Chemical recycling specialist Garbo Srl is to build a commercial-scale PET recovery plant at an undisclosed location in Italy.
Due for start-up in 2020, the plant will use Garbo proprietary technology for the production of Bis(2-Hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET) from PET chemical recycling, the company announced 1 Aug.
In collaboration with the University of Modena and Bologna, Garbo has developed the ChemPET recycling process, which it says is capable of handling “almost all” the currently non-recoverable PET-based waste.
The technology involves a chemical process, through which the PET is “reacted selectively” with ethylene glycol and transformed into a BHET intermediate product.
If adequately purified, BHET can be used as feedstock for the production of PET.