What is CORTERRA* Polymer?
CORTERRA is the trade name for polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT), a thermoplastic that can be spun into both fibers and yarns and has extensive applications in carpeting, textiles and apparel, engineering thermoplastics, nonwovens, films and mono-filament.
PTT was first patented in 1941, but it was not until the 1990s, when Shell Chemicals developed the low-cost method of producing high-quality (PDO)1,3-propanediol, the starting raw material for PTT, that commercial production of CORTERRA Polymers was possible. Working with plant engineering contractor Zimmer AG, Shell developed an efficient, reliable PTT manufacturing technology, which can be licensed to companies interested in participating in "the fiber of the future."
