Abstract

TAPIA-PICAZO, J.C. et al. Performance of a modified extruder for polyester fiber production using recycled PET. Rev. Mex. Ing. Quím [online]. 2014, vol.13, n.1, pp.337-344. ISSN 1665-2738.

In this study, we report the design and results of the operation of a modified extrusion equipment with spinning fiber devices. The performance of the equipment has been evaluated by producing polyester fibers from different recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) of pharma- and bottle-grade. Flow performance along the extruder length was modeled and the pressure was calculated at standard conditions and considering a flow change of +10% in these standard conditions. The variation of drop pressure inside the extruder was modeled as a function of the Inherent Viscosity (IV) and humidity content (X). In addition, losses of IV were calculated in the temperature range from 290 to 300 ^oC for different initial PET Viscosity index (IV₀). We report the variation of mass flow as a function of pressure applied to the extruder at different temperature for PET recycled of pharma-and bottle-grade. The proposed model for analyzing the mass flow showed a good agreement with the experimental data showing a mean error < 3 %.

Keywords : recycled PET; extrusion process; spinning process; polyester fiber.

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