Technical Polyester

Polyester is produced from polyethylene terephthalate (PET polymer). The weight of PET polymer ranges from 20,000-40,000. The raw materials used for polyester preparation is Dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) or Terephthalic Acid (TPA) and Monoethylene Glycol (MEG). Polyester production can be carried out from two routes. The first route from using Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) and the second route from Dimethylterephthalate (DMT). They are carried out in two steps. Step one is referred to transesterification or direct esterification resulting in Prepolymer diglycol terephthalate (DGT). Step two is referred to DGT polymerized by polycondensation. 

 

This diagram shows the steps of polymerization reaction for polyester: 


In Step one, you see the transesterification or Esterification Process. In step two, you see Polycondensation reaction The two-step process is used for manufacture of polyester polymer as it has several advantages. Some of these advantages are higher speed of reaction, to keep the raw materials during polymerization in equimolar (1:1) proportion, less side reactions, better thermal stability of melt, good color of polymer, and better drawability.  


Polyester is produced in industries by two methods. The batch process and the continuous process. In the batch process two separate autoclaves are used. One for transesterification or esterification reaction and second for polycondensation process. The production is limited, and cost of production is also high. The continuous process is widely used in industry as it increases the production and also reduces the cost of production.  This is a flow diagram of a continuous polymerization plant: 

Some of the important properties of polyester is density, moister regain, breaking tenacity, softening temperature, melting temperature, effects of acids (good resistance to organic acids and inorganic acids at room temperature but degrades and dissolves in concentrated sulphuric acid. This is used as one of the identification methods for polyester.  


Polyester is used for a variety of applications.

This picture shows some of its uses:

                                                                        

                                                      


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuUZeKqhiSc 
https://www.sailrite.com/A-Guide-to-Polyester
https://sewport.com/fabrics-directory/polyester-fabric 


Comments

  1. INT323-2021September 13, 2020 at 5:00 PM

    Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 16, 2020 at 8:00 AM

    Erica,
    This is a great analysis and post of polyester. I think as designers we get so caught up in the material choices, but this was a great breakdown of what makes up polyester and the variety of uses that it can serve in an interior space. I have linked some articles and websites that dive deeper into the technologies of polyester and how that has evolved over time compared to decades ago.
    https://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/4372/problems-and-their-remedies-in-polyester-processing-part-ii
    https://www.qualitynylonrope.com/blog/the-complete-history-of-polyester/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kelly MunsellSeptember 17, 2020 at 3:29 PM

    Polyester is an interesting material for fiber and has a lot of good properties for clothing. It's a very common material and as I was reading about it being produced I couldn't help but think of how it could also be recycled and why we don't recycle it more. GreenBlue addresses some of the reasons why it's not recycled more and one of these reasons is the lack of facilities or infrastructure to facilitate the recycling. While initial production is good to know about it does seem like the industry should also focus on potential recycling and reuse opportunities.

    https://greenblue.org/work/chemical-recycling/

    ReplyDelete

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