Sibur has announced that it plans to commence production of PET based on recycled PET flakes derived from used food packaging at its site at Polief, in the Republic of Bashkortostan.
The PET flakes, derived from processed bottles that have been washed and prepared by suppliers at their own sites will come from different parts of Russia, although Bashkortostan and the neighbouring regions will be the main source. The incoming feedstock will be checked for compliance with quality standards. Bashkortostan currently collects 4 kt of used PET bottles per year, although this figure is set to reach a potential 20 ktpa following measures to improve collection rates and sorting quality.
The site at Polief is estimated to use an annual 34kT of recycled plastics annually. in the production of its green PET resin.
“Involving recyclables in PET production is a vital part of SIBUR’s 2025 Sustainability Strategy.,” said Maxim Remchukov, head of Sustainable Development at SIBUR. “By using recycled feedstock, the Company will help promote the circular economy, while also cutting its greenhouse gas emissions per tonne of end products.”
Sibur has signed relevant cooperation agreements and is investing in new, state-of-the-art sorting and treatment equipment that will make it possible to feed the recycled feedstock into the existing production line. The project is on the priority list of SIBUR's Blagoveshchensk site for 2020–2022.
Production of the new rPET is expected to start mid-2022, said Evgeny Semenko, CEO of POLIEF.
“The processing method allows for the polymer break-down and repeated use of feedstock. The approved technology for using secondary PET (PET flakes) in the primary PET production is an eco-friendly advanced way of industrial PET recycling, unique in Russia.”
Sibur, headquartered in Moscow, is Russia’s largest integrated petrochemicals company. Polief is the largest producer of terephthalic acid and polyethylene terephthalate in Russia with a production capacity of 350 ktpa of TPA and 219 ktpa of PET.