Polyester Fibres - A Brief Overview

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Polyester fibre has been at the top of the list of most preferred fibres for quite some time now, the main reasons for the same being its high tensile strength. It has a large scale application right from fabrics to home textile. This article will give you a brief overview on the manufacturing process of polyester fibres.

Filament yarn manufacturing constitutes the first step. Polyester is manufactured later and the both are amalgamated together by a technical process t form polyester fibre. Yarn is made in two forms, either a partially oriented tow or a partially oriented yarn. Both are made by winding the filament in a filament receiving cylinder winds at speed that is somewhat higher than the speed of extrusion. A larger number of these filaments are collected to form a tow which is later cut into a staple. If this fiber is to be used in the form a continuous filament then, these filaments are wound in a circular pattern on cylinders either of metal or polished wood. The standard length, diameter and fineness of these polyester fibres is designated by a term known as denier which is actually the weight of the polyester ...
... fibre in grams of 9,000 meters of the fibres or yarn. Usually home furnishings and apparel have deniers ranging from 80 to 160 units.

The equipment that is used for the manufacturing of polyester fibre is usually a multipurpose one and can be used to manufacture other melt-spun fibres also. Examples of these are nylon 6 and nylon 66. Both of these fibres require only a minor modification on the equipments.

The waster polymer or fibre generated during the manufacturing of polyester fibre is sold separately, burned off and disposed or reprocessed. This is largely dependent upon the level of its purity.
Polyester fibre is also manufactured by extruding molten polyethylene terpthalate (PET) through a thimble or a metal plate with highly fine holes. This plate is known as a ‘spinnerette' with reference to the word spinning. These fibres are next drawn to orient their molecules further and to adjust the\m to the get the required tensile strength, elongation, dye ability and modulus and other factors and physical properties of the fibre.

The major importers of polyester fibre during the last 3 years are USA, UK, China and other Western European countries. China being the highest importer with average imports of 950 tons which amazingly is only capable of meeting 10% of its total demands. The total import by USA and Western European countries is pegged at 500 to 600 tons and this meets nearly 30 to 40% of their requirements. The list of exporters includes Taiwan and Korea as the market leaders in terms of market share of 700 to 900 tons followed by Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Various categories of fiber available in market are Hollow Polyester Fibers, Bicomponent Fibers, Conjugated Polyester Fiber, Short Cut Polyester Fibers, Polypropylene Fiber etc. These fibers are applied in a number of applications in filling, nonwovens, wadding applications.