Inline solid state polymerization of PET flakes for manufacturing plastic strap by removing non-crystalline materials from recycled PET

A heterogeneous solid stated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) material for use in making high-performance strapping, comprising:

• a single batch mixture of heterogeneous PET material which has a relatively wide distribution of intrinsic viscosity (IV) values, which are primarily within the range of 0.60 to 0.80 dl/g, but as high as 0.90 dl/g, wherein said single batch mixture has been derived from an initial mixture comprising substantially crystalline flake segments and substantially non-crystalline chunk segments from which said substantially non-crystalline chunk segments have been removed such that said mixture comprises substantially only said substantially crystalline flake segments, and wherein said single batch mixture has been solid stated directly while in said heterogeneous mixture state so as to increase said intrinsic viscosity (IV) values of said PET materials without generating a substantial amount of heat of crystallization.

A high performance plastic strap, comprising:

• a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) material which has been solid stated directly from a single batch heterogeneous mixture of PET material which has a relatively wide distribution of intrinsic viscosity (IV) values, which are primarily within the range of 0.60 to 0.80 dl/g, but as high as 0.90 dl/g, and wherein said single batch heterogeneous mixture has been derived from an initial mixture comprising substantially crystalline flake segments and substantially non-crystalline chunk segments from which said substantially non-crystalline chunk segments have been removed such that said said initial mixture comprises substantially only said substantially crystalline flake segments so as to increase said intrinsic viscosity (IV) values of said PET materials without generating a substantially amount of heat of crystallization.