TF Assignment 2 (Ritik)

PRODUCTION OF POLYESTER FIBER
PRODUCTION OF POLYESTER
FIBER
TEXTILE FIBER 2 { ASSIGNMENT}
Ritik
Textile Engineering
1804463030
PG. 0
Introduction
Polyester is a term used for “long-chain polymers chemically composed of at least
85% by weight of an ester which is organic salt formed from the reaction between
an alcohol and an acid. ” Polyester also refers to the various polymers in which the
backbones are formed by the “esterification condensation of polyfunctional alcohols
and acids”. Polyester is a man-made, synthetic polymer, filament or staple fibre.
Polyester textile filament or staple fibre is composed of polyethylene terephthalate
polymers.
Repeating unit of Polyester
Polyesters are a medium weight fiber with a density of 1.39 g/cm 3. As it is

heavier than nylon, polyester textile materials are manufactured as 'thin'
fabrics, since thick polyester fabrics are too heavy.
pg. 1
Raw materials required in production

 The principle ingredient used in the manufacture of polyester is ethylene, which is derived from
petroleum.
 To form polyester, dimethyl terephthalate is first reacted with ethylene glycol in the presence of a
catalyst at a temperature of 302-410°F (150-210°C).
 The resulting chemical, a monomer (single, non-repeating molecule) alcohol, is combined with
terephthalic acid and raised to a temperature of 472°F (280°C). Newly-formed polyester, which is
clear and molten, is extruded through a slot to form long ribbons.
pg. 2
Aliphatic Polyesters
 Aliphatic polyesters are most often intended for use as biodegradable polymers, with
polycaprolactone, for example, undergoing a significant decrease in molecular weight, as
indicated by a drop of 80–90% in relative viscosity within 120 weeks of implant (Kopecek
and Ulbrich, 1983).
 Aliphatic polyesters are considered the most widely used polymers for drug delivery applications due to
their biodegradable and biocompatible nature. common polyesters are polylactide (PLA) [usually called
poly(lactic acid)], polyglycolide (PGA), poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), and poly(γ-valerolactone)
pg. 3
The DMT and PAT route of Polyester making

● The purified TPA vapors after separating impurities are condensed. There are two routes for
making Polyester DMT route or PTA route. However, with availability of the pure terephthalic
acid and because of its advantages over dimethyl terephthalate, now polyester through
esterification route is used more commonly
Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) from DMT

○ PET from DMT is made by transesterification route by reaction of dimethyl terephthalate
with ethylene glycol followed by poly-condensation. Polyester through trans esterification
route was more common earlier due to non-availability of purified terephthalic acid.
○ During transesterification, methanol obtained as by product. Figure M-VIII 6.5 describes the
manufacturing process of polyester from DMT.
pg. 4
Polyester from Dimethyl Terephthalate (DMT)
Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) from PTA

○ PET from purified terephthalic acid (PTA)is made by esterification route by reaction of
purified terephthalic acid (PTA) with ethylene glycol followed by polycondensation. Figure
describes the manufacturing process of polyester.
○ Poly Condensation: Temperature 270-280°C, short polycondensation time, high vacuum for
proper degree of polycondensation. Thermal decomposition increases with high melt
temperature and higher degree of polycondensation. Thermal instability of polyester melt
influence the fibre. Decomposition lowers the viscosity of polyester melt.Catalyst: Antimony
trioxide Flasher, prepolymeriser, finisher. Vacuum at last stage: 2 mm Hg, 285°C.
○ Spinning: Spinning of polyester is done by melt spinning. Molten polymer passed through
spinnerate. The extruded filaments from the spinnerates are quenched and cooled by air. The
quenched filaments are passed to winding unit through finish applicator. The spun yarn is
passed to draw twisting and draw texturing unit.Polyester from Purified Terephthalic Aci
Polyester from Purified Terephthalic Acid.
pg. 5
Melt spinning- Manufacturing Polyester

 Melt spinning is a typical spinning of synthetic fiber such as Polyester, Nylon, Polypropylene. Melted
polymer is discharged from the spinneret. The discharged fiber is wound after quenching process and
drawing process. Melt spinning is used for various polymers and applications.
Schematic presentation of the melt-spinning process
pg. 6
Melt Spinning process

 This is in the form of thick viscous liquid. This liquid is them pumped to melt spinning
machines. These machines may be single sided or double sided and can have 36/48/64
spinning positions. At each position , the polymer is pumped by a metering pump-
which discharges an accurate quantity ofpolymer per revolution ( to control the denier
of the fibre) through a packwhich has sand or stainless steel particles as filter media
and a spinnerette which could be circular or rectangular and will have a specific number
of holes depending on the technology used and the final denier being produced.
Polymer comes out of each hole of the spinnerette and is instantly solidified by the flow
of cool dry air. This process is called quenching. The filaments from each spinnerette
are collected together to form a small ribbon, passed over a wheel which rotates in a
bath of spin finish: and this ribbon is then mixed with ribbon coming from other
spinning positions, this combined ribbon is a tow and is coiled in cans. The material is
called undrawn TOW and has no textile properties.
pg. 7
Manufacturing Process of Polyester Fiber
Polymer Drawing and Cutting

 At the next machine ( the draw machine), undrawn tows from severl cans are collected
in the form of a sheet and passed through a trough of hot water to raise the
temperature of polymer to 70 degrees C which is the glass transition temperature of
this polymer so that the polymer can be drawn. In the next two zones, the polymer is
drawn approximately 4 times and the actual draw or the pull takes place either in a
steam chamber or in a hot water trough. After the drawing is complete, each filament
has the required denier, and has all its sub microscopic chains aligned parallel to the
fibre axis, thereby improving the crystallinity of the fibre structure and imparting
certain strength.
 Next step is to set the strength by annealing the filaments by passing them under
tension on several steam heated cylinders at temperatures 180 to 220 degrees C. Also
the filaments may be shrunk on the first zone of annealer by over feeding and
imparting higher strength by stretching 2% or so on the final zone of the annealer.
Quenching
Next the fibre is quenched in a hot water bath, then passed through a steam
chest to again heat up the tow to 100 degree C so that the crimping process which
takes place in the stuffer box proceeds smoothly and the crimps have a good
stability.
pg. 8
Application of spin finish

 Textile spin finish is applied either before crimping by kiss roll technique or after
crimping by a bank of hollow cone sprays mounted on both sides of the tow. The
next step is to set the crimps and dry the tow fully which is carried out by laying
the tow on a lattice which passes through a hot air chamber at 85°C or so.
Cutting of Tow
 The tow is guided to a cutter and the cut fibres are baled for despatch. The cutter
is a reel having slots at intervals equal to the cut length desired 32 or38 or 44 or
51mm. Each slot has a sharp stainless steel or tungsten carbide blade placed in it.
The tow is wound on a cutter reel, at one side of the reel is a presser wheel
which presses the tow on to the blades and the tow is cut.The cut fibre falls
down by gravity and is usually partially opened by several air jets and finally the
fibre is baled. Some, balers have a preweighting arrangement which enables the
baler to produce all bales of a pre determined weight.
 The bale is transported to a ware house where it is "matured" for a minimum of

8/10 days before it is permitted to be despatched to the spinning mill.
Manufacturing Staple Fiber:

In making polyester staple fiber, polymerization, drying, and melt spinning (steps 1-4 above) are much the
same as in the manufacture of filament yarn. However, in the melt spinning process, the spinneret has many
more holes when the product is staple fiber. The rope-like bundles of polyester that emerge are called tow.
pg. 9
Drawing tow
1 Newly-formed tow is quickly cooled in cans that gather the thick fibers. Several lengths of tow are gathered
and then drawn on heated rollers to three or four times their original length.
Crimping
2 Drawn tow is then fed into compression boxes, which force the fibers to fold like an accordion, at a rate of
9-15 crimps per inch (3-6 per cm). This process helps the fiber hold together during the later manufacturing
stages.
Setting
3 After the tow is crimped, it is heated at 212-302°F (100-150°C) to completely dry the fibers and set the
crimp. Some of the crimp will unavoidably be pulled out of the fibers during the following processes.
Cutting
4 Following heat setting, tow is cut into shorter lengths. Polyester that will be blended with cotton is cut in
1.25-1.50 inch (3.2-3.8 cm) pieces; for rayon blends, 2 inch (5 cm) lengths are cut. For heavier fabrics, such as
carpet, polyester filaments are cut into 6 inch (15 cm) lengths.
pg. 10

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PRODUCTION OF POLYESTER FIBER

Repeating unit of Polyester

Polyesters are a medium weight fiber with a density of 1.39 g/cm 3. As it is

Raw materials required in production

and Ulbrich, 1983).

The DMT and PAT route of Polyester making

Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) from DMT

Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) from PTA

Melt spinning- Manufacturing Polyester

Schematic presentation of the melt-spinning process

Melt Spinning process

Manufacturing Process of Polyester Fiber

Polymer Drawing and Cutting

Application of spin finish

 The bale is transported to a ware house where it is "matured" for a minimum of

Manufacturing Staple Fiber:

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