Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.

Hitoshi Tsuboi

Masayuki Sakai

Hiroji Niimi

Shoji Hiraoka

Koji Nakamachi

Koji Takahashi

Shouji Hiraoka

A process for preparing polyester pellets which involves blending polyethylene terephthalate and polyethylene isophthalate copolymer before solid state polymerization, the polyethylene isophthalate copolymer being composed of dicarboxylic acid constituent units derived from dicarboxylic acids containing terephthalic acid and isophthalic acid and diol constituent units derived from diols containing ethylene glycol and 1,3-bis(2-hydroxyethoxy)benzene, palletizing the blend and crystallizing the pellets.

Process of making polyester pellets

A process for preparing a polyhydroxycarboxylic acid having a weight average molecular weight of 50,000 to 1,000,000, which comprises a crystallizing step comprising (A) a step of heating pellets of a polyhydroxycarboxylic acid having a weight average molecular weight of 2,000 to 100,000 under stirring to a temperature from glass transition point or higher to a melting point or lower and heating until a defined result is attained, and (B) a step of heating the polyhydroxycarboxylic acid to a temperature of solid phase polycondensation reaction temperature, and a solid phase polycondensation reaction step of reacting the crystallized polyhydroxycarboxylic acid at an endothermic start temperature or lower of an endothermic peak as recognized upon temperature elevation analysis of the crystallized polyhydroxycarboxylic acid by using a differential scanning calorimeter.

Process for preparing polyhydroxycarboxylic acid

Disclosed are polyester pellets made of a polyester which comprises dicarboxylic acid constituent units derived from dicarboxylic acids containing terephthalic acid and isophthalic acid and diol constituent units derived from diols containing ethylene glycol and 1,3-bis(2-hydroxyethoxy)benzene, and which has the properties: constituent units derived from terephthalic acid are 15 to 99.5% by mol and constituent units derived from isophthalic acid are 0.5 to 85% by mol, both based on the total amount of dicarboxylic acid isophthalic acid constituent units (i); constituent units derived from ethylene glycol are 25 to 99.5% by mol and constituent units derived from 1,3-bis(2-hydroxyethoxy)benzene are 0.5 to 75% by mol, both based on the total amount of the diol constituent units (ii); the intrinsic viscosity is in the range of 0.5 to 1.5 dl/g; and the melting point (Tm (&deg;C.)), as measured by a differential scanning calorimeter, satisfies the formula &lsqb;1/527&minus;0.0017&middot;ln(1&minus;(m,&plus;m,)/200)&rsqb;,&minus;273<Tm&lE;265; said polyester pellets having a density of not less than 1,350 kg/m,. Also disclosed is a process for preparing the polyester pellets. The polyester pellets are excellent in gas barrier properties, transparency and heat resistance and hardly generate acetaldehyde.

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Waki-cho, Japan

Hitoshi Tsuboi