POLYESTER TECHNOLOGY

GENERAL DEFINITION :

A POLYESTER IS DEFINED AS A CONDENSATION POLYMER DERIVED BY THE REACTION OF A

DIHYDRIC ALCOHOL (DIOL) WITH A DICARBOXYLIC ACID. THE GENERAL REACTION CHEMISTRY

IS AS FOLLOWS :

nHO - R - OH + nHOOC - R’ - COOH  2nH20

+ [ - O - R - OOC - R’ - CO - ] n

WHERE, R & R’ ARE GROUPS. SINCE R AND R’ CAN HAVE MANY STRUCTURAL VARIATIONS, THE

NUMBER OF KNOWN CO-POLYESTERS AMOUNT TO THOUSANDS.

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Q: WHICH IS THE MOST COMMON POLYESTER USED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD?

A: IT IS THE POLYESTER KNOWN AS POLY (ETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE) OR “PET” IN SHORT.

Q: WHAT ARE ITS MAIN USES?

A: PET HAS TWO MAJOR USES :

A) AS MAN-MADE FIBER FOR FABRIC (APPAREL & INDUSTRIAL).

B) AS PLASTIC FOR FORMING INTO CONTAINERS FOR VARIOUS CONSUMABLES THEREBY

REPLACING GLASS.

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Q: WHY “PET” AS A TEXTILE FIBER?

A: FOLLOWING QUALITIES MAKE IT THE LEADING MAN-MADE FIBER IN THE WORLD :

- HIGH WET & DRY RESILIENCE

- DIMENSIONAL STABILITY UNDER WET & DRY CONDITIONS

- HIGH STRETCH RESISTANCE

- HIGH STRENGTH

ANOTHER MAJOR REASON IS THAT THE SHRINKING LAND COVER OF OUR PLANET DUE TO THE

BURGEONING POPULATION, HAS REDUCED CULTIVATION OF COTTON, THE LARGEST GROWN

NATURAL FIBER, WITH MORE EMPHASIS ON FOOD GRAIN CULTIVATION.

MODERN APPAREL IS NOW A BLEND OF NATURAL & MAN-MADE FIBERS FOR REASONS OF BOTH

ECONOMICS AND AESTHETICS.

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Q: WHY “PET” AS A PLASTIC FOR CONTAINERS & BOTTLES?

A : “PET” HAS A WIDE USAGE AS BOTTLES FOR FOOD PRODUCTS & CARBONATED

SOFT DRINKS. BESIDES BEING SHATTER PROOF LIKE HIGH DENSITY

POLYTHELENE (HDPE) & POLYPROPYLENE (PP), “PET” PROVIDES THE HIGHEST

“BARRIER PROPERTY”, THEREBY INCREASING SHELF LIFE OF THE CONTAINED

PRODUCT.

SIMPLY DEFINED, “BARRIER PROPERTY” MEANS THE ABILITY TO RETAIN THE

FLAVOR & AROMA OF THE FOOD PRODUCT / DRINK FOR A VERY LONG PERIOD,

THUS INCREASING IT’S SHELF LIFE.

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END USES FOR “PET” POLYESTER FIBERS :

- POLYESTER STAPLE FIBER (PSF) FOR BLENDING WITH OTHER FIBERS (COTTON, RAYON & WOOL).

- POLYESTER FILAMENT YARN (PFY) USED DIRECTLY FOR WEAVING & KNITTING, OR TEXTURED

BY DRAW TEXTURIZING MACHINES (DTY). SUB-CATEGORIES IN PFY ARE :

• PARTIALLY ORIENTED YARN (POY) FOR DRAW TEXTURIZING.

• FULLY DRAWN YARN (FDY) FOR DIRECT WEAVING AND KNITTING OF FABRIC.

- FIBER - FILL (E.G. RECRON  FIBER - FILL PILLOWS), NON-WOVEN WEBS (E.G. GEOTEXTILES)

- TUFTED CARPETS.

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END USES FOR “PET” POLYESTER CONTAINERS :

- MINERAL WATER BOTTLES

- CARBONATED SOFT DRINKS

- EDIBLE OIL

- JUICES

- DETERGENT, SHAMPOO

- WINE, BEER, ETC.

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END USES FOR “PET” POLYESTER CONTAINERS :

- MINERAL WATER BOTTLES

- CARBONATED SOFT DRINKS

- EDIBLE OIL

- JUICES

- DETERGENT, SHAMPOO

- WINE, BEER, ETC.

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REACTION CHEMISTRY FOR POLY (ETHYLENE TERPHTHALATE) (PET) :

RAW MATERIAL FOR “PET” PRODUCTION ARE :

ETHYLENE GLYCOL (EG) : H H

| |

H-O-C-C-O-H

| |

H H

C2H602 (MOL. WT. : 62)

TEREPHTHALIC ACID (TPA) : HOOC - - COOH

C6H4 (COOH)2 (MOL. WT. : 166)

NOTE : INSTEAD OF TEREPHTHALIC ACID (TPA), ANOTHER RAW MATERIAL DIMETHYL TEREPHTHALATE

(DMT) CAN BE USED FOR “PET” PRODUCTION. HOWEVER, MOST CURRENT PRODUCTION OF “PET” IN THE

WORLD IS WITH TPA ROUTE, & HENCE ONLY THE TPA ROUTE CHEMISTRY IS PRESENTED.

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THE REACTION IS SUB-DIVIDED INTO TWO PARTS:

A) ESTERIFICATION : WHERE THE TWO RAW MATERIALS TPA AND EG REACT & WATER IS SPLIT-OFF.
HIGH TEMPERATURE
HOOC - - COOH + 2HOCH 2CH2OH 
TPA EG
(MOL. WT. : 166 MOL. WT : 62)

HOCH2CH2OOC - - COOCH2CH2OH + 2H2O

BHET WATER
(MOL. WT : 254) (MOL. WT. : 18)
THE TERM “BHET” STANDS FOR -BISHYDROXYETHYL TEREPHTHALATE.

IT IS ALSO TERMED AS MONOMER AND IS A PRECURSOR FOR THE SECOND PART OF THE REACTION

KNOWN AS POLYCONDENSATION.

IN THE STRICTEST SENSE, “BHET” CAN BE DEFINED AS A POLYMER WITH 1 TO 5 NUMBER OF REPEAT

CHAINS AND THUS THE APPROPRIATE FORMULA WOULD BE :

HO-H2C-H2C -[ OOC - -COO-CH2-CH2 - ]n OH (WHERE n = 1 to 5)

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POLYCONDENSATION :

HERE THE “BHET” REACTS WITH ITSELF UNDER CONDITIONS OF HIGH TEMPERATURE, VACUUM &

PRESENCE OF A CATALYST (Sb2O3). THE REACTION LEADS TO REMOVAL OF ETHYLENE GLYCOL AS A

CONDENSATION PRODUCT AND BUILDING UP OF LONG CHAIN “PET” MOLECULE WITH DEGREE OF

POLYCONDENSATION REACHING AS HIGH AS 100.

[HO-H2C-H2C-OOC - - COO-CH2-CH2-OH ] HIGH TEMP, VACUUM, CATALYST

BHET
HO -[ H2C-H2C-OOC - - COO ]n - CH2-CH2-OH + n-1 [ HO-H2C-CH2-OH ]

EG

(MOL. WT. : 192n + 62) PET POLYMER

THE NUMBER ‘n’ IS DEFINED AS DEGREE OF POLYCONDENSATION.

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