Feasibility Study on Producing of Side-by-Side Bicomponent Filament Yarns Produced from Recycled and Fiber Grade PET

Side by side bicomponent filament from recycled poly(ethylene) terephthalate from post-consumer bottles and fiber grade PET was extruded. The bicomponent fibers were produced in a melt spinning machine and drawn to improve their mechanical properties. The effects of conditions on the fiber structure and physical properties of resultant fibers were evaluated by the following methods: differential scanning calorimetric (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical microscopy, intrinsic viscosity (IV) and tensile testing. The mechanical properties, such as tensile strength and initial modulus for bicomponent filament showed improvement compared to those for FG-PET. Furthermore, degradation of R-PET molecular structure leads that the viscosities of two polymers are of comparable value.