Polyethylene Terephthalate

In this supplementary report on polyethylene terephthalate (PET), updated capital and production costs are presented for the manufacture of the molten polymer from dimethyl terephthalate (IBIT) and ethylene glycol (EC) and from terephthalic acid (TPA) and EC. A process design and associated costs are presented for the manufacture of PET from TPA and ethylene oxide (EO), a new route that has been developed by Toyobo.

The conventional method of manufacture includes spinning and drawtwisting. However, a method of manufacture that may be used in the future combines these two operations and is called the spin-draw method. Capital and production costs for both the spin drawtwist and spin-draw processes (each by means of polymer chips) are presented in this report.

Also presented is an estimate by Leesona Corporation of the relative costs of manufacturing textured yarn (textile)by the conventional spinningdrawtwisting-texturing sequence and two new methods that may be used in the future--spinning draw-texturing and spin-draw texturing.

Other PEP Related Reports

• Polyethylene Terephthalate 18
• Polyethylene Terephthalate 18B
• Polyethylene Terephthalate 18C