PTI, a US-headquartered PET packaging research and development firm, has collaborated with Swiss PET chemical recycler DePoly to develop a chemically recycled PET bottle.
DePoly used its depolymerisation technology to break down PET packaging, polyester fibres, and post-industrial PET waste into Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) and Mono-Ethylene Glycol (MEG), the building blocks of PET.
After the monomers were polymerised back into PET, PTI, which has a division in Switzerland, blow moulded the recycled PET pellets into bottles.
DePoly claims its depolymerisation technology produces virgin-like PTA and MEG whilst reducing carbon emissions by up to 66% compared to virgin production. Its depolymerisation process occurs at room temperature and without additional pressure, according to the company’s website. It can purportedly use unsorted post-consumer and post-industrial waste streams without pre-washing our processing.
Preliminary, in-house, tests suggested the chemically recycled bottle complies with food-contact safety standards, the partners said in a statement.
“We did not really know what to expect from this first processing and prototyping trials with DePoly's chemically recycled material,” said Stéphane Morier, director project management at PTI. “For a premiere, the outcome is promising. With PTI’s technical expertise, the prototyping went well and the quality and performance of the produced samples are similar to a control made from a virgin PET resin.”
DePoly is currently building a PET depolymerisation plant in Monthey, Switzerland. With a. capacity to process up to 500 tonnes of PET and polyester waste a year, it is expected to start operations by the end of summer 2025.