New Polyester Products Perform Better And Are Easy To Recycle

Long will present an overview of technology issues related to polyester chemistry and processing for new applications during the 217th American Chemical Society National Meeting in Anaheim on March 21-26.

"We will demonstrate new approaches to make polyester packaging retain carbon dioxide longer," says Long. The result is longer lasting packaging and longer shelf life for the food and drinks in such packages. "Your drinks will have improved flavor too," he says.

In the same talk, Long will talk about preparing liquid crystalline polyesters, such as for use in computers and automobiles.

The connection between soft drinks and electronic components is the chemistry of polyesters.

"Polyesters are important materials because they are environmentally friendly," says Long. "You can take them apart chemically and recycle the starting materials, which is something you cannot do easily with a current polyethylene milk jug, for instance."

The talk, "Polyester Chemistry: From soft drink bottles to polymeric liquid crystals," (Poly #285) will be Wednesday, March 24, at 8:30 a.m. in the Marriott Grand Ballroom G/H. It is the first presentation in the "Milestones in Polyesters" symposium.

Long is a faculty member in the chemistry department at Virginia Tech. Co-author is James R. Bradley of Eastman Chemical Company in Kingsport, Tenn. The research efforts were funded by Eastman Chemical Company, Polymer Research Division.