Viscose rayon is created by extracting cellulose from wood or cotton fibres. The cellulose is treated with sodium hydroxide (lye), and mixed with carbon disulfide (made by combining carbon with sulphur at high temperatures) to make cellulose xanthate, which is dissolved in more lye. The viscose is put into an acid bath through a slit to make cellophane, or through a spinneret to make viscose rayon. The viscose industry suffers from many flaws because it is so expensive to make and it is polluting the environment. Recently, a new treatment was invented that would make wood pulp easier to convert into viscose, therefore reducing chemical consumption by as much as 40%. That means that viscose rayon plants could save $3 million to $5 million US a year in chemical costs.

Here's a flowchart illustrating the production process of viscose: (click chart to enlarge)

~Jessie
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