Mercer, John (1791-1866)

John Mercer, 1791-1866. John Mercer, 1791-1866.

John Mercer was an English dye chemist and cloth printer. Born in Great Harwood, Lancashire, in 1791, in 1844 he developed a process for treating cotton that came to be named after him, mercerisation. With this process the cotton fibres pass through a sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) bath, which causes the fibres to swell and makes them stronger and easier to dye. The process was perfected by Horace Arthur Lowe.

John Mercer was also the discoverer of the colour/dye called antimony orange.

Digital source of illustration (retrieved 23rd February 2017).

GVE

Last modified on Wednesday, 31 May 2017 17:03
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