Woven rug

PP yarn is woven into a lightweight household rug.

Woven rug, illustrative image

Material

Woven surface yarn: PP

Material selection rationale

Low moisture absorption
The fibres take up little water.
Yarn flexibility
Thin strands can interlace into a flexible surface.
Yarn arrangement
A low-density polymer becomes a usable rug through yarn drawing and weaving; backing and pattern affect stability and feel underfoot.

How it becomes a product

  1. Spin and draw the yarn: Molten PP is extruded into fibres, then drawn to strengthen them. The yarn is drawn before weaving; the selected surface is then combined with any backing and edge finish.
  2. Weave and finish: Yarns are interlaced and the edges finished into a flatwoven rug.

Preparation routes

Propene route

Catalytic addition polymerisation. Propene molecules join into chains. A suitable catalyst controls chain growth and the arrangement of the methyl side groups. Catalyst-controlled arrangement of methyl groups can favour regular packing. The monomer formula alone does not describe this tacticity.

A coordination catalyst system is used; it is not counted as a monomer. A thermoplastic moulding or foam uses already-made PP, not propene reacting inside the final product.

  1. Poly(propene): manufacture and usesChemical Industry Education Centre, University of York

Sources

  1. MORUM flatwoven rug: polypropylene surfaceIKEA
  2. Poly(propene): manufacture and usesChemical Industry Education Centre, University of York