Koksan PET Packaging Industry Co will build a new 300 tonne/day chemical recycling plant using continuous polycondensation technology from partner Polytex to chemically recycle polyethylene terephthalate (PET) for use in bottle and textile applications, said the company.
The continuous polycondensation line will sit next to Koksan’s two existing PET resin production lines, located in Gaziantep. The company will use glycolysis to turn PET into bis-hydroxyethyl terephthalate monomer (BHET), which then be turned into high-viscosity polymer to make recycled PET (R-PET).
The R-PET will be mixed with virgin PET on an 50/50 basis to produce preforms for use in the bottling sector.
It was not stated if the chemically recycled material will be for domestic use or exported to other countries. The EU currently does not recognise chemically recycled material as contributing towards its target of 25% recycled content in all PET beverage bottles by 2025.
PET polymers are created by ester linkages between monomers. In glycolysis, a transesterification catalyst is used to break the ester linkages, which are replaced by hydroxyl terminals. This produces BHET and PET glycozates. These can be reacted with aliphatic diacids to make, amongst other things, polyester polyols, which are in turn used in polyurethane (PU) foams.
We remind, thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions’ subsidiary Uhde Inventa-Fischer signed a contract to build a new world-scale polymer plant for Yurek Polimer A.S.in Bursa, Turkey. The plant is planned to produce 300 metric tons per day (108,000 tons per year) of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) for low viscosity applications. The PET melt produced by thyssenkrupp technology will then be converted into PET Chips, as well as pre-oriented yarn.
mrchub.com