BoPET

BoPET (Biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate) is a polyester film made from stretched polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and is used for its high tensile strength, chemical and dimensional stability, transparency, reflectivity, gas and aroma barrier properties, and electrical insulation.

A variety of companies manufacture boPET and other polyester films under different brand names. In the UK and US, the most well-known trade names are Mylar, Melinex and Hostaphan.

History

BoPET film was developed in the mid-1950s, originally by DuPont, Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) and Hoechst. In 1964, NASA launched Echo II (the second mission of Project Echo). It was a 40 m (131 ft) diameter balloon constructed from "a 0.35mil (9µm) thick mylar film sandwiched between two layers of 0.18 mil (4.5µm) thick aluminum foil and bonded together."

Manufacture and properties

The manufacturing process begins with a film of molten polyethylene terephthalate (PET) being extruded onto a chill roll, which quenches it into the amorphous state. It is then biaxially oriented by drawing. The most common way of doing this is the sequential process, in which the film is first drawn in the machine direction using heated rollers and subsequently drawn in the transverse direction, i.e. orthogonally to the direction of travel, in a heated oven. It is also possible to draw the film in both directions simultaneously, although the equipment required for this is somewhat more elaborate. Draw ratios are typically around 3 to 4 in each direction.