Product Code Database
Galalith ( Erinoid in the United Kingdom) is a synthetic plastic material manufactured by the interaction of casein and formaldehyde. The commercial name is derived from the Ancient Greek words (, "milk") and (, "stone"). It is , hard, resists humidity to a certain degree, is antistatic, also an electrical insulator and virtually nonflammable. It was produced under a plethora of other commercial names such as aladdinite (in the US), Casolith (in the Netherlands) and lactoloid (in Japan).
Usual industrial methods of fabrication followed these guidelines: sufficiently dried casein powder was mixed with coloring agents and various additives, but without formaldehyde. It was heated, agglomerated and pressed into thick elongated bars which were later extruded again under the action of heat. Said sticks were later aligned side by side in heated flat presses to form blocks that would be later be cut in sheets but bars or tubes were also produced. These shaped parts were then immersed in vats of formaldehyde for relatively long periods so as to ensure proper penetration of the product. Parts were then dried carefully to avoid checking, warping and cracking.
La Compagnie Française d'Exploitation des Procédés Pilatus in France used a peculiar process for their version called "primalithe" (Swiss patent by Pilatus) where casein powder was premixed with all the necessary additives and formaldehyde under vacuum, pressed to shape and later molded. Another French company, Etablissements Garaud in the Charente region, produced "isogalithe" using an unorthodox process where the casein was used as a moist fresh coagulated mass, not in the usual dried powder form preceding the pressing."Contribution à l’histoire industrielle des polymères en France", Annexe A4 "Caséine"
This new plastic was presented at Paris Universal Exhibition in 1900. In France, Galalith was distributed by the Compagnie Française de Galalithe located near Paris in Levallois-Perret. As a result, the Jura area became the first to use the material.
Galalith was marketed in boards, pipes and rods. In 1913, thirty million litres (eight million US gallons) of milk were used to produce Galalith in Germany alone. In 1914, Syrolit Ltd gained the license for manufacture in the United Kingdom. Renaming itself Erinoid Ltd., it started manufacture in the former Lightpill wool mill in Dudbridge, Stroud, Gloucestershire. Casein from rennet produces a superior plastic to acid-precipitated casein.
Galalith could produce gemstone imitations that looked strikingly real. In 1926, Gabrielle Chanel published a picture of a short, simple black dress in Vogue. It was calf-length, straight, and decorated only by a few diagonal lines. Vogue called it "Chanel's Ford", as like the Model T, the little black dress was simple and accessible for women of all social classes. To accessorize the little black dress, Chanel revamped her designs, thus facilitating the breakthrough and mass popularity of costume jewelry. Galalith was used for striking Art Deco jewelry designs by artists such as Jakob Bengel and Auguste Bonaz, as well as for hair combs and accessories. By the 1930s, Galalith was also used for knitting needles, pens, umbrella handles, white piano keys (replacing natural ivory), and electrical goods, with world production at that time reaching 10,000 tons.
Nowadays Galalith still continues to be produced in small quantities, mainly for buttons, board game pieces, musical instrument accessories (plectrums, guitar tuner rollers and peg buttons for example) and turned pens amongst other niche applications.
/ref>
Modern use
Although Galalith was historically cheap, the fact it could not be moulded and its inherent flaws, being one of the first man-made plastics, led to its demise by commercial end users. Production slowed as the restrictions of World War II led to a need for milk as a food, and due to new oil-derived wartime plastic developments. Production continued in Brazil until the 1960s. In the UK production continued until 1980 as part of the many plastic products manufactured by BP.
See also
External links
|
|
