Nature already has in store whatever the sort of material man requires. When it came to the question of soft light clothing, cotton was there. When it came to a strong reel of thread that has a gorgeous shine of fabulousness in it, silk came into light. But it is just the question of discovery! When we cannot discover, we tend to invent. The same is the story of polyester. The miracle fibre was invented years ago by processing crude oil. However, recently, it has been discovered by Japanese brains that the role of crude oil can also be served by biofuel. Let’s understand the basics of the process in a detailed prospect.
Paraxylene is a chemical that forms the base chemical in the conventional industry level production of polyester. This chemical is generally derived from the refinement process of crude oil and natural gas. However, according to the recent discovery, the same base chemical can be derived from the refinement of biofuel, thus causing a huge drown in the crude oil usage the world over. Polyethylene terephthalate is actually the bio produced fiber that would actually weave yards of polyester thread. Another positive revelation that has come into picture is that phthalate, a chemical that leaches from polyester clothing into the skin and causes disastrous effects like drop in sperm counts and disrupted activity of the reproductive organs when the fiber is produced in the conventional way, would face their extinction in the naturally derived version.
Setting every other positive fundamental apart, the very fact that polyester, today is used in a lot other utilities except for just clothing. Imagine the huge toll that the oil deposits have to bear to suffice the insatiable hunger of mankind for the practical outputs of chemistry! As such, if this discovery just rocks as well on the industrial benches as much as it has done in the laboratories, the outcome would be simply amazing!
Source: Ecouterre