Polyester has grown to represent 55 percent of the world’s fiber consumption, and acts as a staple of our industry. The polyester industry in India is currently valued at $1.3 trillion (US).
Polyester is a synthetic polymer made of purified terephthalic acid (PTA) or its dimethyl ester dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) and monoethylene glycol (MEG), all derived during the refining and distillation of crude oil.
Originating from research headed by W.H. Carothers and working for DuPont on the development of synthetic fibers, British scientists Whinfield and Dickson took up the research in the late 1930s and eventually patented PET or PETE in 1941. Polyethylene terephthalate forms the basis for synthetic fibers like Dacron, Terylene and Polyester.
