Effect of spinning speed on the structure and physical properties of filament yarns produced from used PET bottles

Abstract

AbstractIn the previous work (S. Kiantash, MS Thesis, Amirkabir University of Technology, Textile Engineering Department, Tehran, Iran, 2002), the possibility of producing filament yarns from used PET bottles was investigated and the production was successfully carried out. To improve physical properties and to have a detailed understanding of the molecular structure, spinning variables such as the take‐up speed (one of the most influencing factors) should be varied and studied. In the present work, continuous filament yarns from virgin PET chips and used PET bottles were produced at the two take‐up speeds of 2500 and 3000 m/min. Optical birefringence, crystallinity (obtained from three methods including density, calorimetry, and FTIR), tenacity, breaking elongation, initial modulus, and shrinkage of yarns were measured and compared. Optical birefringence and crystallinity (obtained from all three methods) of used samples show higher values compared with those of virgin samples produced at both take‐up speeds. Consequently, the tenacity of used samples is higher and breaking elongation is lower. Generally, samples having bigger crystallinity present higher initial modulus and smaller shrinkage. However, results of initial modulus and shrinkage do not correspond to this assumption. As it was predicted, increasing the take‐up speed resulted in an increase in the optical birefringence, crystallinity, tenacity, and initial modulus and a reduction in the breaking elongation of both virgin and used samples. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 3972–3975, 2007