An Overview Of The History Of Polypropylene Fibers

The History Of Polypropylene Fibers

In the early stage, propylene polymerization can only obtain paper products with low polymerization degree, which are amorphous compounds and have no practical value. In 1954, Ziegler and Natta invented the Ziergler-Natta catalyst and made crystalline polypropylene, which has high stereotactic regularity, called fully isotactic polypropylene or isotactic polypropylene. This research result has opened up a new direction in the field of polymerization, laying the foundation for the large-scale industrial production of polypropylene and its wide application in plastic products and fiber production.

In 1957, the industrial production of polypropylene was first realized by the Italian Montecatini company. From 1958 to 1960, the company used polypropylene for fiber production, developing polypropylene fibers under the trade name Meraklon, and later began production in the United States and Canada.

After 1964, polypropylene membrane split fiber for bundling was developed, and the film fibrillation was made into textile fiber and carpet yarn.
In the 70s of the 20th century, the short-distance spinning process and equipment improved the production process of polypropylene fiber. During the same period, expanded continuous filaments began to be used in the carpet industry. Currently, 90% of carpet backings and 25% of carpet veils worldwide are made from polypropylene fibers.