How Is Polyester Made?

Have you ever wondered how polyester is made? Polyester is used in many of the clothes produced today. Microfiber fabrics made from polyester are even being used by top designers. Polyester fibers are often combined with other textiles such as cotton to make it more wrinkle and stain resistant.

Polyester is a synthetic fabric made from the alcohol and acids derived from petroleum. The acid and alcohol are put into a vacuum at high temperatures and their reaction results in polymerization. Through a slot in the bottom of the machine, a ribbon on the material is extruded onto a cooling wheel. Once the material has cooled it is cut into chips.

The chips are then melted in a large vat. Then the melted material is spun in a spinneret and pushed through round holes to make fibers, a little bit like making cotton candy. The polyester fibers cool as soon as they hit the air and then they are spun onto cylinders.

The fibers are then stretched out longer to make them finer. During this stretching the fibers might be twisted or textured to create a different feel or finish of the polyester fabric since polyester tends to be shiny and very flat if unimproved. The filaments are then wound onto cylinders or cut into lengths. This polyester yarn is now woven into polyester fabric or combined with other fibers such as cotton or silk to produce a blended fabric.

Polyester is used in making clothing, carpet, tents, synthetic arteries, blankets, sails and fishnets along with thousands of other products. Its durability, water resistance and ability to be easily molded, make it a fabric suitable for a multitude of applications.