastics from redwood pulp and
furfuryl alcoholformaldehyde resins.
IPC research and testing of the corrugated v-box established
it as a cost effective substitute for cumbersome wooden crates
and solid fiber boxes. The beer and citrus industries rapidly
switched from wooden crates to paperboard cartons.
A Canadian patent was assigned to Edward Reineck and Isaac
R. Dunlap for their research on thermo-setting plastics.
A U.S. patent was assigned to J.W. Swanson for his research
on the processes for producing mannogalactan mucilages.
A Canadian patent was assigned to H.F. Lewis and Irwin A. Pearl
for their research on the preparation of salts of azobenzene
sulfonic acid.
A U.S. patent was assigned to J.A. Van den Akker for his research
on film extensibility testing methods and apparatus.
Research at IPC led to the development of a method and an apparatus
to measure the surface bonding strength of paper.
Research at IPC to improve the stiffness of corrugating medium
identified an in-line saturating process that used sulfur to
improve the stiffness and the total strength of the final container.
IPC research developed special filter papers 1478, used to
sample the atmosphere for radioactive material. Later this
filter paper was used on U2 planes.
A U.S. patent was assigned to G.D. Knight and B.W. Rowland
for their research on the methods of continuously coating
porous sheets.
A U.S. patent was assigned to Irwin A. Pearl and L.E. Wise
for their research on the methods of preparing phenolic materials
from lignin.
A U.S. patent was assigned to J. d'A Clark and S.D. Wells for
their research on an apparatus for forming fibrous sheets
or paperboard.
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