What Is BOPET?
Mar 18, 2025|
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Since its industrial production in the 1950s, BOPET polyester film has become a core material in global fields such as packaging, electronics, and new energy, thanks to its excellent performance and wide applications. As of 2025, the production capacity of BOPET polyester film in China has exceeded 4 million tons, with a compound annual growth rate of over 8%. This growth is not only derived from the upgrading of traditional demands but also driven by emerging industries such as photovoltaics and flexible displays. As a representative of BOPET film manufacturers, YUXING continuously drives material innovation through technological innovation to meet the diversified market demands.
1. The Definition and Core Characteristics of BOPET Polyester Film
BOPET (Biaxially Oriented Polyethylene Terephthalate) is a high-performance film made from PET raw materials through a biaxial orientation process, and it has four core characteristics:
High mechanical strength: The tensile strength reaches over 200MPa, and it has excellent puncture resistance, suitable for high-speed production lines.
Thermal stability: It can withstand extreme temperatures ranging from -70°C to 200°C, covering scenarios such as steaming and freezing.
Barrier performance: The oxygen barrier rate is as low as 3 cm³/(m²·day), significantly extending the shelf life of food and pharmaceuticals.
Optical transparency: The light transmittance exceeds 90%, making it suitable for precision fields such as liquid crystal displays and photovoltaic backsheets.
Through processes such as online coating and multi-layer co-extrusion, the industry has further developed functional films with antistatic and UV-resistant properties to meet customized demands.
2. The Production Process and Technological Breakthroughs of BOPET Polyester Film
The production process covers links such as melt extrusion, biaxial orientation, and winding, among which the biaxial orientation technology is the core:
Machine Direction Orientation (MDO): Heating through multiple roller groups to improve the longitudinal strength.
Transverse Direction Orientation (TDO): Transverse stretching by a stenter machine to balance the anisotropy and improve dimensional stability.
The technological breakthroughs in the industry focus on three directions:
Intelligent manufacturing: Introducing AI and big data to optimize production parameters, controlling the thickness tolerance within ±1%, and increasing the defect detection efficiency by 25%.
Green process: Adopting solvent-free coating and bio-based raw materials to reduce carbon emissions; the proportion of recycled PET raw materials is expected to reach 25% in 2027.
Process innovation: Technologies such as microwave heating and ultrasonic-assisted stretching improve the film performance, such as light resistance and UV resistance.
3. The Diversified Application Scenarios of BOPET Film
From traditional packaging to high-tech fields, the application boundaries continue to expand:
Packaging field: High-barrier films are used for vacuum aluminized films of food and pharmaceuticals to ensure safety; degradable composite films respond to the environmental protection trend.
New energy field: The weather resistance of the base film for photovoltaic backsheets reaches more than 25 years, supporting the upgrading of solar energy technology; the separator materials for lithium batteries contribute to the development of electric vehicles.
Electronics and optics: The base film for flexible circuits meets the high-temperature resistance requirements of 5G devices; low-haze optical films are used in OLED displays and touch panels.
Emerging fields: Its lightweight and high-strength characteristics enable it to enter aerospace structural components; biocompatible films are applied to medical devices and wearable devices.
4. The Technological Trends and Future Directions of the Industry
The global carbon neutrality goal promotes the development of BOPET film in three directions:
Lightweight and high performance: Nano-fillers enhance conductivity, and the multi-layer co-extrusion process is used to develop flame-retardant and antibacterial functional films.
Circular economy: Bio-based raw materials replace petroleum-based materials, and recyclable and regenerative technologies reduce environmental dependence.
Intelligent integration: The industrial Internet realizes full-process monitoring, and 5G factories promote the upgrading of production efficiency and quality.
Conclusion: The Mission and Future of BOPET Polyester Film
With technological iteration and cross-border integration, BOPET film is evolving from a single-functional material to a multi-functional composite. Through intelligent and green upgrades, the industry not only meets the needs of high-end manufacturing but also provides solutions for global sustainable development. In the future, the deep combination of lightweight design, environmental protection processes, and emerging applications will promote this material to release value in a broader field and continuously empower industrial innovation.
