Polyester melt spinning

Sumesh P T, Mathur T P and Agarwal U S (2010), Simulation of polyester melt spinning with axial quench for increasing productivity ,/oumaZ of Applied Polymer... 

Mechanical Properties. Polyester fibers are formed by melt spinning generally followed by hot drawing and heat setting to the final fiber form. The molecular orientation and crystalline fine stmcture developed depend on key process parameters in all fiber formation steps and are critical to the end use appHcation of the fibers. 

Synthetic Fiber and Plastics Industries. In the synthetic fibers and plastics industries, the substrate itself serves as the solvent, and the whitener is not appHed from solutions as in textiles. Table 6 Hsts the types of FWAs used in the synthetic fibers and plastic industries. In the case of synthetic fibers, such as polyamide and polyester produced by the melt-spinning process, FWAs can be added at the start or during the course of polymerization or polycondensation. However, FWAs can also be powdered onto the polymer chips prior to spinning. The above types of appHcation place severe thermal and chemical demands on FWAs. They must not interfere with the polymerization reaction and must remain stable under spinning conditions. 

Steam-heated aluminum castings are used for the melt spinning of nylon and polyester fibers and have been used for storage of raw materials during manufacturing, as well as for storage of acetic acid in cellulose acetate plants. 

Melt spinning polyesters is preferred to solution spinning because of its lower cost. Due to the hydrophobic nature of the fiber, sulfonated terephthalic acid may be used as a comonomer to provide anionic sites for cationic dyes. Small amounts of aliphatic diacids such as adipic acid may also be used to increase the dyeability of the fibers by disturbing the fiber s crystallinity. 

Polejes, J. D Nylon and polyester production - in practice, Presentation given at the Fundamentals of Melt Spinning and Yam Production Conference, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, February 26-27, 1992. 

This article is an overview of the novel technology of self-reinforced LCPs with polyesters, poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and poly(ethylene naphtha-late) (PEN) [10-13, 21, 23], LCP/polyester blends in a polyester matrix form in situ fibrils which improve the mechanical properties. LCPs have an inherently low melt viscosity, and provide LCP/polyester blends that effectively lower the melt viscosity during melt spinning [24], and fast injection-molding cycles. The miscibility between the LCP and polyesters can be controlled by the degree of transesterification [25] in the reactive extrusion step, and fibril formation in LCP-reinforced polyester fibers has been studied. 

The dyeing of polypropylene fibers, being an item of research for decades, is successfully accomplished with partially stearate-modified hyperbranched polyesteramides. The long alkyl chains ensure compatibility with the polypropylene matrix. The mixing-in of hyperbranched polyesteramides via extrusion affected neither the melt spinning process nor the final polypropylene fiber properties. The modified fibers are dyeable under standard conditions as are, e.g., polyesters or cotton. They can even be used for printing for example a picture pattern on a polypropylene carpet. 

Aromatic polyesters had been successfully synthesized from the reaction of ethylene glycol and various aromatic diacids but commercialization awaited a ready inexpensive source of aromatic diacides. An inexpensive process was discovered for the separation of the various xylene isomers by crystallization. The availability of inexpensive xylene isomers allowed the formation of terephthalic acid through the air oxidation of the p-xylene isomer. DuPont produced polyester fibers from melt spinning in 1953, but it was not until the 1970s that these fibers became commercially available. 

Olefin fibers are manufactured commercially by melt spinning, similar to the methods employed for polyester and polyamide fibers. 

Various furan compounds have been incorporated into a polyester fiber to provide electrostatic resistance toward antistatic fabrics <1999KRP160475>. Up to 1 wt.% of the furan compound was combined together with a polyoxy-alkylene glycol compound and a nonreactive lithium alkylsulfonate to copolymerize the polyester. Upon drying, melt spinning, and stretching, the formed polyester fibers showed excellent electrostatic resistance. 

Like nylon, polyester fibers are made from linear-condensation polymers by melt spinning, followed by drawing. Similar to nylon, the drawing treatment involves a stretch ratio of 5. The drawing of polyester fiber is done above its glass transition temperature of 80°C. 

The filaments of polypropylene fibre are produced from propylene using special catalysts. The polymerisation process involved is addition, as the double bond is broken in the propylene molecule, the monomer or single molecules join or add together. The filaments are produced by the melt-spinning process in a similar manner to polyester. The repeat unit of polypropylene is... 

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