And a pinch of graphene
Fractal graphene enhances PET bottles’ performance and sustainability
HydroGraph Clean Power Inc., a leader in sustainable commercial manufacturer of graphene, has developed Fractal Graphene powder (FGA-1), which aims to improve the performance and sustainability of PET bottles at an ultra-low loading.
Tests conducted at the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC) in Manchester, UK, have demonstrated that HydroGraph’s FGA-1 enhances PET bottle performance with a remarkably low graphene loading of just 0.006 wt% which could lead to lightweighting and an overall reduction in plastic use. “These performance gains in PET arrive at a critical moment for the packaging industry,” said Kjirstin Breure, interim CEO and president at HydroGraph. “As manufacturers struggle with the challenge of increasing recycled content while managing costs and maintaining performance, our technology offers a solution that addresses these needs simultaneously. By enabling significant material reduction while improving performance with recycled content, we’re helping the industry meet environmental mandates without compromising product competitiveness.”
When applied to a 50:50 blend of virgin PET and rPET, the technology is claimed to deliver a 23% improvement in top-load compressive strength, potential weight reduction of approximately 20% as well as an 83% decrease in water vapour transmission rate.
Addressing industry pressures for sustainability
According to Mordor Intelligence, the PET bottle industry produces more than 500 billion bottles annually, equivalent to 25 million tons of PET. Increasingly stringent regulations worldwide now require higher recycled content in plastic packaging. Besides the EU Directive 2019/904 on Single-Use Plastics which mandates that PET beverage bottles must contain at least 25% recycled content by 2025 and 30% by 2030, the UK Plastic Packaging Tax imposes penalties on packaging with less than 30% recycled content. In California, Assembly Bill 793 requires that beverage bottles contain a post-consumer recycled content of 15%, increasing to 25% in 2025 and 50% in 2030 and multiple other US states, including Washington, New Jersey, and Maine, have implemented or announced recycled content mandates while Canada’s Zero Plastic Waste Agenda targets 50% recycled content by 2030. Global legislation is increasingly demanding higher recycled content in plastic packaging, posing significant challenges for manufacturers. Yet, recycled PET can cost 20-30% more than virgin PET, and global supply remains limited.
“Manufacturers are at a crossroads when it comes to the development of plastic packaging,” said Breure. “Given previous success we’ve seen with our graphene technology, we responded to the mounting pressure for increased sustainability and lightweighting by researching ways fractal graphene can benefit the material. We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished so far, and we’re excited to see what other breakthroughs are on the horizon as we continue our extensive research of nanomaterial technology.”
Possible global impact
If widely adopted, HydroGraph estimates that its FGA-1 technology could reduce plastic usage by up to 5 million t/a—about 20% of current global PET bottle consumption. In an ideal scenario where FGA-1 technology is fully commercialised with PET:rPET blends of 50:50, the emissions reduction from using 20% less overall PET in bottles could represent a reduction of more than 8 million tonnes of CO2.
Photo top: Stockphoto
