| HS Code | 473913 |
| Product | 2.5-20D*38-102mm PET staple fibers for automotive interiors |
| Material | Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) |
| Fiber Type | Staple fiber |
| Denier Range | 2.5D to 20D |
| Cut Length Range | 38 mm to 102 mm |
| Cross Sectional Shape | Round, hollow, or trilobal depending on variant |
| Crimp | Mechanical crimp, typically 8 to 15 crimps per 25 mm |
| Tenacity | 2.5 to 6.0 cN/dtex |
| Elongation At Break | 20% to 60% |
| Melting Point | 255 °C to 265 °C |
| Density | 1.38 to 1.40 g/cm³ |
| Moisture Regain | 0.2% to 0.5% at 20 °C and 65% relative humidity |
| Heat Resistance | Good up to approximately 150 °C for short-term exposure |
| Flame Retardancy | Can be engineered to meet automotive flammability requirements |
| Uv Resistance | Moderate; can be stabilized for automotive interior exposure |
| Color | Natural white or dope-dyed colors |
| Finish | Spin finish compatible with nonwoven and automotive processing |
| Odor And Voc | Low odor and low VOC grades available |
| Acoustic Performance | Used in nonwoven form for sound absorption |
| Thermal Insulation | Provides thermal insulation in nonwoven automotive interior layers |
| Recyclability | Recyclable within PET material streams |
| Automotive Compliance | Can be produced to meet relevant automotive interior standards |
As an accredited 2.5-20D*38-102mm PET staple fibers for automotive interiors factory, we enforce strict quality protocols—every batch undergoes rigorous testing to ensure consistent efficacy and safety standards.
| Packing | 250 kg bales, wrapped in woven polypropylene and strapped, suitable for transporting PET staple fibers for automotive interiors. |
| Container Loading (20′ FCL) | 20′ FCL loading of 2.5–20D × 38–102 mm PET staple fibers for automotive interiors, securely palletized and moisture-protected. |
| Shipping | Shipment: 2.5–20D, 38–102 mm PET staple fibers for automotive interiors. Packed in moisture-proof bales or cartons on pallets, strapped and shrink-wrapped. Non-hazardous, non-flammable, not DOT/IMDG regulated. Store dry, ventilated, away from moisture, sunlight, and ignition. Handle with care; forklift acceptable. Transport by truck, rail, or sea under standard conditions. |
| Storage | Store PET staple fibers in a clean, dry, well-ventilated warehouse at ambient temperature and controlled humidity, away from direct sunlight, moisture, heat, sparks, and ignition sources. Keep pallets off the floor; protect from dust, oil, grease, strong chemicals, and static. Do not crush bales; stack stably, use racks, and follow FIFO. Maintain good ventilation and pest control. |
| Shelf Life | Store in cool, dry, well-ventilated area, away from sunlight and moisture; shelf life typically 24 months in original unopened packaging. |
D denotes denier, mass in grams per 9,000 m of fiber. Needlepunch lines producing automotive floor carpet and trunk floor cover from 6.7 D to 17 D PET staple at cut lengths between 64 mm and 102 mm typically set the fiber addition ratio at 80 wt% to 100 wt% PET staple, with 0 wt% to 20 wt% low-melt copolyester bicomponent binder fiber added only when post-needling thermal stabilization is required to control matting under pedal wear. The furnish is opened in a weigh-pan opener, carded on a 2.5 m to 3.5 m working-width card, cross-lapped to a basis weight of 400–1,200 g/m², and passed through a pre-needle loom followed by final needling at 800–1,200 min−1 stroke frequency with 5–12 mm penetration depth. If ambient relative humidity exceeds 60%, fiber is pre-dried to below 0.2 wt% moisture before carding to limit worker roller lapping and needle loading. Compliance for finished flooring in North America, Europe, and China generally requires FMVSS 302 under 49 CFR § 571.302, ISO 3795:2013, GB/T 8410, VDA 270 odour grade, and VDA 278 VOC/SCVOC measurement; EU REACH Annex XVII restrictions and OEM material disclosure requirements apply where recycled PET or dyed fiber is used. Terminal product types include moulded floor carpet, trunk floor cover, loadspace mat, and footwell pad.
| Application zone | Fiber denier range | Cut length range | Binder system |
|---|---|---|---|
| Floor carpet and trunk floor felt | 6.7–17 D | 64–102 mm | 0–20 wt% low-melt PET/coPET bicomponent |
| Firewall and dash acoustic pad | 2.5–6 D | 38–51 mm | 20–30 wt% bicomponent PET/coPET |
| Compression moulded parcel shelf | 6.7–17 D | 51–102 mm | 15–25 wt% dry phenolic/acrylic resin |
| Door trim absorber | 3–7 D | 38–64 mm | 15–25 wt% powdered low-melt or bicomponent binder |
| Rear seat-back panel felt | 10–20 D | 64–102 mm | 0 wt% binder; fiber entanglement only |
| Headliner/pillar coverstock | 2.5–6 D | 38–51 mm | 0–15 wt% bicomponent binder fiber |
Hot-air-through bonding of 2.5 D to 6 D PET staple at 38 mm to 51 mm cut length for dash and firewall acoustic pads operates within a narrow binder addition window. Formulations containing 70 wt% to 80 wt% PET staple and 20 wt% to 30 wt% bicomponent PET/coPET binder fiber, with sheath melting point 110 °C to 130 °C and core PET melting point near 250 °C, are laid on an airlay line to a basis weight of 400–1,000 g/m². The laid web is then bonded in a through-air oven at 150–170 °C for 60–120 s. Below 15 wt% binder addition, edge abrasion and surface dusting are observed at slitting and the pad fails the OEM edge-abrasion check; above 35 wt% binder addition, airflow resistance increases and normal-incidence sound absorption measured according to ISO 10534-2 deteriorates in the 500–2,000 Hz band. A thermocouple spread across the through-air oven width greater than ±5 °C causes inconsistent sheath melting and core fiber embrittlement in high-basis-weight zones. The pad specification typically requires VDA 270 odour grade ≤ 3.0, VDA 278 VOC/SCVOC measurement, FMVSS 302 flammability, and fogging assessment under DIN 75201 or SAE J1756. When ambient relative humidity remains above 60%, incoming fiber should be pre-dried to below 0.15 wt% moisture before airlay to avoid binder hydrolysis and thickness loss. Terminal product types include firewall insulators, instrument-panel absorber inserts, floor-covering underlays, and plenum baffle pads.
When a rear parcel shelf or boot load floor must carry a static service load of 25 kg to 40 kg without surface cracking, PET staple of 6.7 D to 17 D denier and 51 mm to 102 mm cut length is first needlepunched into a felt of 800–1,500 g/m² basis weight, then impregnated with a phenolic or acrylic binder at 15 wt% to 25 wt% dry resin relative to felt. The production sequence is dry-laid carding or airlay, pre-needling, kiss-roll or spray binder application, belt-oven drying at 110–140 °C, and compression moulding in a daylight press at 190–220 °C platen temperature and 2–4 MPa specific pressure for 45–90 s. Below 12 wt% binder addition, moulded panels show surface fiber lift and fiber pull-out at die-cut edges; above 28 wt% binder addition, exothermic cure embrittles the PET felt, raises VOC residue measured by VDA 278, and generates resin pooling at tool vent lines. If the felt is stored at relative humidity above 60%, it is dried to below 0.2 wt% moisture and pressed within 4 h to reduce steam-induced blistering. Compliance certification for the area behind the occupant seat or load floor includes FMVSS 302, VDA 270, VDA 278, ISO 178 flexural modulus measurement, and ISO 6452 or DIN 75201 fogging. Terminal product types include rear parcel shelves, boot load floors, trunk divider panels, and spare-wheel covers.
| Dry resin addition (wt%) | Process behaviour | Test or control point |
|---|---|---|
| 12–15 | Lower flexural modulus; surface fiber lift at die-cut edges | ISO 178 flexural modulus |
| 15–25 | Full cure in 45–90 s; stable surface; acceptable VOC residue | press thermocouple trace; VDA 278 |
| >28 | Exothermic embrittlement; resin pooling at vents; elevated VOC | VDA 278 after demould |
For door panel absorber pads, the process is selected to keep air permeability between 300 L/m²/s and 1,200 L/m²/s at 200 Pa while the part remains odour-neutral without a separate barrier film. The furnish uses 3 D to 7 D PET staple at 38 mm to 64 mm cut length, with 15 wt% to 25 wt% powdered low-melt binder or bicomponent binder fiber addition relative to the total web. The dry-laid web is carded to 200–600 g/m², binder is applied by rotary powder scatter or pre-blended fiber, and the web is through-air bonded at 160–180 °C for 45–90 s. If line speed is increased beyond the hot-melt laminating open time of 10–20 s, the bond points re-soften and the pad delaminates from the PP carrier. Compliance for the door trim cavity part includes VDA 270 odour, VDA 278 VOC/SCVOC, FMVSS 302 flammability, and fogging under DIN 75201 or SAE J1756. Terminal product types include door panel absorber inserts, speaker grille damping rings, armrest backing felts, and map-pocket reinforcement pads.
In rear seat-back panel production, 10 D to 20 D PET staple at 64 mm to 102 mm cut length is converted without a separate binder at 0 wt% added adhesive, relying on needle entanglement and fiber friction after high-density needling. The furnish is opened, carded, cross-lapped to 600–1,200 g/m², and needled on a double-board needle loom with penetration depth 9–14 mm and stroke frequency 600–1,000 min−1. Hot-air stabilization at 130–150 °C for 30–60 s relaxes needle stress and reduces edge puckering. The finished panel density is maintained between 80 kg/m³ and 150 kg/m³; below 80 kg/m³ the panel loses compression resistance, while above 150 kg/m³ the part becomes brittle and hard to die-cut. Compliance includes FMVSS 302, VDA 270 odour, VDA 278 VOC, and ISO 6452 fogging. Terminal product types include rear seat-back panels, rear quarter trim filler pads, trunk side liners, and child seat anchor reinforcement panels. Published data for the specific high-denier configuration is limited; the process window is therefore qualified by line trials on the OEM car seat assembly line rather than by reference to a single independent standard.
When visible headliner coverstock is converted from 2.5 D to 6 D PET staple at 38 mm to 51 mm cut length, the web is carded to 80–180 g/m² and composed of 100 wt% PET staple or 85 wt% PET staple with 15 wt% bicomponent binder fiber. Bonding is carried out in a calender with nip pressure above 20 N/mm or in a through-air oven at 140–170 °C. Below the 20 N/mm calender load, fiber ends remain weakly anchored and produce dusting at downstream cutting tables; above 120 N/mm the coverstock becomes film-like and loses acoustic transparency. Visible coverstock is additionally print-coated with a breathable foam or polyurethane backcoating at 5–15 g/m² dry add-on to control fiber shedding. Fogging performance is measured by DIN 75201 or SAE J1756, flammability by FMVSS 302 and ISO 3795:2013, and odour/VOC by VDA 270 and VDA 278. Terminal product types include visible headliner face fabric, A/B/C pillar coverstock, sun visor covering, and rear window surround trim.
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The product grade designated 2.5-20D*38-102mm is a nonwoven-grade polyethylene terephthalate (PET) staple fiber intended for carded and air-laid automotive interior applications such as floor insulation, trunk trim, door panel acoustics, parcel shelves, headliner substrates, and wheel-arch liners. The designation encodes a linear density range of 2.5 D to 20 D (2.8 dtex to 22.2 dtex) and a staple length range of 38 mm to 102 mm. The fiber is supplied as a crimped, spin-finished staple rather than a continuous filament yarn, and it is intended for mechanical entanglement, resin bonding, or use as a structural component in fiber-reinforced felt composites. Compared with standard textile-grade PET staple, this product has a higher and broader denier range and a longer cut-length window. Compared with polypropylene staple, the PET grade offers a melting point typically between 250 °C and 260 °C and lower thermal creep, but it does not provide the inherently low-density thermal bonding behavior of polypropylene. Compared with low-melt PET bicomponent staple, the base 2.5-20D*38-102mm grade contains no reduced-melting sheath component; final nonwoven integrity therefore depends on needlepunch density, chemical binder, or a separate bicomponent binder fiber.
| Property | Specified or typical range | Reference method |
|---|---|---|
| Linear density | 2.5–20 D (2.8–22.2 dtex) | ISO 1973, ASTM D1577 |
| Cut length | 38 mm, 51 mm, 64 mm, 76 mm, 90 mm, 102 mm; commercial tolerance ±2 mm for ≤76 mm and ±3 mm for longer cuts | ASTM D5103 |
| Tenacity at break | 3.5–5.0 cN/dtex representative for nonwoven-grade PET staple | ISO 5079, ASTM D3822 |
| Elongation at break | 25–45% representative for nonwoven-grade PET staple | ISO 5079, ASTM D3822 |
| Crimp frequency | 8–14 crimps per 25 mm | ASTM D3937 |
| Finish pick-up | 0.10–0.25% by mass, low-fogging finish variant | Solvent extraction, mill certificate |
| Moisture regain at 65% RH, 20 °C | ≤0.45% | ISO 6741-1 |
| Dry-heat shrinkage at 180 °C for 30 min | 5–12%, controlled per lot | ASTM D5104 |
The values shown are representative specification windows for nonwoven-grade PET staple; exact lot limits shall be taken from the mill certificate because finish chemistry and shrinkage class can be altered by the manufacturer to suit a particular carding line or acoustic target. Published data for this specific grade designation is limited beyond the general PET fiber literature; no universal compatibility with every automotive adhesive or latex binder should be assumed without a plant-scale trial.
Cut-length selection controls process compatibility. The shorter segment of the range, 38–51 mm, is suited to high-speed carding lines producing compact scrims and lightweight facing layers where web uniformity and surface smoothness dominate. The intermediate segment, 64–76 mm, is typically directed to cross-lapped needlepunch lines for molded floor insulation and trunk trim because the longer staple improves mechanical entanglement and tensile strip strength. The upper segment, 90–102 mm, is normally consumed on airlay equipment or modified cards to produce high-loft acoustic batts with controlled compression recovery.
Linear density determines bending stiffness, fiber surface area, and airflow resistance. Fine deniers of 2.5–4 D generate a denser web with higher tortuosity and higher airflow resistivity, which is useful for acoustic scrims and surface layers. Mid-range deniers of 6–10 D provide a balance between tensile integrity and absorption bandwidth. Coarse deniers of 12–20 D increase loft stability and compression recovery, making them suitable for under-carpet pads and wheel-arch absorbers that must retain thickness after repeated compression. Nonwoven tensile properties are screened according to ISO 9073-3, thickness according to ISO 9073-2, and air permeability according to ISO 9073-15; acoustic absorption can be measured in an impedance tube per ISO 10534-2 or ASTM E1050-19.
On production-scale nonwoven cards, web weight variation increases when the staple length coefficient of variation exceeds 5% or when finish pick-up drops below 0.10%. Excessively low finish levels raise static dissipation time and can produce lapping defects, while excessively high finish levels above 0.25% may increase volatile condensable emissions in interior parts. Needlepunch density is normally adjusted between 150 and 400 punches/cm² depending on target tensile strength and acoustic impedance. Long staple lengths above 76 mm require increased needle barb depth and wider stripper-plate gap settings; without these adjustments, needle breakage rates rise sharply. The product is not intended for high-speed spunlace lines designed for staple shorter than 38 mm or for direct extrusion of continuous filament webs.
The PET backbone provides a primary melting point typically between 250 °C and 260 °C, whereas polypropylene staple used in automotive nonwovens melts between 160 °C and 170 °C. This difference determines whether a fiber can survive thermosetting resin cure cycles in molded headliners and dash insulators, where tool temperatures may reach 170–210 °C. Polypropylene staple can soften, shrink, or lose loft during such cycles; PET staple retains fiber geometry and contributes to dimensional stability after demolding. Continuous dry-heat service for PET nonwoven batt is commonly stated in the 120–150 °C band, while polypropylene is generally limited to 90–110 °C under continuous load-bearing conditions.
Emissions compliance is a separate boundary. The loose fiber itself is not the final component; automotive interior assemblies are normally tested for volatile organic compounds and fogging using VDA 278, DIN 75201-B, or OEM derivatives. A low-fogging spin finish is therefore required for the 2.5-20D*38-102mm grade when supplied for visible or closed-cabin interior applications. If finish pick-up exceeds 0.25% by mass, condensable emissions in the FOG fraction of VDA 278 can increase, particularly after storage in humid or high-temperature environments. Odor limits are commonly assessed by VDA 270; fibers with oxidized finish or microbiological contamination may fail the 3.0 rating threshold requested by several OEM part drawings.
The base PET staple is not inherently flame retardant. Compliance with FMVSS 302 or ISO 3795 horizontal burn-rate requirements must be achieved in the final composite through a flame-retardant finish, a flame-retardant binder, or blending with FR-modified staple. The fiber alone should not be certified as an FR material unless the specific lot carries a documented FR finish and the final part is tested in its end-use configuration.
A hydrolytic-stability boundary applies during elevated-temperature processing. PET moisture regain is low but not zero; exposure to free water above 160 °C accelerates hydrolytic chain scission. Alkaline conditions and free amine species are particularly aggressive. The fiber should therefore be kept separate from amine-based stabilizers and polyamide regrind under moist processing conditions. If bales have been stored at relative humidity above 65%, pre-drying with desiccant air at 120–130 °C until moisture content is below 0.01% is recommended before high-temperature thermoforming or closed-mold resin processing. Failure to control this boundary can produce a measurable molecular-weight reduction and embrittlement of molded felt regions after repeated heat aging.
In fiber substitution trials, the choice between PET, polypropylene, and low-melt bicomponent staple is driven by the thermal bonding method and the acoustic compression target. The table below compares the three staple classes using published polymer data and typical nonwoven processing observations.
| Property or processing characteristic | PET 2.5-20D*38-102mm | PP staple 6–17 D | Low-melt PET bicomponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melting point, primary polymer | 250–260 °C | 160–170 °C | core 250–260 °C; sheath 110–180 °C |
| Density | 1.38 g/cm³ | 0.90–0.91 g/cm³ | 1.30–1.38 g/cm³ depending on sheath loading |
| Moisture regain at 65% RH | 0.4% | 0.05% | 0.4% |
| Bonding mechanism | Needlepunch, resin, or binder fiber | Self-bonding in hot air or hot calendering | Sheath melting in hot air, through-air, or heated nip |
| Continuous dry-heat service range | 120–150 °C typical for nonwoven batt | 90–110 °C | Limited by sheath melting point |
| Fogging and VOC risk | Requires low-fog finish; monitor per VDA 278 and DIN 75201-B | Lower intrinsic moisture, but additives may contribute | Co-polyester sheath can carry low-melting comonomer volatiles |
Unlike high-tenacity PET staple used in rubber reinforcement or spunlaced technical fabrics, the 2.5-20D*38-102mm grade is not primarily specified for its tensile tenacity; its selection is based on web formation, loft retention, acoustic impedance, and thermal compatibility with the interior module. Recycled PET versions with the same denier and staple-length window are available in the automotive supply chain, but they may exhibit a wider linear-density distribution and higher residual contamination unless the reclaim source and filtration route are controlled. The base grade is also distinct from PET staple with a flame-retardant polymer modification or a low-melting sheath; those features must be specified as separate product variants and verified against the relevant part drawing.
For wheel-arch liners exposed to road spray and stone impact, the heavy denier end of the range (12–20 D) combined with 76–102 mm staple is preferentially carded or air-laid into high-loft pads, then needlepunched and thermoformed with a phenolic or acrylic binder to achieve the required stiffness and acoustic absorption.
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