The influence of processing temperature on the mechanical properties of recycled PET fibers

Anna Niska Fauza (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Negeri Padang, Padang 25171, INDONESIA)
Fitrah Qalbina (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Negeri Padang, Padang 25171, INDONESIA)
Hendri Nurdin (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Negeri Padang, Padang 25171, INDONESIA)
Ambiyar Ambiyar (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Negeri Padang, Padang 25171, INDONESIA)
Refdinal Refdinal (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Negeri Padang, Padang 25171, INDONESIA)

Teknomekanik
Vol 6 No 1 (2023): Regular Issue

Study towards the recycling of PET waste has arisen in the last decades. One of the most widely used methods was the mechanical recycling process due to its simplicity and low cost of production. In this research, PET waste obtained from the disposable water gallon containers was used to produce recycled PET fibers for textile applications. The PET fibers were prepared using the extrusion technique by varying the processing temperatures, i.e., 200, 210, 220, 230, and 240°C. The diameter, FTIR analysis, XRD analysis, and mechanical properties of the PET fibers at various processing temperatures were studied. The results showed that the optimum processing temperature for preparing recycled PET fibers was 210°C with a diameter of 0.23 mm, a degree of crystallinity of 8.9%, a tensile strength of 70.4 MPa, and an elongation at break of 83.6%. In conclusion, PET waste shows a promising application to be processed as recycled PET fibers for textile applications.