In the last 20 years, PES fibres and thread have developed at very high tempos (by 7.2% a year on average). The share of PES fibres and thread in Asia is 64.6% of the world level for chemical fibres. China is still the unconditional leader, where production of PES fibres from 2004 to 2008 will increase from 11.5 to 18.5 million tons. Progressive methods of manufacturing TPA (terephthalic acid) from DMT (dimethyl terephthalate) synthesis of PET directly from PC (polycarbonate) and ethylene, the two-reactor polycondensation scheme, highly efficient catalytic systems, and new kinds of fibres and thread from modified polyesters are being developed. In Russia, scarce PET and the raw material for it are consumed for manufacturing bottles to the detriment of development of PES fibres and thread, of which there are almost none in the country at present, while the scales of production of packaging materials from biodegradable polymers made from environmentally safe and regularly reproducible sources are more and more actively increasing abroad.
