Friedrich Gottlob Keller
Friedrich Gottlob Keller | |
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pulp wood |
Friedrich Gottlob Keller (27 June 1816 - 8 September 1895) was a German machinist and inventor, who (at the same time as Charles Fenerty) invented the wood pulp process for use in papermaking. He is widely known for his wood-cut machine (used for extracting the fibres needed for pulping wood). Unlike Charles Fenerty, F.G. Keller took out a patent for his wood-cut invention.[1]
Early life
Keller spent his childhood and youth working for his father as a
Keller's invention
Before wood pulp became widely available, paper was made from rags, which were a limited resource. In the 18th century French scientist René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur suggested that paper could be made from trees.[2] Though he himself never experimented, his theory caught the interest of others, namely Matthias Koops. In 1800 Koops published a book on papermaking made from straw. Its outer covers were made from trees. His method was not like Fenerty's (pulping wood); instead, he simply ground the wood and caused the particles to adhere. His book does not mention anything about wood pulping.[3][4]
From 1841 (after noting his idea), Keller worked eagerly on his wood-cut machine. He had spent most of his life so far working with his father as a weaver and heddle maker, and on the side attempting to invent all sorts of machines. A wood-cut machine, however, became his true passion, to which he remained dedicated over the following three years (from 1841 to 1844). In 1844 he completed his work and produced a piece of pulped wood paper from the output of his wood-cut machine. In the summer of 1844 he sent in a sample paper to the German government, hoping to obtain financial support for an improved wood-grinder machine and to develop papermaking further, but without success. Both Charles Fenerty and F.G. Keller started working on wood-based paper at the same time, and made their discovery public at the same time, and at the same time found that no one was interested in it.
Keller remained dedicated to the project, but since he could not obtain national support he sold his invention to a paper specialist, Heinrich Voelter, for about £80. A patent was granted in August 1845 in Saxony, Germany, in both names (Keller and Voelter), and Voelter began production on a mass scale. Voelter did not want to leave Keller out at first because only Keller possessed the knowledge of how to build a suitable wood-grinding machine. Eventually that changed. After 1848 the first machines came out, and in 1852 the renewal of the patent came due, but Keller did not have the money to renew his part of the patent. Therefore, Voelter became the sole patent holder and continued the work, earning a large profit, without Keller.[2]
Later years
Bibliography
- Beneke, Klaus. Friedrich Gottlob Keller - Erfinder des Holzschleifers (27.06.1816 Hainichen (Sachsen) - 08.09.1895 Krippen bei Schandau (Sachsen)) Digitalisat (pdf, 196 kb)
- Gemeinde Krippen (Hg.): 1379-1979. 600 Jahre Krippen. Heimatkundlicher Lehrpfad durch Krippen, Pirna 1979
- Sittauer, H. L. Der Papiermüller von Kühnhaide, Berlin 1980
- Sittauer, H. L. Friedrich Gottlob Keller. Biographien hervorragender Naturwissenschaftler, Techniker und Mediziner Bd. 59, Leipzig 1982
- Burger, Peter. Charles Fenerty and his Paper Invention. Toronto: Peter Burger, 2007. ISBN 978-0-9783318-1-8
- Koops, Matthias. Historical account of the substances which have been used to describe events, and to convey ideas, from the earliest date, to the invention of paper. London: Printed by T. Burton, 1800.
- Pönicke, Herbert. “Keller, Friedrich Gottlob”. Neue Deutsche Biographie. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 1977.
- Schlieder, Wolfgang. Der Erfinder des Holzschliffs Friedrich Gottlob Keller. Leipzig, Germany: VEB Fachbuchverlag Leipzig, 1977.
- Sittauer, Hans L. Friedrich Gottlob Keller. Leipzig: BSB B.G. Teubner Verlagsgesellschaft, 1982.
- Walther Killy and Rudolf Vierhaus. “Keller, Friedrich Gottlob”. Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie. Munich: Die Deutsche Bibliothek, 1997.
See also
References
- ISBN 978-0-9783318-1-8pp.28, 33-34
- ^ ISBN 978-0-9783318-1-8pp.30-33
- ISBN 978-0-9783318-1-8pp.30-32
- ^ Some books about Koops' discovery affirm or suggest that his book was partially made from wood pulp, but this is not the case. Koops clearly outlines his method for making paper from straw and trees by taking wood shavings, adhering them, and pressing them together to make a sheet of paper.