Diseño y construcción de una máquina para la obtención de fibra de poliéster a partir de botellas recicladas PET, con una capacidad de 5 kg/h

Abstract

This technical project was used to increase the activity linked to the protection of the environment, through the design and construction of a machine which allows obtaining polyester fiber from recycled PET bottles. The fiber was obtained by centrifugal spinning, which is an alternative system, where the centrifugal speed pushes the fluid through the perforations in the spinning plate, while the fluid passes through said perforations, is stretched by air friction and then cools and solidifies rapidly. The development of this machine is intended to reduce the sources of pollution from plastic bottles, as well as to benefit recyclers and small companies in the plastics industry that, due to technological limitations, are only for collection. The PET fibers produced are discontinuous and their main uses are in the filling of mattresses and pillows, also because of its resemblance to fiberglass or rock fiber it can be used as thermo-acoustic insulation in real estate construction projects. The fibers were produced by two phenomena; the melting with electrical resistances of PET flakes in the machine barrel at 260 oC and the rotational speeds generated by a motor at 3520 RPM. This study provides a technical description of the construction of the machine to produce PET fiber. To start up the machine, it is recommended to read the operation manual and to perform preventive maintenance mainly on the shaft and bearings, since they are the most critical due to the high speeds they are subjected to.