Evonik and Swiss manufacturer of polymer processing technologies Oerlikon Barmag are joining forces to develop a PET chemical recycling technology.
The partners plan to launch and commercialise the depolymerisation technology by the end of the decade. They also intend to establish a global development network involving other companies across the feedstock, technology, and production sectors.
“This partnership marks a great step forward in the chemical recycling of PET,” said Max Preisenberger, head of catalysts at Evonik. “Our new catalytic processes and chemical technologies will complement the current mechanical recycling approach enabling high recycled PET content from heavily contaminated and mixed PET waste that would otherwise be incinerated or landfilled. This way we are actively supporting a sustainable circular economy.”
Evonik has been developing a process to facilitate recycling of heavily contaminated PET waste since the beginning of the decade. Using a process called methanolysis, post-consumer PET plastic waste can be depolymerised into monomeric feedstock, which can be utilised as a building block to new produce polymers. The process is similar to hydrolysis, which Evonik uses to chemically recycle polyurethane.
The new partnership will build on Evonik’s new developments in catalyst technology to improve the efficiency of the depolymerisation process. Oerlikon Barmag will contribute its expertise in chemical fibres and packaging materials production.
The partners said the PET recycling technology will ‘bring numerous advantages’, including high efficiency, semeless integration into existing PET production processes, and virgin-like qualities of recycled PET. The process will be developed to keep operational and investment costs down whilst ensuring technology scalability.
“With the goal of creating a circular economy for all types of PET waste that is currently incinerated or landfilled, we want to scale our technology to a significant size and make it available to global PET producers and processors,” explained Lukas Adamek, head of strategy & business development of Oerlikon Manmade Fibres Solutions.