Instruments & Innovation

Close-up view of laboratory operator Donald Stevens using a press to remove water from a sheet of so-called "chemical cotton," i.e. purified cellulose obtained from raw cotton linters, manufactured in the Cellulose…

General view of a roll rewinder in use in the Cellulose Department at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Hopewell, Virginia. Per notations accompanying the photograph, the roll rewinder was used to produce smaller…

General view of the production of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Hopewell, Virginia. Also known as cellulose gum or tylose powder, CMC is a cellulose derivative commonly used as a…

Close-up view of a Fourdrinier machine in use at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Hopewell, Virginia. Per notations accompanying the photograph, this Fourdrinier machine was used to dewater sheets of so-called…

General view of an automatic banding machine in use in the Cellulose Department at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Hopewell, Virginia. The employees visible in the photograph are identified as Leroy Brown and John…

Two views of employee Paul F. Brown feeding raw cotton linters (short fiber residues left on the cottonseed after the longer staple, aka the "lint" fibers, are removed by ginning) into a bale breaking machine in the…

General view of an unidentified employee examining a control panel used in the production of ethyl cellulose at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Hopewell, Virginia. Ethyl cellulose manufactured by the Hercules…

General view of a washing tub in use at the Hercules Powder Company's Ethyl Cellulose plant in Hopewell, Virginia. Per notations accompanying the photograph, constant agitation and continual charges of water were used…

Close-up view of several rolls of sheeted cotton linters mounted on spindles at the Hercules Powder Company's Ethyl Cellulose plant in Hopewell, Virginia. Per notations accompanying the photograph, the cotton was…