Instruments & Innovation

General view of the vertical retort and wood loading conveyor at the Cliffs Dow sawmill and wood distillation plant located in Marquette, Michigan. Providing a sense of scale, two unidentified employees are visible in…

General view of an unidentified employee loading logs into a machine in the sawmill at the Cliffs Dow wood distillation plant located in Marquette, Michigan. Seeking a source of raw material for its new plastic,…

General view of an unidentified employee filing a band saw in the sawmill at the Cliffs Dow wood distillation plant located in Marquette, Michigan. Seeking a source of raw material for its new plastic, ethylcellulose,…

General view of an unidentified employee feeding cants (logs with one or more squared sides) into a band saw in the sawmill at the Cliffs Dow wood distillation plant located in Marquette, Michigan. Seeking a source of…

General view of an unidentified employee filing circular saws in the sawmill at the Cliffs Dow wood distillation plant located in Marquette, Michigan. Seeking a source of raw material for its new plastic,…

Used to create silicon ingots for use in the semiconductor industry, this crystal puller consists of two main parts, the furnace and the puller: the furnace is cylindrical and located at the bottom of the instrument, it…

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…

General view of an unidentified employee loading packages of so-called "chemical cotton" into a boxcar at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Hopewell, Virginia. Chemical cotton, a type of purified cellulose obtained…

General view of a control panel used to manage the continuous bleaching operation, part of the production of so-called "chemical cotton," at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Hopewell, Virginia. Chemical cotton, a…

Two views of an unidentified employee operating the control panel on an autoclave used to process ethyl cellulose manufactured at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Hopewell, Virginia. Ethyl cellulose manufactured by…

General view of an unidentified employee operating a loose pulp dryer at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Hopewell, Virginia. The loose pulp dryer was likely used to process cellulosic fibrous materials, such as…

General view of an unidentified employee washing so-called "chemical cotton" as part of the continuous bleaching process at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Hopewell, Virginia. Chemical cotton, a type of purified…

General view of two unidentified employees using a machine to cut stock of so-called "chemical cotton" into sheets at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Hopewell, Virginia. Chemical cotton, a type of purified…

General view of the charging end of a continuous digester used at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Hopewell, Virginia. The continuous digester system was likely used to process cellulosic fibrous materials, such as…

General view of continuous bleaching equipment used in the production of so-called "chemical cotton" at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Hopewell, Virginia. Chemical cotton, a type of purified cellulose obtained…

Two views of an unidentified employee operating a paper machine in the Sheeting Department at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Hopewell, Virginia. The paper machine was likely used to process cellulosic fibrous…

General view of continuous bleaching equipment used in the production of so-called "chemical cotton" at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Hopewell, Virginia. Chemical cotton, a type of purified cellulose obtained…

General view of an unidentified employee bagging 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…

General view of several unidentified employees bailing and wrapping sheets of so-called "chemical cotton" for shipment at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Hopewell, Virginia. Chemical cotton, a type of purified…

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…