Titanium helps make polyester

Teijin Limited, a Japanese producer of synthetic fibres headquartered in Osaka, has developed a new catalyst technology for manufacturing polyester that will allow it to provide polyester products that are more environmentally friendly.

Today, antimony, germanium or titanium-based catalysts are generally used in polyester manufacturing. The type of catalyst is selected according to the application, such as for making fibres, film or PET bottles.

Titanium-based catalysts, on the other hand, do not involve heavy metals at all, but to date, they have seen only limited use due to their characteristics, which make it difficult for manufacturers to control the colour of the finished product.

Teijin's new catalyst, however, does demonstrate the same reactivity and basic characteristics as antimony-based catalysts, while also demonstrating outstanding dyeability and vividness for fibres and flatness for films.

Likewise, for PET bottle applications, it has become possible to obtain comparable mouldability and product colour properties to those obtained with the previous catalysts.