Poly(trimethylene Terephthalate): A "New" Type of Polyester Fiber

Abstract

A new type of polyester fibre is being brought into production by Shell Chemicals predominately for the residential and industrial carpet markets. This fi- bre has the tradename of Corterra7 and is a poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT). These fibres have a number of traits that lend themselves to carpet products. Shell expects to produce 400 million pounds of Corterra7 polymers for the general market- place by the end of the third quarter of 1999 and, thus, it will begin to appear as evi- dence in cases. PTT fibres have many similarities to, but some important differences from, the more common poly(ethelyene terephthalate) (PET) fibres. The history of PTT, its op- tical and instrumental characteristics, and data from known samples are presented in this technical note.