Process for the regeneration of polyester by reactor addition.

Abstract

A method of regenerating polyester can include providing a supply of recycled polyester 420, providing a supply of polyester precursor 422, depolymerizing the recycled polyester 420 to obtain depolymerized polyester monomer 421, polymerizing the depolymerized polyester monomer 421 with the polyester precursor 422 to form recycled polyester 423, and providing the recycled polyester 423 as an output 102.

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 850,160, filed May 20, 2019, and U.S. Patent Application No. 16 / 808,939, filed March 4, 2020, the contents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. [Background technology]

[0002] Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a crystallizable polymer, where crystallization affects many properties of the PET product, such as clarity, stiffness, and strength. PET has slow crystallization, which results in long cycle times that are not commercially viable. Furthermore, PET has a low heat distortion temperature (HDT), allowing PET articles to soften at relatively low temperatures.

[0003] Currently, PET is used in large quantities, particularly for packaging food items and other goods, such as beverage containers. To protect the environment, reduce landfill demand, and reduce the need for more oil to produce PET, PET recycling technologies need to be developed. However, recycled PET often suffers from manufacturing artifacts, resulting in recycled PET (hereinafter referred to as "recycled PET") having undesirable properties not present in virgin PET. However, recycling PET is important, and therefore, recycling protocols for PET that produce recycled PET with properties similar to virgin PET would be beneficial. As such, recycled PET polymers with better properties, faster crystallization, and a higher HDT while maintaining the good properties of PET are desirable.

[0004] [ka]

[0005] It would therefore be advantageous to have improved PET recycling technology. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In some embodiments, a method for regenerating polyester includes: The method includes providing a recycled polyester feedstock, where the recycled polyester feedstock includes polyester particles, off-spec polyester flake, off-spec polyester resin, or other forms of polyester; providing a polyester precursor feedstock; and converting the recycled polyester and polyester precursor to recycled polyester. In some aspects, the recycled polyester feedstock is depolymerized in a depolymerization reactor, and / or recycled polyester feedstock is depolymerized from a polymerization reactor. In some aspects, the depolymerization reactor and / or polymerization reactor receive one or more of water; methanol; an acid or base; or ethylene glycol. In some aspects, the water depolymerizes the recycled polyester to produce terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol; the methanol depolymerizes the recycled polyester to produce dimethyl terephthalate and ethylene glycol; the acid or base is in aqueous form and depolymerizes the recycled polyester to produce terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol; or the ethylene glycol depolymerizes the recycled polyester to produce bis-hydroxyethyl terephthalate (BHET). In some aspects, recycled polyester is characterized as or indistinguishable from virgin polyester. In some aspects, the polyester feedstock comprises PAT. In some aspects, the polyester feedstock comprises PET.

[0007] In some embodiments, the depolymerization reactor and / or the polymerization reactor can be any batch or continuous reactor, and the reactor can be configured as a mixer capable of mixing liquid polyester in a batch or continuous manner, such as a single-screw mixer, a twin-screw mixer, a continuous kneader, a reciprocating screw mixer, a two-stage extruder, a continuous plow mixer, etc. In some aspects, the depolymerization reactor and / or the polymerization reactor can also be one or more of degassed, homogenized, dispersed, or heated.

[0008] In some embodiments, the method includes providing the recycled polyester as an output to an output system. In some aspects, the output system provides the recycled polyester to a reservoir, a polyester product formation system, or an analytical system. In some aspects, the analytical system includes one or more analytical systems capable of determining the intrinsic viscosity of the recycled polyester; determining the flow rate of the recycled polyester; determining the melting point of the recycled polyester; determining the crystallization temperature of the recycled polyester; determining a differential scanning calorimetry profile of the recycled polyester; or determining the heat distortion temperature of the recycled polyester. In some aspects, the polyester product formation system is configured to form a product from recycled polyester alone; or to combine the recycled polyester with a second feed of polyester (second PAT feed) to produce a polyester composition product.

[0009] In some embodiments, the recycled polyester feedstock does not contain any other polymers, and / or the polyester precursor does not contain any other polymers. In some aspects, the recycled polyester feedstock consists essentially of PAT (or consists of PAT), and / or the polyester precursor consists essentially of PAT precursor (or consists of PAT precursor). In some aspects, the recycled polyester feedstock consists essentially of PET (or consists of PET), and / or the polyester precursor consists essentially of PET precursor (or consists of PET precursor). In some aspects, the recycled polyester includes recycled PET flake or off-spec PET resin. In some aspects, the recycled polyester feedstock contains less than 5%, less than 1%, less than 0.1%, trace amounts of water, or no water. In some aspects, the recycled PET flake or off-spec PET resin consists essentially of (or consists of, or comprises) 0-100% PET. In some aspects, the recycled PET flake or off-spec PET resin consists essentially of (or consists of) 0-10%, 0-20%, 0-30%, 0-40%, 0-50%, 0-60%, 0-70%, 0-80%, 0-90%, or 0-100% PET. In some aspects, the recycled polyester feedstock consists essentially of (or consists of, or comprises) 0-100% PET. In some aspects, the recycled polyester feedstock consists essentially of (or consists of) 0-10%, 0-20%, 0-30%, 0-40%, 0-50%, 0-60%, 0-70%, 0-80%, 0-90%, or 0-100% PET.

[0010] In some embodiments, the method can include depolymerizing the recycled polyester before mixing with the polyester precursor; and / or depolymerizing the recycled polyester during or after mixing with the polyester precursor. In some aspects, the method can include polymerizing the depolymerized polyester monomer with the polyester precursor to form the recycled polyester from polymerizable reagents that polymerize to form PET. In some aspects, the polymerization reactor receives the polyester precursors from a precursor reservoir, with each precursor stored separately or in any unreacted combination. In some aspects, the polyester precursor includes a first precursor that reacts with a second precursor to form the polyester. In some aspects, the polyester precursor includes a PET precursor, with the PET precursor including (1) a first PET precursor including PTA and / or DMT and (2) a second PET precursor including MEG and / or DEG. In some aspects, the polyester precursor includes cyclohexanedimethanol, and the product is a glycolated polyester. In some aspects, the polyester precursor includes IPA. In some aspects, the first precursor is provided separately from the second precursor. In some aspects, a first precursor is mixed with a second precursor under non-polymerization conditions. In some aspects, the first precursor is mixed with a second precursor to form a precursor mixture, and recycled polyester is mixed into the precursor mixture. In some aspects, the first precursor is mixed with a second precursor to form a precursor mixture, and recycled polyester and / or depolymerized polyester monomers are mixed into the precursor mixture. In some aspects, the first precursor is mixed with a second precursor to form a precursor mixture, and depolymerized polyester monomers are mixed into the precursor mixture.

[0011] In some examples, the method can include combining a first precursor with a second precursor to form a precursor mixture; combining recycled polyester with the precursor mixture to form a depolymerized mixture; and performing depolymerization with the depolymerized mixture. In some aspects, the method can include combining the first precursor with a second precursor to form a precursor mixture; combining depolymerized polyester monomer with the precursor mixture to form a polymerization mixture; and performing polymerization with the polymerization mixture. In some aspects, the method can include depolymerizing the recycled polyester before it is combined with the first and second precursors.

[0012] In some embodiments, the method can include performing a first depolymerization; performing a first polymerization; performing a second depolymerization; performing a second polymerization; and repeating the depolymerization-polymerization cycle for n cycles, where n is an integer.

[0013] In some embodiments, the method can include introducing recycled polyester into a continuous reactor stream; depolymerizing the recycled polyester in the continuous reactor stream; and polymerizing the polyester precursor and depolymerized polyester monomer in the continuous reactor stream. In some aspects, the polymerization occurs at a temperature between about 200°C and about 330°C. In some aspects, the polyester precursor includes (1) a first precursor including PTA and / or DMT and / or IPA; and (2) a second PET precursor including MEG and / or DEG and / or PETG. In some aspects, the recycled polyester has a weight percentage of between 1 and 50% of the total polymer composition weight of recycled polyester.

[0014] In some embodiments, the method can include outputting the recycled polyester as: a chip stream for forming pellets; and / or polyester sheet.

[0015] In some embodiments, the method can include controlling at least one output mass flow rate by controlling the pressure of the recycled polyester melt using a pressure control loop prior to forming the product. In some aspects, the controlling is in a die flow system that includes the use of an outlet pump, which directly controls the flow in the die flow system.

[0016] In some examples, the method can include depolymerizing recycled polyester to obtain depolymerized polyester monomer; and polymerizing the depolymerized polyester monomer with a polyester precursor to form regenerated polyester. In some cases, recycled polyester includes post-industrial flake, cleaned and / or washed post-consumer flake.

[0017] In some embodiments, a system for recovering polyester can include a recycled polyester feedstock, the recycled polyester feedstock comprising polyester particles, off-spec polyester flake, off-spec polyester resin, or other forms of polyester; a polyester precursor feedstock; a reactor configured to convert the recycled polyester and polyester precursors to recycled polyester; and an output of recycled polyester. In some aspects, the reactor is a depolymerization reactor having the recycled polyester feedstock; and / or a polymerization reactor having the recycled polyester feedstock. In some aspects, the depolymerization reactor and / or the polymerization reactor are operably connected to one or more sources of water, methanol, acid or base, or ethylene glycol.

[0018] In some embodiments, the reactor is configured for depolymerizing recycled polyester to obtain depolymerized polyester monomers and / or polymerizing the depolymerized polyester monomers with polyester precursors to form recycled polyester. In some aspects, the polyester feedstock comprises PAT. In some aspects, the polyester feedstock comprises PET. In some aspects, the reactor is any batch or continuous reaction vessel, and the reaction vessel can be configured as a mixer capable of mixing liquid polyester in a batch or continuous manner, such as a single-screw mixer, a twin-screw mixer, a continuous kneader, a reciprocating screw mixer, a two-stage extruder, or a continuous plow mixer. In some aspects, the reactor is configured to perform one or more of degassing, homogenizing, dispersing, or heating.

[0019] In some embodiments, the system includes an output system. In some aspects, the output system is configured to provide the recycled polyester to a reservoir, a polyester product formation system, or an analytical system by being operatively coupled thereto. In some aspects, the polyester product formation system is configured to form a product from recycled polyester alone; or to combine the recycled polyester with a second feed of polyester (second PAT feed) to produce a polyester composition product.

[0020] In some embodiments, the recycled polyester feedstock does not contain any other polymers, and / or the polyester precursor does not contain any other polymers. In some aspects, the recycled polyester feedstock consists essentially of PAT (or consists of PAT), and / or the polyester precursor consists essentially of PAT precursor (or consists of PAT precursor). In some aspects, the recycled polyester feedstock consists essentially of PET (or consists of PET), and / or the polyester precursor consists essentially of PET precursor (or consists of PET precursor). In some aspects, the recycled polyester includes recycled PET flake or off-spec resin. In some aspects, the recycled polyester feedstock contains less than 5%, or less than 1%, or less than 0.1%, or trace amounts of water, or is water-free. In some aspects, the recycled PET flake or off-spec PET resin consists essentially of (or consists of, or comprises) 0-100% PET. In some aspects, the recycled PET flake or off-spec PET resin consists essentially of (or consists of) 0-10%, 0-20%, 0-30%, 0-40%, 0-50%, 0-60%, 0-70%, 0-80%, 0-90%, or 0-100% PET. In some aspects, the recycled polyester feedstock consists essentially of (or consists of, or comprises) 0-100% PET. In some aspects, the recycled polyester feedstock consists essentially of (or consists of, or comprises) 10%, 0-20%, 0-30%, 0-40%, 0-50%, 0-60%, 0-70%, 0-80%, 0-90%, or 0-100% PET. In some embodiments, the system can include a controller having a tangible, non-transitory memory device having computer-executable instructions for controlling the system to perform a method of one of the embodiments. In some aspects, the controller is configured to depolymerize the recycled polyester prior to mixing with the polyester precursor and / or to depolymerize the recycled polyester during or after mixing with the polyester precursor.In some aspects, the controller is configured to control polymerization of the depolymerized polyester monomers with the polyester precursors to form recycled polyester from polymerizable reagents that polymerize to form PET. In some aspects, the controller is configured to control a polymerization reactor to receive polyester precursors from a precursor reservoir, each precursor stored separately or in any unreacted combination. In some aspects, the controller is configured to control mixing the first precursor with the second precursor to form a precursor mixture; mixing the recycled polyester with the precursor mixture to form a depolymerized mixture; and performing depolymerization using the depolymerization mixture. In some aspects, the controller is configured to control mixing the first precursor with the second precursor to form a precursor mixture; mixing the depolymerized polyester monomers with the precursor mixture to form a polymerization mixture; and performing polymerization using the polymerization mixture. In some aspects, the controller is configured to depolymerize the recycled polyester before it is mixed with the first and second precursors.

[0021] In some embodiments, recycled polyester 423 is provided that is produced by a method for recycling polyester according to one or any of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0022] In some embodiments, a method for making a polyester article is provided, the method comprising: providing a polyester melt, wherein the polyester is a recycled polyester 423 according to any one of the examples disclosed herein; flowing the polyester melt through a valve having multiple outlets; flowing the polyester melt through a valve having multiple outlets into a die forming system, the die forming system including multiple dies and a tip system; forming a polyester body from the polyester melt; Includes:

[0023] In some embodiments of the method for producing a polyester object, the polyester object is a polyester sheet or pellets.

[0024] In some embodiments, there is provided a polyester object produced by the method for producing a polyester object in one or any of the embodiments disclosed herein. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0025] The above and following information, as well as other features of the present disclosure, will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It being understood that these drawings depict only some embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure and therefore should not be considered limiting of its scope, the present disclosure will be described with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings.

[0026] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a PET reconstruction system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 illustrates a control loop for a PET regeneration system, such as for the pump of the system of FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 illustrates the individual loops used to control the output of the final pump to maintain quality in both the sheet line loop and the cutter loop of FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 shows a method and system for reclaiming polyester. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 shows the depolymerization pathway. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary computing device that may be configured, in some embodiments, to provide performance of the methods (or portions thereof) described herein, such as by being a controller. [Figure 7]FIG. 7 shows a graph of haze versus PET sheet thickness.

[0027] The elements of the figures are arranged according to at least one of the embodiments described herein, and the arrangement may be altered by one skilled in the art according to the disclosure provided herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0028] In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings, like symbols typically identify like elements unless the context dictates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments set forth in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not intended to be limiting. Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented herein. It will be readily understood that the aspects of the present disclosure, as generally described herein and illustrated in the drawings, can be arranged, substituted, combined, separated, and designed in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which are expressly contemplated herein.

[0029] Generally, this technology relates to a method for adding recycled PET polymer back into a PET reactor feedstream. The resulting PET polymer produced from this process has properties that allow it to be used to produce new products without any restrictions, which can allow the resulting PET polymer containing recycled PET to be used in virtually any PET product. The PET regeneration process combines recycled PET with new PET reagent to form recycled PET, which can be treated as virgin PET. The PET regeneration process produces clean post-consumer PET flake and a cost-effective method for regenerating off-spec PET resin.

[0030] The described PET recycling process can use recycled PET from any source. The recycled PET can be in any form, such as flake (e.g., ground material produced from recycled products), in-spec resin, or any other recycled PET form. The PET recycling process can also use other recycled PET, such as mixed re-extruded recycled PET (e.g., recycled PET optionally co-extruded with or without virgin PET or other recycled PET), co-extruded sheet PET with recycled PET in the center layer and virgin PET as the outer layers, and depolymerized PET (e.g., treated with solvents or other processes, enzymatic depolymerization). Previously, these recycled PETs were substandard or excessively expensive (e.g., depolymerized) as known in the prior art. Therefore, any recycled PET or depolymerized PET source can be used for the PET recycling process described herein.

[0031] Here, the present PET recycling technology utilizes recycled PET or any post-consumer PET in substantially any form without any state of depolymerization. While the present PET recycling technology can utilize depolymerized PET, the present PET recycling technology was developed to omit or avoid the PET depolymerization process entirely. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention specifically exclude the use of depolymerized PET as a reagent or source material in a PET recycling reactor.

[0032] This PET recycling technology results in recycled PET polymer that has no indicia, composition or shape memory, and / or processing history that would indicate that the PET in the product formed therefrom was once contained in a consumer product, such as a bottle, sheet, spoon, or any other item. The properties of the recycled PET polymer made with this PET recycling process can be considered, or chemically and / or physically characterized, to be the same as virgin PET formed from virgin PET resin. Therefore, this PET recycling technology can effectively use PET flake or off-spec resin as a feedstock to produce recycled PET resin that is equivalent to virgin PET resin.

[0033] In some embodiments, the present PET recycling technology involves chemically breaking down any PET polymer (e.g., recycled PET polymer) back into its original monomers and / or small polymers, and then repolymerizing the monomers and / or small polymers back into a full polymer. The small polymer can contain "n" monomers, where "n" can be 2 to 50, more preferably 2 to 25, more preferably 2 to 15, more preferably 2 to 10, or any integer less than 10. The chemical degradation of PET results in the recycled PET in the product formed therefrom (from the recycled PET polymer) losing any of its previous chemical and / or physical indicia, previous compositional or shape memory, and / or processing history that it once contained in the consumer product. Thus, the recycled PET can behave or be characterized (e.g., chemically and / or physically) as a new polymer, independent of the original recycled polymer.

[0034] Recycled PET produced as described herein overcomes problems associated with traditional PET recycling. In traditional PET recycling processes, recycled PET is simply melted and blended with other recycled PET and / or virgin PET resins. The resulting blended PET polymer is melted and blended, but the individual PET polymers remain largely the same as those of the various PET resins involved. For example, if one resin has an intrinsic viscosity (IV) of 0.60 and another has an IV of 0.80, when they are blended in a 50:50 ratio, the resulting resin's IV may be 0.70 (e.g., 50 x 0.60 = 0.30, 50 x 0.80 = 0.40, 0.30 + 0.40 = 0.70). The reason post-consumer recycle is recovered at low levels is because applications for this material are limited due to impaired chemical and / or physical properties. Now, the present PET recycling technology eliminates these limitations and provides recycled PET that is substantially chemically and physically identical to virgin PET resin.

[0035] In some embodiments, the PET recycling technology involves combining recycled PET with PET reagents and water, which undergoes a depolymerization reaction so that the recycled PET polymer absorbs water, causing monomer separation to produce monomers and small PET polymers. At some point, a polymerization reaction occurs with the monomers and / or small PET polymers to form longer polymer chains, again resulting in PET resin. This PET resin is considered recycled PET polymer because it contains recycled PET and virgin PET in an indistinguishable manner.

[0036] In some embodiments, PET polymerization is a condensation reaction. A condensation reaction occurs when two molecules react to form a new molecule, releasing a molecule of water. PET polymerization chemistry begins with PET reagents such as terephthalic acid (PTA) and monoethylene glycol (MEG), which combine and react to form the PET monomer bis-(2-hydroxyethyl)-terephthalate (BHET). Thus, the first stage of polymerization involves a PTA molecule reacting with an MEG molecule to form BHET, with one molecule of water being formed with each reaction. For this and subsequent reactions to continue, the water formed must be removed (e.g., used to break recycled PET chains). Once all the PTA has reacted, BHET (e.g., monomer) molecules then begin to react with each other to form small PET polymers, which then react with each other and any BHET to form longer, longer PET polymer chains. During the polymerization stage, the process can include removing water from the reaction zone (e.g., by evaporation) to prevent it from reacting with other PET polymer molecules. Accordingly, a liquid phase PET polymerization process can include a series of process steps, each step having a lower pressure and each step having a higher temperature to continue to vaporize the water by-product and leave the reaction zone (e.g., leave the reaction vessel).

[0037] In some embodiments, PET recycling techniques are based on the idea that polymer molecules do not want to exist in the presence of their monomers, especially when water is present in the same environment. When recycled polymer is introduced into an environment rich in BHET monomer and water, the natural forces of chemical equilibrium prevail, the polymer begins to absorb water, and the monomers begin to separate very rapidly. Also, virgin PTA and MEG have been introduced into the reaction zone, as in a typical polymerization process. This results in the reaction zone containing essentially only monomers, partly from the reaction of the virgin PTA and MEG and partly from the depolymerization of the recycled PET. This mixture then progresses much further in the reaction process, where the monomers begin to form small polymers, which then begin to form long, long PET polymer chains, thereby resulting in recycled PET resin.

[0038] In some embodiments, recycled PET such as flake or off-spec resin (e.g., off-spec resin is considered to be recycled PET herein, although flake and off-spec resin may be distinct in some embodiments) is introduced into the reaction vessel.

[0039] In some embodiments, PET reagents such as PTA and MEG are introduced into a reaction vessel along with the recycled PET. In some aspects, the PET reagents can include dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) along with or in place of the PTA. In some aspects, the PET reagents can include diethylene glycol (DEG) along with or in place of the MEG. In some aspects, the PET reagents can include glycolated polyester (PETG) along with or in place of the MEG and / or DEG.

[0040] In some embodiments, bulk liquid water is not specifically introduced (e.g., not provided) to the reaction vessel. Instead, the water used in the depolymerization reaction can include water molecules that are attached to the recycled PET by condensation (condensation, concentration, compression), bulk attachment, molecular attachment, or the like.

[0041] In some embodiments, bulk water is actively introduced into the reaction vessel, such as by being fed into the reaction vessel. For example, the reaction vessel may include a port attached to a water source. Alternatively, water may be mixed with the PET reagent and fed into the reaction vessel. Alternatively, water may be mixed with recycled PET, such as PET flakes, and provided to the reaction vessel along with the recycled PET.

[0042] In some embodiments, the PET depolymerization agent can be actively introduced into the reaction vessel, such as by being provided to the reaction vessel. For example, the reaction vessel can include a port attached to a source of PET depolymerization agent. Alternatively, the PET depolymerization agent can be mixed with the PET reagent and then provided to the reaction vessel. The PET depolymerization agent can also be mixed with recycled PET, such as PET flakes, and then provided to the reaction vessel together with the recycled PET. The PET depolymerization agent can include water, acidic water, alkaline water, methanol, aqueous methanol (aqueous methanol, aqueous methanol), ethylene glycol, aqueous ethylene glycol (aqueous ethylene glycol), and mixtures thereof. Any suitable acid (e.g., HCl) can be used for the acidic water. Any suitable base (e.g., sodium hydroxide) can be used for the alkaline water. As such, the PET depolymerization agent can result in the depolymerization of recycled PET, as shown in FIG. 5. As such, methanol can result in DMT and ethylene glycol (EG) via methanolysis. Water, whether neutral, alkaline, or acidic, can produce TP and EG via hydrolysis. EG can produce BHET and PET oligomers (e.g., small PET molecules) via glycolysis. However, in some embodiments, the PET depolymerization agent may not be actively introduced, but may be provided by being attached to or contained in a reagent, such as recycled PET.

[0043] Polymerization of the depolymerized recycled PET and virgin PET reagents can be carried out as known in the art of PET polymerization, such as by the incorporated references.

[0044] 1 shows an embodiment of a PET recycling system 100 that can be used to make PET sheet. A first feedstock of PET precursor 102 and a second feedstock of recycled PET 104 are fed into a reactor 106 of the system to make recycled PET. In one embodiment, the PET precursors include (1) a first PET precursor that includes a feedstock of PTA and / or DMT, and (2) a second PET precursor that includes a feedstock of MEG and / or DEG.

[0045] In another aspect of the invention, a third feedstock 103 of a second precursor, such as cyclohexanedimethanol (CHDM), can be used in combination with a first precursor, such as MEG or DEG. In this aspect, the final product is PETG.

[0046] In one embodiment, two feedstocks 102 and 104 are processed together in reactor 106 to depolymerize recycled PET.

[0047] In one embodiment, the first feedstock 102 is added to the reactor 106 and undergoes depolymerization, and then, following at least partial or complete depolymerization, the second feedstock 104 is added to the reactor 106.

[0048] In one embodiment, following depolymerization of recycled PET, the two feedstocks 102 and 104 produce an intermediate BHET in reactor 106, which can be converted to polyethylene terephthalate by heating above the boiling point of ethylene glycol or the reaction mixture under conditions that effect removal of glycol, water, or other depolymerization agents. Feedstocks 102 and 104 are reacted in reactor 106 by esterification and polymerization to produce a PET melt. Heating in reactor 106 can be carried out at temperatures as high as 325°C, if desired. During heating, pressure is reduced to provide for rapid distillation of excess glycol, water, or other depolymerization agents.

[0049] The recycled PET polymer produced in reactor 106 can have an IV greater than 0.3 dl / gm, as measured in orthochlorophenol at 25°C. More preferably, the IV of the recycled PET polymer ranges from about 0.4 to about 1.0 dl / gm, as measured in orthochlorophenol at 25°C. Even more preferably, the recycled PET polymer is chemically and physically sufficient for use in the present system to produce PET sheet 101. Such recycled PET polymer can have an IV of about 0.5 to about 0.7 dl / gm, as measured in orthochlorophenol at 25°C. The thermoplastic polyester-containing polymer of the present PET recycling system 100 for making PET sheet 101 has a preferred melting point in the range of about 200°C to about 330°C, or more preferably about 220°C to about 290°C, and most preferably about 250°C to about 275°C.

[0050] One aspect of the PET recycling system produces PET sheet 101. In another aspect, the PET recycling system for producing PET sheet 101 can be used with any other type of molten polymer to produce any type of product, including sheet. Another exemplary molten polymer is linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) polymer. In addition to homopolymers, the system for making PET sheet 101 can also be used with copolymers of PET, such as by adding isophthalic acid (IPA) instead of some of the terephthalate units or CHDM instead of ethylene glycol in the second feedstock 104 (e.g., first PET precursor).

[0051] In one embodiment, the recycled PET can be any recycled polyalkyl terephthalate (PAT), and the PET reagent can be any reagent that reacts to form PAT. The PAT can be:

[0052] [ka]

[0053] In PAT, n can be any reasonable integer such as 1 (polymethylene terephthalate (PMT)), 2 (polyethylene terephthalate (PET)), 3 (polypropylene terephthalate (PPT)), 4 (polybutylene terephthalate (PBT)), or 5 (polypentylene terephthalate (PPentT)) (e.g., n is 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, etc.).

[0054] Many different types of additives can be added to the PET melt depending on the nature of the properties desired in the finished product. Such additives can include, but are not limited to, colorants, antioxidants, acetaldehyde reducing agents, stabilizers such as UV and thermal stabilizers, impact modifiers, polymerization catalyst deactivators, melt strength enhancers, chain extenders, antistatic agents, lubricants, nucleating agents, solvents, fillers, plasticizers, etc. Preferably, these additives are added in reactor 106, but may also be added elsewhere in the system to produce PET sheet 101.

[0055] Recycled PET polymer in the form of a PET melt can be supplied via pipe 108 to a master pump 110, which pumps it through pipe 112 to a filter 114. In this embodiment, the master pump 110 supplies the PET melt throughout the distribution subsystem. The PET melt is passed through filter 114 to remove any foreign particles from the PET melt, either introduced through the feed stream or generated by the reaction. Preferably, filter 114 is used to screen out any large gels, degraded particles, or extraneous material that could be harmful to the downstream melt pump or the final product. One or more filter media of various grades (mechanical screen, sand, sintered metal, etc.) can be used. The proper design of filter 114 (volume, pressure drop, and residence time) is important to maintain adequate pressure throughout the present PET recycling system 101.

[0056] In some embodiments, recycled PET is obtained directly from reactor 106 without going through pump 110 or filter 114 .

[0057] The PET melt can be fed via pipe 116 to a process discharge pump with a distribution pump 118. In this particular embodiment, the process discharge pump with distribution pump 118 has a distribution box with multiple outlets. Preferably, distribution pump 118 can have any number of outlets to suit the desired application. As shown, two streams 119, 120 produce PET pellets 126. This material can be sold directly for bottles or utilized in a coextrusion process to produce multilayer film. Two cutter lines can be used to maintain maximum control. The two cutters are sized so that the maximum output of reactor 106 can be handled by these cutters.

[0058] Additionally, process discharge pump 118 feeds the PET melt to three sheet production processes 121, 122, and 123. Although only three sheet lines are shown, multiple lines can be added.

[0059] The design of the system is such that melt flow is minimized so that degradation and acetaldehyde are not an issue. All individual processes have control valves that are used in the final control flow path and allow the branch to be completely closed.

[0060] Any of the lines may include valves 125 for selectively controlling flow. Such valves 125 may be controlled by a controller, which may be a computer containing software stored on a tangible, non-transitory memory device with executable instructions for operating the PET recycling system 100. This includes a controller that controls not only the valves 125, but also the reactor 106, pump 110, and cutter. As such, various sensors, such as thermocouples, pressure sensors, flow sensors, viscosity sensors, turbidity sensors, absorbance sensors, transmittance sensors, transparency sensors, translucency sensors, opacity sensors, or other sensors, may be distributed throughout the system 100 to acquire process data. The controller processes the process data and provides operating instruction data back to the components of the system 100, such as for control of the reactor 106 and pump 110. In one example, the reactor 106 includes a mixing device and / or a heating device, and the controller thereby controls the mixing and heating of the reactor 106. The controller can also control a valve between the reactor 106 and the depolymerization agent discharger 107, which receives depolymerization agent discharged from the reactor 106, such as during the polymerization stage. The controller can provide depolymerization agent back to the reactor 106 during the depolymerization stage. Although shown horizontally, the outlet from the reactor 106 for discharged depolymerization agent can be at the top of the reactor 106.

[0061] In one embodiment, PET recycling system 100 for producing recycled PET is a continuous process that does not shut down once started. One way to control the mass flow rate of PET melt through system 100 is by adjusting the mass flow rates of feedstocks 102 and 104 (e.g., and / or 103) to reactor 106. A pressure feedback loop can be used to control the process exhaust pump, which can function as pressure feedback pump 118. As shown in FIG. 1, pump 118 to bypass tip stream 119 can be opened more or less to adjust the PET melt entering each process leg throughout system 100. Pumps 110 and 118 are controlled by continuous feedback of the calculated flow rate needed to maintain pressure in each system branch, such as by a controller. These values ​​are collected from the branches and fed back to a main controller (e.g., a PLC), which then uses them as the main speed control. The pressure loops within system 100 trim speeds. In this way, sufficient flow is distributed throughout system 100. The pumps in each subsystem can then adjust the pressure to the final value. For example, each line can include a valve 125 and a pump. Extra flow can be input to the system 100 to allow one cutter line to operate. If the flow rate in the system 100 is lowered or raised, the cutter system reacts to keep the flow rate and pressure to the sheet line within operating parameters.

[0062] Figure 2 depicts the control loop for pumps 110 and 118. Melt pumps operate under the assumption that a constant volume is maintained per pump revolution. When using melt pumps with plastic melts, the compressibility of the material becomes a factor. For any given polymer at a given temperature and inlet / outlet pressure configuration, there is a calculable throughput for a given pump. To precisely control the throughput in the sheet line in the process developed here, the control system uses the calculated flow rates of all pumps as control parameters.

[0063] As shown in FIG. 2, an embodiment shows three traveling sheet lines, each with at least one traveling cutter line. Calculated flow parameters (CFP) 501 are calculated for each traveling line and fed back to main system controls 502, 503, and 504. The main system controller can then control the main product discharge pump 118 and pump 110 to discharge enough polymer melt to maintain the suction side of all operating pumps. Pressure can be trimmed by operating a pressure valve in the loop. This main control loop is constantly controlled to compensate for any line speed changes on any of the sheet lines. As the line changes speed, more or less material is directed to the cutter process. The cutter speed (SC) 506 is constantly trimmed by the main system to maintain optimal pellet quality through the cutter.

[0064] Figure 3 details the individual loops used to control the output of the final pump to maintain quality on both the cutter loop and the sheet line loop. The input to each of the loops is controlled by the main loop, while the output speed of the individual loops is used to maintain pressure within a specified 1 bar using the speed control (SC) 525 and motor speed (MS) 526. The sheet line speed depends on the die gap and width and the sheet line speed. Sheet thickness is a critical parameter. As the sheet line speed increases or decreases, the final pump speed must track these changes to maintain thickness accuracy.

[0065] The main process pump supplies material to the system based on calculated flow values ​​provided by the controller. Values ​​within the system serve to direct the appropriate flow to each of the branches. Flow from the main pump is directed to a primary seat line pump 507. The speed of this pump is controlled by a feedback loop primarily comprised of inlet pressure 508 to outlet pump 509. To effectively control flow and pressure, the system further includes various flow controllers and indicators (FCI) 527, flow indicators (FI) 528, pressure indicators (PI) 529, pressure indicators and controllers (PIC) 531, speed indicators (SI) 530, and speed controllers (SC) 525. The inlet suction pressure to the outlet pump is maintained at a constant pressure. If the sheet line speed is changed, then the loop is designed to feed back to all three pumps: the main, primary, and outlet pumps. If the sheet line slows down substantially, then material can be diverted to the cutter line to prevent massive overflow of the sheet line. Similarly, if the sheet line speeds up, then material from the cutter can be diverted back to the sheet line. This use of a high-level control stream allows the system to maintain constant pressure and a thickness tolerance of less than 1%. Preferably, multiple pumps provide constant pressure to the die forming units 121, 122, and 123, with highly dependent thickness control. The first pump accommodates large swings in pressure. The second pump, and each preceding pump, further reduces any variation to less than + / - 1 bar after the final pump. This provides a forming line (output) that remains independent; therefore, they can be slowed down, started, stopped, or increased in speed independently of the other die forming units. A pressure control loop with a bypass tip stream 119 would provide this function.

[0066] The cutter loop is flow-dependent. The cutter line can accommodate minimum and maximum throughput. Two cutter lines are available, so when one line approaches maximum flow, the second line can be placed online. Flow rate and velocity are controlled, so uniform pellet size is maintained by the cutter. Material from the main process pump is pumped to a manifold, and appropriately positioned valves allow flow to be diverted to the primary cutter pump (P) 510. In one embodiment, the system for making PET products (e.g., PET sheet 101) produces PET products in a continuous mode from feedstocks 102, 104 directly from the melt phase of the reactor 106 to an extruder die, without nitrogen treatment, extrusion, and other processes, and with or without longitudinal stretching. In another embodiment, the system 100 flows the PET melt from the reactor 106 and extruder die directly onto a rotary die for producing packaging materials and other articles.

[0067] In one embodiment, the die forming units 121, 122, and 123 as shown in Figure 1 are three roll stack or air knife systems. More preferably, the die forming units are horizontal three roll stack systems. Typically, downstream of the roll stacks are auxiliary systems such as coaters, processors, slitting devices, etc. that feed the rewinder. These units are appropriately sized for the individual legs of the system and the overall capacity of the reactor 106.

[0068] In another embodiment, another type of unit would be a low-draw rotary die that forms parts such as bottle caps or closures from a formed sheet directly onto the rotary die. In one embodiment, there is one pump 110 feeding systems 119-123. Preferably, there are one or two individual pumps 507 and 509 at the end of each leg before the die and sheet or rotary die, respectively. Preferably, pump 118 maintains pressure within the system. This pump 118 is controlled by the main controller (PLC) using continuous flow information from the system branch pumps. If pressure drops, pump 118 increases pressure. If pressure increases, then pump 118 slows down or PET melt material is diverted to bypass tip stream 119. Preferably, if either system were to have lower throughput for an extended period of time, such as several hours, then a flow system value signal would be given to main pump 110 and reactor 106 to slow material supply to compensate for the lower throughput. When pumps 507 and 509 include two pumps in series, the first pump in the multiple pump array is used to regulate the pressure of the entire system. In this configuration, the first pump in the series, including pumps 507 and 509, maintains a constant pressure head into the second pump in the series. Preferably, the multiple pumps provide constant pressure to the die forming units 119 to 123 for highly dependent thickness control. The first pump regulates a large swing in pressure. The second pump and each preceding pump will further reduce any adjustment to less than + / - 1 bar before leaving the final pump and entering the forming die. This provides a forming line (output) that remains independent, so that the pump can be slowed down, started, stopped, or increased in speed independently of the other die forming units. A pressure control loop with bypass tip stream 119 provides this function. In one embodiment, the pump is a positive displacement pump as described herein.

[0069] The controller controls the continuous reactor 106, whose response time is typically orders of magnitude greater than the response time at the output of the die forming units 119-123 to control the thickness of the final product or sheet. In one embodiment, this is accomplished while each output leg remains independent of the other output legs. In one embodiment, the control loop provides for sudden process upsets, such as the start-up or shutdown of one of the output legs. In this embodiment, a bypass chip stream 119 allows chip production to increase or decrease based on any process upset. The upset can be a planned upset, such as a line shutdown for maintenance, etc., or an unplanned upset, such as an equipment malfunction.

[0070] In addition to the above, the control loop preferably compensates for the increasing or decreasing rate of one leg while continuing the overall system to produce PET sheet 101 at steady state. Pump 118 and associated valves (not shown) would respond by diverting (shunting) to or from bypass tip stream 124. This could cause a short spike or change in pressure, to which pumps 507 and 509 at the end of each system branch would respond. In this example, the individual pumps, including pumps 507, 510, would experience and react to the pressure spike, while the second pump in system 509, 511 would experience a modulation in upset magnitude that would be low enough to be regulated on the order of less than a second. In other examples, each line configuration would be different, and therefore individual strategies would apply to that system.

[0071] As shown, the resulting product or PET sheet is specified by die forming units 121-123. The system for producing PET sheet 101 controls die forming units 121-123 with such precision (similar to an extrusion system) that the objects produced by the system are limited only by the imagination of the manufacturer. Similarly, the number of die forming units can be varied from the three shown to any number not exceeding the capacity of reactor 106.

[0072] In one embodiment, the PET recycling system 100 controls pressure from a continuous reactor 106 to multiple channels. Each channel is connected to a molding section that produces a different object. Each channel operates as an individual extruder without the extruder. In another embodiment, a single pump can be used if the pump dynamics are configured into the process control algorithm.

[0073] In one embodiment, the PET recycling system 100 advantageously affects the mechanical and optical properties of the PET sheet produced, and also allows the PET sheet to be produced at a lower caliper when produced for packaging applications or other uses such as sheeting, strapping, and / or building articles.

[0074] The present PET recycling system 100 produces PET objects and articles with trim quality, and the manufacturing process is of such high quality that it can be mixed with a high percentage of virgin PET melt without adversely affecting the final sheet quality and the need to increase caliper.

[0075] In addition to the above-described aspects and embodiments of the present PET recycling system 100, the present invention further includes methods for producing these recycled PET polymers and their products (eg, sheets 101 or pellets 126).

[0076] In one embodiment, a method for recycling off-specification resin and recycled polyester flake is provided. The method can include directly adding the off-specification resin and / or recycled polyester flake to a continuous reactor system; depolymerizing the recycled polyester flake and / or off-specification polyester resin in the continuous reactor stream to produce a depolymerized product (depolymerized product); and repolymerizing the depolymerized product from the depolymerization with virgin reagents (e.g., reagents, monomers, catalysts) in the continuous reactor system to produce a new recycled polyester resin that meets virgin resin specifications. That is, the recycled polyester resin is chemically and / or physically identical to the virgin polyester resin. In one aspect, the reacting occurs between 200°C and about 330°C. In one aspect, the first PET precursor is selected from the group consisting of PTA, dimethyl terephthalate (DMT), and IPA. In one aspect, the second PET precursor is selected from the group consisting of MEG, DEG, and PETG. In one aspect, the weight percentage of flake and off-spec resin added to the combination of the first and second PET precursors is 1-50% of the total reaction weight of the components in the reactor, however, the recycled PET can include 1-50% recycled PET and 50-99% virgin precursor, or 1-60% recycled PET and 40-99% virgin precursor, or 1-70% recycled PET and 30-99% virgin precursor, or 1-80% recycled PET and 20-99% virgin precursor, or 1-90% recycled PET and 10-99% virgin precursor, or 1-99% recycled PET and 1-99% virgin precursor, or any range therebetween.In one aspect, the recycled PET can comprise 1-40% recycled PET and 60-99% virgin precursors, or 1-30% recycled PET and 70-99% virgin precursors, or 1-20% recycled PET and 80-99% virgin precursors, or 1-10% recycled PET and 90-99% virgin precursors, or 1-5% recycled PET and 95-99% virgin precursors, or 1-2% recycled PET and 98-99% virgin precursors, or any range therebetween. The method can yield recycled polyester resins (e.g., PATs such as PET), which can be provided as a polymer melt, such as a PET melt. While a PET melt is described herein, it should be understood that any PAT can be used in place of or in conjunction with the PET described herein.

[0077] In one embodiment, the method can include feeding the PAT melt through one of the plurality of outlets to form: a chip stream for forming pellets; a polyester sheet; or a polyester product, such as a PAT product.

[0078] In one embodiment, the method can include individually controlling the mass flow rate of the PAT melt, which can include controlling the pressure of the PAT melt using a pressure control loop prior to forming any PAT objects.

[0079] The method can include controlling an outlet pump, which directly controls the flow rate within the system.

[0080] In one embodiment, undried off-spec polyester resin pellets or powder are added to the reactor and recycled into fresh polyester resin.

[0081] In one embodiment, post-industrial flakes and cleaned and washed post-consumer flakes are added to a reactor and recycled into new polyester resin.

[0082] In one embodiment, the preferred product of the polyester recycling process is virgin polyester resin pellets, sheets, or other products.

[0083] 4 illustrates a method for regenerating polyester. The method can include providing a feedstock of recycled polyester 420; providing a feedstock of polyester precursor 422; depolymerizing the recycled polyester 420 to obtain depolymerized polyester monomers 421; polymerizing the depolymerized polyester monomers 421 with the polyester precursor 422 to form recycled polyester 423; and providing the recycled polyester 423 as output 402. In one aspect, the recycled polyester feedstock 420 is depolymerized in a depolymerization reactor 424 and / or the recycled polyester feedstock 420 is depolymerized from a polymerization reactor 410. In one aspect, the depolymerization reactor 424 and / or the polymerization reactor 410 receive one or more of water 428, methanol 430, an acid or base 432, or ethylene glycol 434. In one aspect, water 428 depolymerizes recycled polyester 420 to produce terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol; methanol 430 depolymerizes recycled polyester 420 to produce dimethyl terephthalate and ethylene glycol; acid or base 432 is in aqueous form and depolymerizes recycled polyester 420 to produce terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol; or ethylene glycol 434 depolymerizes recycled polyester 420 to produce bis-hydroxyethyl terephthalate (BHET). In one aspect, the polyester 420 feedstock includes polyester particles or other forms of polyester in a flowable format. In one aspect, the polyester 420 feedstock includes PAT. In one aspect, the polyester 420 feedstock includes PET.

[0084] In one embodiment, depolymerization reactor 424 and / or polymerization reactor 410 can be any batch or continuous reactor, which can be configured as a mixer capable of mixing liquid polyester in a batch or continuous format, such as a single-screw mixer, a twin-screw mixer, a continuous kneader, a reciprocating screw mixer, a two-stage screw extruder, a continuous plow mixer, etc. In one aspect, depolymerization reactor 424 and polymerization reactor 410 are a single continuous reactor. In one aspect, depolymerization reactor 424 and polymerization reactor 410 are also two stages of a continuous process. In one aspect, depolymerization reactor 424 and / or polymerization reactor 410 perform one or more of degassing, homogenizing, dispersing, or heating.

[0085] In one embodiment, the method includes providing the recycled polyester 423 product 402 to an output system 436. In one aspect, the output system 436 provides the recycled polyester 423 to a reservoir 438, a polyester product formation system 439, or an analytical system 440. In one aspect, the analytical system 440 includes one or more analytical systems capable of determining the intrinsic viscosity of the recycled polyester 423; determining the flow rate of the recycled polyester 423; determining the melting point of the recycled polyester 423; determining the crystallization temperature of the recycled polyester 423; determining a differential scanning calorimetry profile of the recycled polyester 423; or determining the heat distortion temperature of the recycled polyester 423. In one aspect, the polyester product formation system 439 is configured to form the product 403 solely from the recycled polyester 423; or to combine the recycled polyester 423 with a second feed of polyester 441 (second PAT feed) to produce the polyester alloy product 403.

[0086] In one aspect, the recycled polyester 420 feed is devoid of other polymers; and / or the polyester precursor 422 is devoid of other polymers or polymer precursors. In one aspect, the recycled polyester 420 feed consists essentially of PAT; and / or the polyester precursor 422 consists essentially of PAT precursors. In one aspect, the recycled polyester 420 feed consists essentially of PET, and / or the polyester precursor 422 consists essentially of PET precursors. In one aspect, the recycled polyester 420 includes recycled PET flake or off-spec resin. In one aspect, the recycled polyester 420 feed contains less than 5%, less than 1%, less than 0.1%, or trace amounts of water, or is water-free. In some aspects, the recycled PET flake or off-spec PET resin consists essentially of (or consists of, or comprises) 0-100% PET. In some aspects, the recycled PET flake or off-spec PET resin consists essentially of (or consists of, or comprises) 0-10%, 0-20%, 0-30%, 0-40%, 0-50%, 0-60%, 0-70%, 0-80%, 0-90%, or 0-100% PET. In some aspects, the recycled polyester 420 feedstock consists essentially of (or consists of, or comprises) 0-100% PET. In some aspects, the recycled polyester 420 feedstock consists essentially of (or consists of, or comprises) 0-10%, 0-20%, 0-30%, 0-40%, 0-50%, 0-60%, 0-70%, 0-80%, 0-90%, or 0-100% PET.

[0087] In one embodiment, the method includes depolymerizing recycled polyester 420 before mixing with polyester precursor 422; or depolymerizing recycled polyester 420 after or during mixing with polyester precursor 422. In one embodiment, the method includes polymerizing depolymerized polyester monomer 421 with polyester precursor 422 to form recycled polyester 423 from polymerizable reagents that polymerize to form PET. In one aspect, polymerization reactor 410 receives polyester precursors 422 from precursor reservoir 426, with each precursor stored separately or in any unreacted combination.

[0088] In one embodiment, polyester precursor 422 includes a first precursor that reacts with a second precursor to form a polyester. In one aspect, polyester precursor 422 includes a PET precursor that includes (1) a first PET precursor that includes PTA and / or DMT, and (2) a second PET precursor that includes MEG and / or DEG. In one aspect, polyester precursor 422 includes CHDM, and the product is a glycolated polyester. In one aspect, polyester precursor 422 includes IPA.

[0089] In one embodiment, the first precursor is provided separately from the second precursor. In one aspect, the first precursor is mixed with the second precursor under non-polymerization conditions. In one aspect, the first precursor is mixed with the second precursor to form a precursor mixture, and recycled polyester 420 is mixed with the precursor mixture. In one aspect, the first precursor is mixed with the second precursor to form a precursor mixture, and recycled polyester 420 and / or depolymerized polyester monomer 421 are mixed with the precursor mixture. In one aspect, the first precursor is mixed with the second precursor to form a precursor mixture, and depolymerized polyester monomer 421 is mixed with the precursor mixture.

[0090] In one embodiment, the method includes mixing a first precursor with a second precursor to form a precursor mixture; mixing recycled polyester 420 with the precursor mixture to form a depolymerized mixture; and performing depolymerization using the depolymerized mixture.

[0091] In one embodiment, the method includes mixing a first precursor with a second precursor to form a precursor mixture; mixing depolymerized polyester monomer 421 with the precursor mixture to form a polymerization mixture; and polymerizing the polymerization mixture.

[0092] In one embodiment, the method includes depolymerizing the recycled polyester 420 before it is mixed with the first precursor and the second precursor.

[0093] In one embodiment, the method includes performing a first depolymerization; performing a first polymerization; performing a second depolymerization; performing a second polymerization; and repeating the depolymerization-polymerization cycle n times, where n is an integer. In one aspect, the depolymerization is performed at a lower temperature than the polymerization, where the polymerization is performed at a temperature at which the depolymerization agent vaporizes from the polymerized composition.

[0094] In one embodiment, the method includes introducing recycled polyester 420 into a continuous reactor stream (e.g., 410); depolymerizing the recycled polyester 420 in the continuous reactor stream; and polymerizing the depolymerized polyester monomers 420 with polyester precursors 422 in the continuous reactor stream.

[0095] In one embodiment, the polymerization occurs between 200°C and about 330°C.

[0096] In one embodiment, polyester precursor 422 comprises precursors including: (1) a first precursor including PTA and / or DMT and / or IPA, and (2) a second PET precursor including MEG and / or DEG and / or PETG.

[0097] In one embodiment, the recycled polyester comprises a weight percentage of between 1% and 50% of the total polymeric composition weight of recycled polyester 423.

[0098] In one embodiment, the method further includes outputting the recycled polyester 423 as a chip stream for forming pellets and / or polyester sheet.

[0099] In one embodiment, the method includes controlling the mass flow rate of at least one output 402 by controlling the pressure of the recycled polyester 423 melt using a pressure control loop prior to forming said product. In one aspect, the controlling is in a die flow system including the use of an outlet pump, which directly controls the flow rate in the die flow system.

[0100] In one embodiment, recycled polyester includes undried off-spec polyester resin pellets and / or powder. In one aspect, recycled polyester includes post-industrial flake, cleaned and / or washed post-consumer flake.

[0101] FIG. 4 also illustrates a system 400 for regenerating polyester, including a feedstock of recycled polyester 420; a feedstock of polyester precursor 422; a reactor configured to depolymerize the recycled polyester 420 to obtain depolymerized polyester monomers 421 and / or polymerize the depolymerized polyester monomers 421 with the depolymerized polyester precursor 422 to form recycled polyester 423; and an output 402 of recycled polyester 423. In one aspect, the reactor is a depolymerization reactor having the recycled polyester feedstock 420 and / or a polymerization reactor 410 having the recycled polyester feedstock 420. In one aspect, the depolymerization reactor 424 and / or the polymerization reactor 410 are operably coupled to one or more sources of water 428; methanol 430; acid or base 432; or ethylene glycol 434. In one aspect, the polyester 420 feedstock includes polyester particles or other forms of polyester in a flowable format. In one aspect, the polyester 420 feedstock includes PAT. In one aspect, the polyester 420 feedstock comprises PET. In one embodiment, a reactor, such as depolymerization reactor 424 and / or polymerization reactor 410, is any batch or continuous reactor configured as a mixer capable of mixing liquid polyester in a batch or continuous manner, such as a single screw mixer, a twin screw mixer, a continuous kneader, a reciprocating screw mixer, a two-stage screw extruder, a continuous plow mixer, etc. In one aspect, the reactor is configured to perform one or more of degassing, homogenizing, dispersing, or heating.

[0102] In one embodiment, system 400 includes output system 436. In one aspect, output system 436 is configured to provide recycled polyester 423 to, by being operatively coupled to, reservoir 438, polyester product formation system 439, or analytical system 440. In one aspect, polyester product formation system 439 is configured to form product 403 from recycled polyester 423 alone; or to combine recycled polyester 423 with a second feed of polyester 441 (second PAT feed) to produce polyester alloy product 403.

[0103] In one embodiment, system 400 can include a controller having a tangible, non-transitory memory device having computer-executable instructions for controlling the system to perform at least one of the method embodiments described herein. The controller can be a computer, such as computer system 600 shown in FIG. 6. The controller can be configured to control the depolymerization of recycled polyester 420 before mixing with polyester precursor 422; and / or the depolymerization of recycled polyester 420 after or during mixing with polyester precursor 422. In one aspect, the controller is configured to control the polymerization of depolymerized polyester monomer 421 with polyester precursor 422 to form recycled polyester 423 from polymerizable reagents that polymerize to form PET. In one aspect, the controller is configured to control polymerization reactor 410 to receive polyester precursor 422 from precursor reservoir 426, where each precursor is stored separately or in any unreacted combination. In one aspect, the controller is configured to control: mixing the first precursor with the second precursor to form a precursor mixture; mixing the recycled polyester 420 into the precursor mixture to form a depolymerized mixture; and performing depolymerization with the depolymerized mixture. In one aspect, the controller is configured to control: mixing the first precursor with the second precursor to form a precursor mixture; mixing the depolymerized polyester monomer 421 into the precursor mixture to form a polymerization mixture; and performing polymerization with the polymerization mixture. In one aspect, the controller is configured to perform depolymerization with the recycled polyester 420 before it is mixed with the first and second precursors.

[0104] For the claimed methods, as well as other processes and methods disclosed herein, the actions performed in the processes and methods may be performed in different orders. Furthermore, the outlined actions are provided only as examples, and some actions may be optional, combined into fewer actions, eliminated, supplemented with additional actions, or expanded into additional actions without detracting from the essence of the disclosed embodiments.

[0105] The present disclosure should not be limited with respect to the specific examples described in this application, which are intended as illustrations of various aspects. Many modifications and variations can be made without departing from its spirit and scope. Functionally equivalent methods and apparatuses within the scope of the present disclosure are possible from the foregoing description, in addition to those recited herein. Such modifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. The present disclosure is limited only by the terms of the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular examples only and is not intended to be limiting.

[0106] In one embodiment, the method may include aspects performed on a computing system, such as processing and control by a controller. As such, the computing system may include a memory device having computer-executable instructions for performing the method. The computer-executable instructions may be part of a computer program product that includes one or more algorithms for performing any of the methods of any of the claims.

[0107] In one embodiment, any of the actions, processes, or methods described herein may be performed or carried out in response to the execution of computer-readable instructions executable by one or more processors and stored on a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable instructions may be executed by processors in a wide range of computing systems, from desktop computing systems, portable computing systems, tablet computing systems, handheld computing systems, network elements, and / or any other computing device. The computer-readable medium is non-transitory. The computer-readable medium is a physical medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereon such that the computer-readable medium is physically readable from the physical medium by a computer / processor.

[0108] A variety of intermediaries (e.g., hardware, software, and / or firmware) exist by which the processes and / or systems and / or other techniques described herein may be implemented, and the preferred intermediary vehicle will vary depending on the context in which the processes, systems, and / or other techniques are developed. For example, if an implementer determines that speed and accuracy are paramount, the implementer may choose a primarily hardware and / or firmware intermediary; if flexibility is paramount, the implementer may choose a primarily software implementation; or, again, the implementer may choose some combination of hardware, software, and / or firmware.

[0109] The various operations described herein can be implemented, individually and / or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware, or substantially any combination thereof. In one embodiment, some portions of the subject matter described herein may be implemented via an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), or other integrated configuration (format). However, some aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein can equivalently be implemented, in whole or in part, in an integrated circuit, as one or more computer programs running on one or more computers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computer systems), as one or more programs running on one or more processors (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more microprocessors), as firmware, or as substantially any combination thereof, and designing circuitry, writing code for software, and / or writing code for firmware is possible in light of the present disclosure. Additionally, the mechanisms of the subject matter described herein can be distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and exemplary embodiments of the subject matter described herein apply regardless of the particular type of signal-bearing medium used to actually accomplish the distribution. Examples of physical signal-bearing media include, but are not limited to, recordable-type media such as floppy disks, hard disk drives (HDDs), compact disks (CDs), digital versatile disks (DVDs), digital tape, computer memory, or any other physical medium that is not transitory or transmission-type. Examples of physical media bearing computer-readable instructions omit transitory or transmission-type media such as digital and / or analog communications media (e.g., fiber optic cables, wave guides, wired communications links, wireless communications links, etc.).

[0110] It is common to describe devices and / or processes in the manner described herein and then use engineering practices to integrate such described devices and / or processes into a data processing system. That is, at least a portion of the devices and / or processes described herein can be integrated into a data processing system through a reasonable amount of experimentation. A typical data processing system generally includes one or more of a system unit housing, a video display device, memory such as volatile and non-volatile memory, a processor such as a microprocessor and a digital signal processor, a computing entity such as an operating system, drivers, a graphical user interface, application programs, one or more interaction devices such as a touchpad or screen, and / or a control system, where the control system includes feedback loops and control motors (e.g., feedback for sensing position and / or velocity, control motors for moving and / or adjusting components and / or quantities). A typical data processing system can be implemented utilizing any suitable commercially available components, such as those commonly found in data computing / communications and / or network computing / communications systems.

[0111] The subject matter described herein may illustrate different components contained within or connected to different other components. Such depicted architectures are merely exemplary; in fact, many other architectures that achieve the same functionality may be implemented. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components that achieve the same functionality is effectively “associated” such that the desired functionality is achieved. Thus, any two components combined herein to achieve a particular function can be understood as being “associated” with each other such that the desired functionality is achieved, regardless of the architecture or intermediate components. Similarly, any two components so associated can also be understood as being “operably connected” or “operably coupled” to each other to achieve the desired functionality, and any two components that can be so associated can be considered to be “operably coupleable” to each other to achieve the desired functionality. Specific examples of operably coupleable include, but are not limited to, physically coupleable and / or physically interacting components, wirelessly interactable and / or wirelessly interacting components, and / or logically interacting and / or logically interacting components.

[0112] 6 illustrates an exemplary computing device 600 (e.g., a computer used as a controller) that may be configured in some embodiments to perform the methods (or portions thereof) described herein, such as being a controller. In a very basic configuration 602, the computing device 600 generally includes one or more processors 604 and a system memory 606. A memory bus 608 may be used to communicate between the processors 604 and the system memory 606.

[0113] Depending on the desired configuration, the processor 604 can be of any type, including, but not limited to, a microprocessor (μP), a microcontroller (μC), a digital signal processor (DSP), or any combination thereof. The processor 604 can include one or more levels of cache, such as a level 1 cache 610, a level 2 cache 612, a processor core 614, and registers 616. An exemplary processor core 614 can include an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a floating point unit (FPU), a digital signal processing core (DSP core), or any combination thereof. An exemplary memory controller 618 can also be used with the processor 604, or in some implementations, the memory controller 618 can be an internal part of the processor 604.

[0114] Depending on the desired configuration, system memory 606 can be of any type, including, but not limited to, volatile memory (such as RAM), non-volatile memory (such as ROM, flash memory), or any combination thereof. System memory 606 can include an operating system 620, one or more applications 622, and program data 624. Applications 622 can include a decision application 626 configured to perform operations as described herein, including those described with respect to the methods described herein. Decision application 626 can obtain data such as pressure, flow rate, and / or temperature and then identify changes to the system to alter the pressure, flow rate, and / or temperature.

[0115] Computing device 600 may have additional features or functionality and additional interfaces to facilitate communications between basic configuration 602 and any necessary devices and interfaces. For example, a bus / interface controller 630 may be used to facilitate communications between basic configuration 602 and one or more data storage devices 632 via a storage interface bus 634. Data storage device 632 may be a removable storage device 636, a non-removable storage device 638, or a combination thereof. Examples of removable and non-removable storage devices include magnetic disk devices such as floppy disk drives and hard disk drives (HDDs), optical disk drives such as compact disk (CD) drives or digital versatile disk (DVD) drives, solid-state drives (SSDs), and tape drives, to name a few. Examples of computer storage media include volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data.

[0116] System memory 606, removable storage 636, and non-removable storage 638 are examples of computer storage media including, but not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks or other optical storage, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium used to store desired information and that can be accessed by computing device 600. Any such computer storage media may be part of computing device 600.

[0117] The computing device 600 may include an interface bus 640 for facilitating communication from various interface devices (e.g., output device(s) 642, peripheral interface 644, and communication device(s) 646) to the basic configuration 602 via a bus / interface controller 630. Exemplary output device(s) 642 include a graphics processing unit 648 and an audio processing unit 650, which may be configured to communicate with various external devices, such as a display or speakers, via one or more A / V ports 652. Exemplary peripheral interface 644 includes a serial interface controller 654 or a parallel interface controller 656, which may be configured to communicate with external devices, such as input devices (e.g., keyboard, mouse, pen, voice input device, touch input device, etc.) or other peripheral devices (e.g., printer, scanner, etc.), via one or more I / O ports 658. An example communication unit 646 includes a network controller 660, which may be arranged to facilitate communication with one or more other computing devices over a network communication link via one or more communication ports 664.

[0118] A network communication link may be an example of a communication medium. Communication media may typically be embodied by computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and may include any information delivery media. A "modulated data signal" may be a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media may include wired media, such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media, such as acoustic, radio frequency (RF), microwave, infrared (IR), and other wireless media. As used herein, the term computer-readable media may include both storage media and communication media.

[0119] Computing device 600 may be implemented as part of a small form factor (SFF) portable (or mobile) electronic device, such as a mobile phone, a personal data assistant (PDA), a personal media player device, a wireless web watch device, a personal headset device, an application-specific device, or a hybrid device including any of the above functionality. Computing device 600 may also be realized as a personal computer, including both laptop and non-laptop computer configurations. Computing device 600 may be any type of networked computing device. Computing device 600 can be an automated system as described herein.

[0120] In some embodiments, recycled polyester 423 is provided that is produced by a method for recycling polyester according to one or any of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0121] In some embodiments, a method of producing a polyester object is provided, the method comprising: providing a polyester melt, wherein the polyester is recycled polyester 423 according to any one of the embodiments disclosed herein; flowing the polyester melt through a valve having multiple outlets; flowing the polyester melt through a valve having multiple outlets into a die forming system, the die forming system including multiple dies and a tip system; and forming a polyester body from the polyester melt.

[0122] In some embodiments, a method for producing a polyester article includes: and individually controlling the mass flow rate of the polyester melt in each of the die forming system and the tipping system using a combined feedback and feedforward control system on the die forming system and the tipping system, a combined feedback and feedforward control system including a first pump proximate each die of a plurality of dies and a second pump located upstream of a valve, the first and second pumps being controlled by continuous feedback of a calculated flow rate required to maintain pressure at each die of the plurality of dies of a tip system and a die forming system to individually control the mass flow rate of the polyester melt; or and individually controlling a mass flow rate of the polyester melt in each of the die forming system and the tip system using a combined feedback and feedforward control system on the die forming system and the tip system, the die forming system including a plurality of indicators of flow rate, pressure and velocity, and a controller, a primary sheet line pump, and an outlet pump, the outlet pump being located at a die of the die forming system, the speed of the primary sheet pump being controlled by a feedback loop including an inlet pressure at the outlet pump, the inlet pressure being a first indicator of the plurality of indicators of flow rate, pressure and velocity, and individually controlling the mass flow rate as determined by the controller.

[0123] In some embodiments, the method of making a polyester body further comprises filtering the polyester melt prior to forming the polyester body.

[0124] In some embodiments, in the method of making a polyester object, the polyester object is a polyester sheet or pellet.

[0125] In some embodiments, the method of manufacturing a polyester object further includes flowing the polyester melt into a chip stream from one of a plurality of outlets to form pellets.

[0126] In some embodiments of the method for producing a polyester body, forming the polyester body further comprises adding at least one side extruder to produce a multi-layer polyester sheet.

[0127] In some embodiments of the method for manufacturing a polyester object, individually controlling the mass flow rate of the polyester melt includes controlling the pressure of the polyester melt using a pressure control loop prior to forming the polyester object.

[0128] In some embodiments of the method for producing a polyester article, the individual control in the die forming system includes the use of an outlet pump, which directly controls the flow rate within the die flow system.

[0129] In some embodiments, there is provided a polyester object produced by the method for producing a polyester object in one or any of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0130] example depolymerizing a recycled polyester feedstock via glycolysis, methanolysis, or hydrolysis to obtain depolymerized polyester monomers; Various studies have been carried out under the example of recycling PET.

[0131] [Table 1]

[0132] Example 2:

[0133] [Table 2]

[0134] [Table 3]

[0135] The non-DPET flake had impact modifiers that shifted the color and reduced the haze (out of spec). Example 3:

[0136] [Table 4]

[0137] The color value, b, shifted. The shift is believed to be a result of the test conditions used to process the new resin. The shift is still within spec. Example 4:

[0138] [Table 5]

[0139] [Table 6]

[0140] The results from the PET recycling process in the examples show that the resulting recycled PET is comparable to products extruded from regular virgin PET resin. These results are superior to the properties of regular recycled resins. As shown in Figure 7, based on the results of these experiments, sheets extruded from original PET resin (DPET) exhibit haze values ​​comparable to the performance of virgin PET resin, but much lower than the haze values ​​typically found in recycled PET, such as flakes.

[0141] The embodiments described herein may involve the use of special purpose or general purpose computers including various computer hardware or software modules.

[0142] Embodiments within the scope of the present invention also include computer-readable media for carrying or having computer-executable instructions or data structures stored thereon. Such computer-readable media can be any available medium that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM, or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of computer-executable instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer. When information is transferred or provided over a network or another communications connection (hardwired, wireless, or a combination of hardwired or wireless) to a computer, the computer properly views the connection as a computer-readable medium. Hence, such a connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0143] Computer-executable instructions include, for example, instructions and data that cause a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, or special-purpose processing device to perform a particular function or group of functions. Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to such specific features or acts. Rather, the specific features and acts are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

[0144] With respect to the use of virtually any plural and / or singular term herein, those of skill in the art can convert from plural to singular and / or from singular to plural as appropriate to the context and / or application. Various singular / plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for clarity.

[0145] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that, in general, the terms used herein, and particularly the appended claims (e.g., the body of the appended claims), are generally intended as "open" terms (e.g., the term "comprising" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to," the term "having" should be interpreted as "having at least," the term "including" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to," etc.). It will be further understood by those skilled in the art that where a specific number of introduced claim recitations are intended, such intention will be explicitly set forth in the claim, and that in the absence of such recitation, no such intention exists. For example, to aid in understanding, the following appended claims may include the use of the introductory phrases "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce the claim recitation. However, the use of such phrases should not be interpreted as meaning that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite article "a" or "an" means that any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation is limited to embodiments containing only such recitations, even if the same claim includes the introductory phrases "one or more" or "at least one or more" and an indefinite article such as "a" or "an" (e.g., "a" and / or "an" should be interpreted to mean "at least one" or "one or more"); the same remains true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. Additionally, even if a specific number of introduced claim references is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the literal recitation of "two references" without other modifiers means at least two references, or two or more references).Furthermore, in instances where conventional techniques similar to "at least one of A, B, and C, etc." are used, such configurations are generally intended in the sense that one of ordinary skill in the art would understand the conventional techniques (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B, and C" includes, but is not limited to, systems having A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and / or A, B, and C together, etc.). Furthermore, it will be further understood by those skilled in the art that virtually any disjunctive word and / or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibility of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both of the terms. For example, the phrase "A or B" is understood to include the possibilities of "A" or "B" or "A and B."

[0146] Additionally, when features or aspects of the disclosure are described in terms of a Markush group, those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosure is also thereby described in terms of any individual members or subgroup members of the Markush group.

[0147] As will be understood by those skilled in the art, for any and all purposes, such as providing a written description, all ranges disclosed herein encompass any and all possible subranges and combinations of subranges. Any recited range can be readily recognized as fully descriptive and allowing that same range to be broken down into at least equal, third, fourth, fifth, tenth, etc. divisions. As a non-limiting example, each range described herein can be readily broken down into a lower third, middle third, upper third, etc. As will also be understood by those skilled in the art, all terms such as "up to," "at least," and the like refer to ranges that are inclusive of the recited numbers and that can be subsequently broken down into subranges as described above. Finally, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, a range includes each individual member. Thus, for example, a group having 1 to 3 cells refers to a group having 1, 2, or 3 cells. Similarly, a group having 1 to 5 cells refers to a group having 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 cells, and so on.

[0148] From the foregoing, it will be understood that various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described herein for purposes of illustration, and that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the various embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.

[0149] cross reference Cross-references to this patent application are to U.S. Patent Nos. 9,011,737; 8,986,587; 8,545,205; and 7,931,842; as well as US2013 / 0126543; US 2012 / 0181715; US2009 / 0212457; US2009 / 0026641; and US2007 / 0063374, which references are incorporated herein by specific reference in their entireties.

Claims

1. providing a recycled polyester feedstock in a continuous reactor stream, said recycled polyester feedstock comprising polyester particles in a flowable format; depolymerizing the recycled polyester feedstock via glycolysis, methanolysis, or hydrolysis to obtain depolymerized polyester monomers; providing a feedstock of polyester precursor in said continuous reactor stream; polymerizing the depolymerized polyester monomer and the polyester precursor in the continuous reactor stream to form recycled polyester; Including, (a) (1) the recycled polyester feedstock is depolymerized in a continuous depolymerization reactor; and (2) The recycled polyester feedstock is depolymerized from a continuous polymerization reactor. How to regenerate polyester.

2. (b) The depolymerization reaction vessel and / or the polymerization reaction vessel are (1) Water; (2) methanol; (3) an acid or a base; and (4) Ethylene glycol receiving one or more of the following: and (c) (1) the water depolymerizes the recycled polyester to produce terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol; (2) the methanol depolymerizes the recycled polyester to produce dimethyl terephthalate and ethylene glycol; (3) the acid or base is in aqueous form and depolymerizes the recycled polyester to produce terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol; (4) the ethylene glycol depolymerizes the recycled polyester to produce bis-hydroxyethyl terephthalate (BHET); one or more of: one or more of The method of claim 1.

3. The recycled polyester feedstock comprises PAT, the recycled polyester feedstock comprises PET in an amount of one of 0-10%, 0-20%, 0-30%, 0-40%, 0-50%, 0-60%, 0-70%, 0-80%, 0-90%, or 0-100%; The method of claim 1.

4. each of the depolymerization reactor and the polymerization reactor may be configured as a mixer, single screw mixer, twin screw mixer, continuous kneader, reciprocating screw mixer, two-stage screw extruder, continuous plow mixer, or the like, capable of continuously mixing liquid polyester; The depolymerization reactor and the polymerization reactor are also subjected to one or more of degassing, homogenizing, dispersing, or heating. The method of claim 1.

5. providing the recycled polyester as an output to an output system; the output system provides the recycled polyester to a reservoir or a polyester product formation system or an analytical system; The analysis system comprises: To determine the intrinsic viscosity of recycled polyester; Identifying the flow rate of recycled polyester; Identifying the melting point of recycled polyester; Identifying the crystallization temperature of recycled polyester; Identifying the differential scanning calorimetry profile of the recycled polyester; and Identifying the heat distortion temperature of the recycled polyester; one or more analytical systems capable of The method of claim 1.

6. providing the recycled polyester as an output to an output system; the output system provides the recycled polyester to a reservoir or a polyester product formation system or an analytical system; and the polyester product forming system comprising: forming a product solely from the recycled polyester; or combining the recycled polyester with a second feed of polyester (second PAT feed) to produce a polyester blend product; configured as one or more of: The method of claim 1.

7. (a) (1) the recycled polyester feedstock is free of other polymers; and (2) The polyester precursor does not contain any other polymers. one or more of: (b) (1) The recycled polyester feedstock is made of PAT; and (2) The polyester precursor is a PAT precursor. one or more of: (c) (a) the recycled polyester feedstock comprises PET; and (b) the polyester precursor comprises a PET precursor; one or more of: (d) the recycled polyester comprises recycled PET flake or PET resin, and the recycled PET flake or the PET resin comprises PET in an amount of one of 0-10%, 0-20%, 0-30%, 0-40%, 0-50%, 0-60%, 0-70%, 0-80%, 0-90%, or 0-100%. (e) the recycled polyester feedstock contains less than 5%, less than 1%, or less than 0.1% water, or no water; and, (f) the polymerization reactor receives the polyester precursors from a precursor reservoir, each precursor being stored separately or in any unreacted combination; At least one of The method of claim 2.

8. The method comprises: depolymerizing the recycled polyester prior to mixing with the polyester precursor; and depolymerizing the recycled polyester during or after blending of the polyester precursors; one or more of: and polymerizing the depolymerized polyester monomer with the polyester precursor to form recycled polyester from polymerizable reagents that polymerize to form PET. Including, The method of claim 1.

9. the method further comprising polymerizing the depolymerized polyester monomer with the polyester precursor to form recycled polyester from polymerizable reagents that polymerize to form PET; the polyester precursor comprises a first precursor, the first precursor reacting with a second precursor to form a polyester; and The polyester precursor comprises a PET precursor including: (1) a first PET precursor including PTA and / or DMT; and (2) a second PET precursor including MEG and / or DEG; the polyester precursor comprises cyclohexanedimethanol, and the recycled polyester is a glycolated polyester; the polyester precursor comprises IPA; the first precursor is provided separately from the second precursor; mixing the first precursor with the second precursor under non-polymerizing conditions; the first precursor is mixed with the second precursor to form a precursor mixture, and the recycled polyester is mixed with the precursor mixture; the first precursor is mixed with the second precursor to form a precursor mixture and the recycled polyester and / or the depolymerized polyester monomers are mixed into the precursor mixture; the first precursor is mixed with the second precursor to form a precursor mixture, and the depolymerized polyester monomer is mixed with the precursor mixture; one or more of: one or more of The method of claim 1.

10. The method further includes polymerizing the depolymerized polyester monomer with the polyester precursor to form recycled polyester from polymerizable reagents that polymerize to form PET; the polyester precursor comprises a first precursor, the first precursor reacting with a second precursor to form a polyester; and, The method comprises: （１） mixing the first precursor with the second precursor to form a precursor mixture; mixing the recycled polyester with the precursor mixture to form a depolymerized mixture; depolymerizing the depolymerized mixture; (２) mixing the first precursor with the second precursor to form a precursor mixture; mixing the depolymerized polyester monomer with the precursor mixture to form a polymerization mixture; conducting polymerization with the polymerization mixture; and (3) depolymerizing the recycled polyester before mixing with the first precursor and the second precursor; Further comprising at least one of The method of claim 1.

11. The method comprises: performing a first depolymerization; conducting a first polymerization; performing a second depolymerization; conducting a second polymerization; and repeating the depolymerization-polymerization cycle n times (n is an integer); further comprising: The method comprises: introducing said recycled polyester into a continuous reactor stream; depolymerizing the recycled polyester in the continuous reactor stream; and polymerizing depolymerized polyester monomer with said polyester precursor in said continuous reactor stream; Further comprising: said polymerizing occurring between about 200°C and about 330°C; the polyester precursor comprises precursors including: (1) a first precursor including PTA and / or DMT and / or IPA; and (2) a second PET precursor including MEG and / or DEG and / or PETG; the recycled polyester has a weight percent of between 1 and 50% of the total polymeric composition weight of the recycled polyester; The method comprises: a chip stream for forming pellets; and Polyester sheet, further comprising outputting as The method comprises: depolymerizing the recycled polyester to obtain a depolymerized polyester monomer; and polymerizing the depolymerized polyester monomer with the polyester precursor to form recycled polyester; further comprising: and, the recycled polyester comprises post-industrial flake, cleaned and / or washed post-consumer flake; one or more of The method of claim 1.

12. The method further includes controlling the mass flow rate of at least one output by controlling the pressure of the recycled polyester melt using a pressure control loop prior to forming the product; the controlling is in a die flow system including the use of an outlet pump, the outlet pump directly controlling the flow rate within the die flow system; The method of claim 1.

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