A continuous device (1) is provided for impregnating, in a single step, strands or ribbons of natural fibers (100) with a specific aqueous polymer dispersion to consolidate the fibers at the core of the fiber bundle and to improve their mechanical strength without any need for twisting. The device includes a stretching component (10) for elongating by the strand or the ribbon of natural fibers by stretching to give them a required yarn count, an impregnating component (20) for impregnating the fibers with the aqueous dispersion, a shaper for shaping/calibrating the wrung fibers, a dryer (40) for drying the shaped/calibrated fibers, and a conditioner (50) for conditioning the dried fibers to transform them into yarn or ribbon.

A continuous device (1) is provided for impregnating, in a single step, strands or ribbons of natural fibers (100) with a specific aqueous polymer dispersion to consolidate the fibers at the core of the fiber bundle and to improve their mechanical strength without any need for twisting. The device includes a stretching component (10) for elongating by the strand or the ribbon of natural fibers by stretching to give them a required yarn count, an impregnating component (20) for impregnating the fibers with the aqueous dispersion, a shaper for shaping/calibrating the wrung fibers, a dryer (40) for drying the shaped/calibrated fibers, and a conditioner (50) for conditioning the dried fibers to transform them into yarn or ribbon.

A method for the polycondensation of recycled PET includes the steps of

introducing a mass of recycled PET in a reaction chamber,

applying heat to the mass of recycled PET introduced in the reaction chamber in order to reach a working temperature and maintain it for a treatment time, and

moving the mass of recycled PET during at least part of the heat application step. The method further includes the step of

applying vacuum to the reaction chamber during at least part of the heat application step. The heat application occurs by dielectric microwave heating of the mass of recycled PET.

A method for the polycondensation of recycled PET includes the steps of

introducing a mass of recycled PET in a reaction chamber,

applying heat to the mass of recycled PET introduced in the reaction chamber in order to reach a working temperature and maintain it for a treatment time, and

moving the mass of recycled PET during at least part of the heat application step. The method further includes the step of

applying vacuum to the reaction chamber during at least part of the heat application step. The heat application occurs by dielectric microwave heating of the mass of recycled PET.

A process for forming a mat containing a fiber filler including providing one or more sources of extended length fiber; feeding the one or more sources of extended length fiber simultaneously to an automated cutting machine to produce chopped tow fibers; separating the chopped fiber tow into individual chopped fibers that form a fiber filler; coating the fiber filler with a binder; depositing the fiber filler on a first sheet of thermoplastic; covering the fiber filler with a second sheet of thermoplastic to form a stack; and moving the stack to a treatment chamber to form a fiber mat.

A process for forming a mat containing a fiber filler including providing one or more sources of extended length fiber; feeding the one or more sources of extended length fiber simultaneously to an automated cutting machine to produce chopped tow fibers; separating the chopped fiber tow into individual chopped fibers that form a fiber filler; coating the fiber filler with a binder; depositing the fiber filler on a first sheet of thermoplastic; covering the fiber filler with a second sheet of thermoplastic to form a stack; and moving the stack to a treatment chamber to form a fiber mat.

Disclosed herein are embodiments of a plasma treatment system and methods for utilizing directed plasma to reduce instances of gas venting and leaking of contents from plastic bottles due to scratches occurring on sealing interfaces of the bottles and closures. In an embodiment, a plasma treatment system for repairing scratches applied to PET bottles comprises one or more plasma nozzles disposed along a bottle filling line and a plasma being issued by the plasma nozzles to repair the scratches. The plasma nozzles are arranged into a configuration that uniformly distributes plasma to all parts of a neck finish comprising the PET bottles. The plasma treatment of the PET bottles is performed prior to capping of the bottles. In an embodiment, the plasma treatment is performed after filling the bottles with contents so as to avoid a risk of scratches from misaligned filling tubes.

A polymeric material used for 3D printing is preheated, at a first zone in a 3D printer, to a temperature in excess of its glass transition temperature prior to being melted, at a second zone, for incorporation into a build object. This enables the polymer to be processed more rapidly than in the prior art.

A polymeric material used for 3D printing is preheated, at a first zone in a 3D printer, to a temperature in excess of its glass transition temperature prior to being melted, at a second zone, for incorporation into a build object. This enables the polymer to be processed more rapidly than in the prior art.

A process and system are provided for introducing chopped and dispersed carbon fibers on an automated production line amenable for inclusion in molding compositions, including the debundling of many carbon fibers collectively forming a tow into dispersed chopped carbon fibers that form a filler that undergoes plasma treatment prior to introducing coating silanes to uniformly increase bonding sites for coupling to a thermoset matrix. By exposing carbon tow to a plasma discharge, the carbon tow debundles and is used to form sheets of molding compositions with chopped dispersed fibers added to the composition, as the sheets move along a conveyor belt on the automated production line and at least one plasma generator mounted above the conveyor belt ionizes the carbon fibers. With resort to deionized air to mix plasma-treated chopped fibers, still further dispersion results.