Reliance notes
Some of the DEC gets removed with recovered glycol (PC stage) while
some remains in the polymer. Each mol % DEC depresses the PET melting
point by about 2.5 0c.
DEC increases the dye affinity of PET fibres. It is difficult to maintain a
constant level of DEC and hence with a varying amount of DEC, dye
affinity will also change. Presence of DEC in the product makes it soft
and the pills break away more easily with an increasing amount of DEC.
Thermal stabilizers : Commercially, triphenyl phosphite (TPP),
trimethyl phosphate (TMP), tetraethyl ammonium hydroxide (TEAOH)
and trisnonyl phenyl phosphite (TNPP) are commonly used. Formation of antimony metal
imparts a grey-green tinge to PET. It is claimed that TNPP does not
affect antimony triacetate.
To produce a completely white PET, the use of germanium oxide
(Ge02) as a catalyst is recommended in the PC stage instead of antimony
trioxide [3c].
Polycondensation Several factors determine the polymer grade produced
during polycondensation; the most important are the reaction
temperature, vacuum, agitation, the type of vessel, and the chemical
nature and concentration (should be more than 0.02%) of the catalyst
used. The following points are noteworthy.
1. With the increase in temperature, the rate of polycondensation
increases rapidly and the polymerization time to attain the same
melt viscosity is considerably reduced. However, there is more
degradation at higher temperatures, especially above 280°C.
2. The polycondensation process is predominantly diffusion controlled.
Therefore, an increase in residence time in the reactor of PET melt
does not increase its viscosity appreciably. On the other hand, the
possibility of degradation increases at long residence time. 3. Another consequence of the process being diffusion
controlled is that
an increase in the rate of agitation causes more intense mixing of the
melt, resulting in increased viscosity.
4. Again, due to diffusion control of the process, increase in vacuum
leads to more efficient and quicker removal of MEG vapour
(unreacted and split during polycondensation), resulting in attainment
of the desired melt viscosity at shorter residence time at the
same temperature. However, too rapid a removal of MEG may lead
to the escape of OMT vapour, which might be present due to the noncompletion
of the TE process. This may clog pipe systems, causing
considerable problems in running the plant. It is, therefore, desirable
to apply the vacuum in stages (usually three) so that TE is complete in
the initial stages of PC and the process can run smoothly.
5. Increase in carboxyl end group content may deactivate the catalyst,
thus slowing down polycondensation.
In general, PET produced via
the PTA route has lower average molecular weight, lower melting point
and higher dye uptake than PET obtained through the DMT route. These
properties are generally attributed to the higher DEG content in the PET
obtained by the PTA process.
Cellulose desolves in cuprammonium hydroxide
