Engineering and technologies

Polyester (PET)

Zimmer: the leading brand in polymers technology

 Technip at a glance

Technip is a world leader in project management, engineering and construction for

the oil and gas industry.
With a global footprint, our talents constantly offer the most innovative technologies
and best solutions to our clients to optimize their investments and meet the world’s
energy challenges.
Our mission is to deliver safe, sustainable and quality projects across the world.

We operate in three main businesses:

Subsea Offshore Onshore

In subsea hydrocarbon field
development, Technip’s activities
include the design, manufacture
and installation of rigid and
flexible subsea pipelines and
umbilicals.
Thanks to our portfolio of
technologies, industrial and
operational assets on all
continents and a state-of-the art
fleet, we offer a unique vertically
integrated model in the industry.
In the Offshore business, our
activities include engineering,
procurement, construction (EPC)
and installation of fixed and floating
platforms.
We use a complete range of
technological solutions to answer
the challenges faced by our clients.
We are leveraging our expertise in
full-range of offshore facilities, as
well as our strong know-how with
added-value process skills and
proprietary platform design.
In the Onshore business, we deliver to
our clients all the experience we have
acquired for almost 60 years, combined
with a large technology solutions
portfolio. We are working on onshore
facilities that the energy sector needs, in
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Technip is one of the global leaders for
the refining business and petrochemical
units. We also reinforced our position on
project management consultancy (PMC)
activities, by leveraging our expertise in
the management of complex projects.

2
A highly efficient technology,
with versatile applications

Zimmer PET Plant in Thailand (Kangwal Polyester Co., Ltd.)

Technip Zimmer® Efficiency

Technip Zimmer® PET technology features an extremely efficient
technologies combine conversion of resources, delivering the highest yield and boosting
maximum resource profitability. At the same time, plants with our technology achieve
low energy consumption in a compact layout. Exhaust gases are
efficiency, high availability treated in an internal system, resulting in very low emissions.
Further, plants are designed with a heat recovery system that uses
and low operating costs – thermal energy to produce a vacuum for the ethylene glycol jet.
proven in more than 800
Productivity
polymer plants around We understand that avoiding downtime is business-critical. Our
the world. Based on this technology is highly reliable. In fact, plants with our technology
can operate for up to seven years without requiring shutdown
extensive experience, we for servicing. Plus, all our facilities include safety features such as
automatic hazard warnings.
can provide solutions
tailored to your needs, Outstanding quality
The resin produced by plants with our technology is easy to work
with a capacity of up to with: it melts easily requiring less energy. And the resulting end
2,000 metric tons per day products – whether textiles or packaging – feature the desired
characteristics of top-quality PET, such as high uniformity, bright
in a single finisher. colors and low acetaldehyde content.

Technip Zimmer® Polyester (PET) 3

 High viscosity, large capacity solutions

We offer tailor-made solutions with a capacity of up to 2,000

metric tons per day.
Our solutions are based on our extensive portfolio of proprietary technologies, from E to EPC packages.
This allows us to meet your needs, without hiring external partners, as each project is optimized to your
feedstock and desired applications.
Plants with our technology are highly flexible and can be modified as requirements or recipes change due
to shifting market demands.

Large capacities
Our robust disc ring reactor design is the result of our extensive experience, in-depth research and
development and technological expertise. We build plants with high capacities that deliver impressive
economies of scale.

Our proprietary double-drive reactor system guarantees a smooth

and reliable operation at high viscosity and large capacities.

Design of Disc Ring Reactor (DD-DRR)

Capacity in t/d
2500

2000

Double Drive Disc Ring Reactor

1500

Single Drive Disc Ring Reactor

1500

500

0
0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9

Viscosity in dl/g
Application range of a single drive reactor

Application range of a double drive reactor

4 Technip Zimmer® Polyester (PET)

 Technip Zimmer’s proprietary Disc Ring Reactor
The perfect
packaging for The best option...
your needs PET has become the preferred material for a wide range of light-weight,
clear packaging – with good reason. Plants with Technip Zimmer®
technology help you produce PET that makes unbreakable yet light-weight
bottles or packaging, lowering transportation costs. You can be sure of PET
Our end product that is extremely transparent and highly color-resistant. In addition, it will
is characterized by not affect the taste or smell of packaged goods, and boasts exceptionally
low acetaldehyde levels. Last but not least, the outstanding quality of our
excellent quality, end products offers high recyclability. These factors ensure your PET will
find willing buyers for your products, as our customers around the world
providing a range can confirm.
of advantages and
...for your products
flexibility for our At the same time, we understand that various types of packaging have
customers and their different requirements. We will provide you with the ideal recipe for your
needs, from perfectly formed bottles to strong yet stretchable film.
clients.

Technip Zimmer® Polyester (PET) 5

 PET for
packaging:
Your choice

We offer two Standard melt polycondensation

processes for This is the option with the longest track record. The polymer produced by this method
has a lower intermediate intrinsic viscosity (IV) which is lifted to its final value by a
producing PET for process called solid state polycondensation (SSP). The resulting resin is a completely
packaging, from dried granulate (also known as chips or pellets), which can be easily transported in bags
or containers.
tried-and-tested to
cutting-edge. Zimmer is famed for having decades of experience with this dependable technology.

Our experience Direct High Intrinsic (DHI) viscosity process

working on projects Years of continuous improvement and development of the PET process has culminated
in a DHI high-tech process which does not require SSP. We have reduced the number
around the world of process steps, resulting in lower energy consumption, less capital equipment and
enables us to help fewer engineering hours, which directly translates to CAPEX and OPEX savings for you.
The DHI process also eliminates losses associated with SSP and spillage – reducing raw
you select the best material and utility costs.
option for your The produced high viscosity melt can be continuously filtered, granulated, and
application. crystallized (latent heat crystallization), forming fine chips at largest viscosity that are
virtually dust-free. This energy-efficient solution ensures excellent product quality and
low acetaldehyde reformation. The uniformity of these chips translates into smoother
processing and more consistent preforms, with better color and clarity.

Polycondensation Plant + SSP DHI plant

Chips Polymer plant up Polymer plant up through
quenching through granulation granulation/crystallization
with water (chips at intermediate viscosity) (chips at final viscosity)
Acetaldehyde
Compressed air Chips conveying reduction, Hot air Chips conveying
carrier gas:
hot air
Amorphous chips Chips dealdehydization Air to
intermediate storage Chips cooling, through cooler treatment
ambient air
Compressed air Chips conveying
Chips conveying to
Compressed air storage and bagging
Nitrogen to
Hot SSP pre-crystallizer
Nitrogen
nitrogen and crystallizers
Preparation Unit

Hot nitrogen Hot chips conveying

Chips SSP reactor through Nitrogen to

cooling, cooler/deduster Nitrogen
ambient
air (final viscosity via IV lift) Preparation Unit

Compressed air Chips conveying to

storage and bagging

6 Technip Zimmer® Polyester (PET)

PET for textiles: it is your choice
Thanks to its cost- and resource-efficient production, PET has emerged as the polymer of
choice for textiles of all kinds. Quality of polyester, however, remains a key differentiator
among technology providers. The best way to ensure a reliable supply of premium yarn is
to operate your own plant based on Technip Zimmer® technology. In other words, plants
flow smoothly and steadily without breakage – guaranteeing high-quality yarn.
Using our PET melt as feed for the direct spinning process ensures a superior end
product and a higher resale value. In addition, our technology is highly available and
easy to operate – running your own PET plant is straightforward and does not require
prior experience in plastics manufacturing.

Resin melt
Plants with our technology provide high-grade melt for spinning directly into staple
fibers or filament (partially-oriented yarn or fully-drawn yarn). We can seamlessly
integrate continuous PET production with direct spinning equipment.

Industrial specifications
We welcome customers with special requirements. For example, we have experience
designing plants that deliver medium-viscosity resin or granulate which is ideal for
spinning into robust technical yarn. Our portfolio even extends to the extremely high
viscosity required for tire cord.
Intrinsic viscosity range covers the following applications:

Plant capacities Reactor type Tons/Day Application

Medium viscosities Vertical cascade 90 – 2000 Textile filaments, staple fibers,
0.5 – 0.66 IV reactor and disc ring bulk continuous filament
reactor carpet yarns, feed materials for
solid state polycondensation
for specialty plastics or bottles
High viscosities Vertical cascade ≤ 1000 Industrial yarns, engineering
0.66 – 0.9 IV reactor and double plastics, bottles/packaging
drive disc ring reactor
Dealdehydization ≤ 1000 Packaging & bottles
tower
Very high Vertical cascade 150 – 600 Tire cord, rigid engineering
viscosities 0.9 – reactor and disc ring plastics
1.00 IV reactor with SSP
Products Polymer melt or chips

Technip Zimmer®
technology has been
applied in 170 polyester
plants around the world.

Technip Zimmer® Polyester (PET) 7

An impressive record HEADQUARTERS
Technip
89 Avenue de la Grande Armée
Technip Zimmer is widely respected as a global market leader of polymer technologies built 75773 Paris Cedex 16
on decades of successful operation. As a pioneer in the industry, we have remained at the France
Phone: +33 (0)1 47 78 24 00
forefront of development by investing in R&D and continuously improving our technology.
CONTACTS

Technip Zimmer 
Process Technology
Technip Zimmer GmbH
Friesstrasse 20
60388 Frankfurt
Germany
Phone: +49 (0)69 5808 1701
Email: technipzimmer@technip.com

Technip Zimmer Research Center

Technip Zimmer GmbH
Gwinnerstraße 27-33
60388 Frankurt
Germany
Phone: +49 (0)69 5808 1701
Email: technipzimmer@technip.com

www.technip.com

Countries with a
Zimmer PET plant

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This document is the property of Technip and is not intended to be a binding contractual
document. Any information contained herein shall not result in any binding obligation on
the part of Technip, or any of its affiliates, and is provided for information purposes only.
Technip Stone & Webster Process Technology – Communications – June 2015.
Photo credits: Technip.