Methods of manufacturing bulked continuous carpet filament which, in various embodiments, comprise: (A) grinding recycled PET bottles into a group of flakes; (B) washing the flakes; (C) identifying and removing impurities, including impure flakes, from the group of flakes; (D) adding one or more color concentrates to the flakes; (E) passing the group of flakes through an MRS extruder (400) while maintaining the pressure within the MRS portion (420) of the MRS extruder (400) below about 25 millibars; (F) passing the resulting polymer melt through at least one filter (450) having a micron rating of less than about 50 microns; and (G) forming the recycled polymer into bulked continuous carpet filament that consists essentially of recycled PET.

A process for producing an elastic fiber comprising: melt-spinning a raw material composition, which comprises a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer, at a spinning rate of 2,500 m/min to 10,000 m/min. The thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer comprises soft-segments obtained by reacting a polyether polyol as a long chain polyol.

A process for producing an elastic fiber comprising: melt-spinning a raw material composition, which comprises a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer, at a spinning rate of 2,500 m/min to 10,000 m/min. The thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer comprises soft-segments obtained by reacting a polyether polyol as a long chain polyol.

A method of manufacturing bulked continuous carpet filament which, in various embodiments, comprises: (A) grinding recycled PET bottles into a group of flakes; (B) washing the flakes; (C) identifying and removing impurities, including impure flakes, from the group of flakes; (D) adding one or more color concentrates to the flakes; (E) passing the group of flakes through an extrusion system while maintaining the pressure within the extrusion system below about 25 millibars; (F) passing the resulting polymer melt through at least one filter having a micron rating of less than about 50 microns; and (G) forming the recycled polymer into bulked continuous carpet filament that consists essentially of recycled PET.

A method of manufacturing bulked continuous carpet filament which, in various embodiments, comprises: (A) grinding recycled PET bottles into a group of flakes; (B) washing the flakes; (C) identifying and removing impurities, including impure flakes, from the group of flakes; (D) adding one or more color concentrates to the flakes; (E) passing the group of flakes through an MRS extruder while maintaining the pressure within the MRS portion of the MRS extruder below about 25 millibars; (F) passing the resulting polymer melt through at least one filter having a micron rating of less than about 50 microns; and (G) forming the recycled polymer into bulked continuous carpet filament that consists essentially of recycled PET.

The present invention is directed to a method and a system for the production of at least one polymeric yarn comprising means for mixing a polymer (1) with a first solvent yielding a mixture; means for homogenizing the mixture; means for rendering the mixture inert (21, 22, 23); means for dipping the mixture into a quenching bath (30), wherein an air gap is maintained before the mixture reaches the quenching bath (30) liquid surface forming at least one polymeric yarn; means for drawing (41) the at least one polymeric yarn at least once; means for washing (5) the at least one polymeric yarn with a second solvent that is more volatile than the first solvent; means for heating the at least one polymeric yarn (6); means for drawing at room temperature (7) the at least one polymeric yarn at least once; and means for heat drawing (8) the at least one polymeric yarn at least once. The instant invention also concerns a system and method of dosing a polymer mixture with a first solvent into an extruder (26), a device (5), a system and a method of solvent extraction from at least one polymeric yarn, and a method and system of mechanical pre-recovery (4) of at least one liquid in at least one polymeric yarn.

The present invention is directed to a method and a system for the production of at least one polymeric yarn comprising means for mixing a polymer (1) with a first solvent yielding a mixture; means for homogenizing the mixture; means for rendering the mixture inert (21, 22, 23); means for dipping the mixture into a quenching bath (30), wherein an air gap is maintained before the mixture reaches the quenching bath (30) liquid surface forming at least one polymeric yarn; means for drawing (41) the at least one polymeric yarn at least once; means for washing (5) the at least one polymeric yarn with a second solvent that is more volatile than the first solvent; means for heating the at least one polymeric yarn (6); means for drawing at room temperature (7) the at least one polymeric yarn at least once; and means for heat drawing (8) the at least one polymeric yarn at least once. The instant invention also concerns a system and method of dosing a polymer mixture with a first solvent into an extruder (26), a device (5), a system and a method of solvent extraction from at least one polymeric yarn, and a method and system of mechanical pre-recovery (4) of at least one liquid in at least one polymeric yarn.

The resin composition for melt spinning of the present invention is a filament having a melt viscosity of 250 Pa.Math.s or less at 200? C. and a shear rate of 0.1 s.sup.?1 and a tensile strength of 10 MPa or more. The filament can be produced by forming a molten liquid of a resin composition having a melt viscosity of 250 Pa.Math.s or less at 200? C. and a shear rate of 0.1 s.sup.?1 into a filament shape to provide a formed material, and conveying and concurrently cooling the formed material. The present invention also provides a resin composition for melt spinning being a filament, and a method for producing fiber using a melt spinning apparatus.

The resin composition for melt spinning of the present invention is a filament having a melt viscosity of 250 Pa.Math.s or less at 200? C. and a shear rate of 0.1 s.sup.?1 and a tensile strength of 10 MPa or more. The filament can be produced by forming a molten liquid of a resin composition having a melt viscosity of 250 Pa.Math.s or less at 200? C. and a shear rate of 0.1 s.sup.?1 into a filament shape to provide a formed material, and conveying and concurrently cooling the formed material. The present invention also provides a resin composition for melt spinning being a filament, and a method for producing fiber using a melt spinning apparatus.

A method of producing polymer fibers and/or particles by direct polymerization of monomers without use of any external high energy sources (such as heat or UV) is described. The method may be used to fabricate polymer fibers, fiber mats, 3D polymer fiber structures, and polymer nano- and microparticles. Polymer fibers may be used to create fiber mats which can be utilized in a variety of applications.