Principle of carbios enzymatic biorecycling process. (Credit: Carbios.fr)
According to an article on Plasticsinsight.com, CARBIOS has announced to have successfully accomplished the production of first PET-bottles made with 100% Purified Terephthalic Acid (rPTA). The company did it through the enzymatic biorecycling of plastic waste. The achievement of this remarkable milestone is groundbreaking and confirms the potential of the company’s technology to engage the whole industry in a responsible transition towards a circular economy.
Alain Marty, Chief Scientific Officer at CARBIOS, explains, “We have successfully developed the first biological process with which all kinds of PET plastic waste can be broken down into its original components and reused to produce virgin plastic products for applications such as PET-bottles. This new step shows the strong potential of CARBIOS’ enzymatic technology and provides a breakthrough solution to help solve society’s growing waste problem.”
Carbios’ proprietary biorecycling technology is based on the use of bioengineered enzymes and has the ability to turn PET plastic waste back into its original components at a rate of 97% in only 16 hours. Carbios also demonstrated that virgin PET can be made with 100% rPTA via its proprietary biorecycling process. However, this process makes use of all kinds of post-consumer PET plastic bottles which are clear, colored, opaque and complex. This latest technology is seen as a potential game-changer in the transition towards a circular economy. This is likely to benefit the environment and future generations.
PET is the most common polyester in the market these days. It’s widely used in the production of plastic packaging, textile fibers and more than 500 billion units of plastic bottles are produced every year. Going with the current market scenario and expectations, the market is likely to grow at 4.8% annually from 2017 to 2025. The Carbios’ technology offers environment-friendly and efficient solutions which are capable of bringing about a change in the way we produce some of the most commonly used plastic products.
Jean-Claude Lumaret, CEO of CARBIOS, commented, “The plastics industry faces fundamental challenges related to sustainability. Our technology, based on a circular model, reuses resources rather than consuming them. This new milestone takes us one step closer to bringing our technology to the market. With the construction of our demonstration plant to start later this year, we’re aiming to engage the whole plastics industry in a transition towards a circular economy and take a leadership role as a global license provider for the biorecycling of PET plastics and fibers.”
CARBIOS paves the way to infinite recycling of PET plastics.
