Elastane recycling: Stretching the lifespan of textiles

Clothing is far too valuable to simply dispose of and burn. Starting in 2025, used textiles are to be collected and recycled throughout the EU. Improved recycling processes are urgently needed to deal with the huge amount ...

Advancing material innovation to address the polymer waste crisis

Products made from polymers—ranging from plastic bags to clothing to cookware to electronics—provide many comforts and support today's standard of living, but since they do not decompose easily, they pose long-term environmental ...

Using bacteria to convert CO2 in the air into a polyester

A team of chemical and biomolecular engineers at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology has developed a scalable way to use bacteria to convert CO2 in the air into a polyester. In their paper, published in Proceedings ...

Researchers separate cotton from polyester in blended fabric

In a new study, North Carolina State University researchers found they could separate blended cotton and polyester fabric using enzymes—nature's tools for speeding chemical reactions. Ultimately, they hope their findings ...

Closed-loop recycling of textile wastes

The apparel industry accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions. The annual amount of fiber production reached 113 million tons in 2021 and the demand is increasing every year. However, almost 90% of post-consumer fiber ...

An important step toward strong, durable bio-based plastics

In a recent paper in Nature Communications, researchers at the Industrial Sustainable Chemistry group led by Prof. Gert-Jan Gruter take an important step towards the production of fully bio-based, rigid polyesters.

page 1 from 4

Polyester

Polyester is a category of polymers which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. Although there are many polyesters, the term "polyester" as a specific material most commonly refers to polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include naturally occurring chemicals, such as in the cutin of plant cuticles, as well as synthetics through step-growth polymerization such as polycarbonate and polybutyrate. Natural polyesters and a few synthetic ones are biodegradable, but most synthetic polyesters are not.

Depending on the chemical structure, polyester can be a thermoplastic or thermoset; however, the most common polyesters are thermoplastics.

Fabrics woven or knitted from polyester thread or yarn are used extensively in apparel and home furnishings, from shirts and pants to jackets and hats, bed sheets, blankets, upholstered furniture and computer mouse mats. Industrial polyester fibers, yarns and ropes are used in tyre reinforcements, fabrics for conveyor belts, safety belts, coated fabrics and plastic reinforcements with high-energy absorption. Polyester fiber is used as cushioning and insulating material in pillows, comforters and upholstery padding.

While synthetic clothing in general is perceived by many as having a less natural feel compared to fabrics woven from natural fibres (such as cotton and wool), polyester fabrics can provide specific advantages over natural fabrics, such as improved wrinkle resistance, durability and high color retention. As a result, polyester fibres are sometimes spun together with natural fibres to produce a cloth with blended properties. Synthetic fibres also can create materials with superior water, wind and environmental resistance compared to plant-derived fibres.

Polyesters are also used to make "plastic" bottles, films, tarpaulin, canoes, liquid crystal displays, holograms, filters, dielectric film for capacitors, film insulation for wire and insulating tapes.

Liquid crystalline polyesters are among the first industrially used liquid crystal polymers. They are used for their mechanical properties and heat-resistance. These traits are also important in their application as an abradable seal in jet engines.

Polyesters are widely used as a finish on high-quality wood products such as guitars, pianos and vehicle/yacht interiors. Burns Guitars, Saab and Sunseeker are a few companies that use polyesters to finish their products. Thixotropic properties of spray-applicable polyesters make them ideal for use on open-grain timbers, as they can quickly fill wood grain, with a high-build film thickness per coat. Cured polyesters can be sanded and polished to a high-gloss, durable finish.

This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA