The Cellulose Problem in War-Time

Abstract

FROM time to time I have discussed in NATURE¹ and elsewhere² some of the problems which face those in the paper, rayon and other industries which rely on fibrous cellulose as a basic raw material. Since some of the most important of these problems have always been subject to the balance of supply and demand, it is not surprising that under war-time conditions they should have acquired a new aspect. In the ten years prior to the War the production of cellulose pulp, particularly from wood, fluctuated uncertainly between a state of inflated prices to one of unprofitable over-production; immediately before the War, in fact, there were even ‘scares’ of a cellulose pulp shortage. These, however, were scares in the true sense; they did not bear a scientific survey of the cellulose resources of the world, particularly when alternatives to wood pulp were taken into account (see Grant³).