PETpla.net Insider 03 / 2021

OUTER PLANET 70 PETplanet Insider Vol. 22 No. 03/21 www.petpla.net OUTER PLANET Bottles made from carbon emissions or orange peel – in this new “Outer Planet” category, we are presenting projects that you would not normally expect to see in PETplanet Insider. But bear with us, these projects are not quite as off the wall as you might think. Quirky they may be, and some may never get beyond the development stage, but some might just be the next big thing. Join us in some blue sky thinking that could energise our entire sector. Citrus peel as raw material Cosmetic bottle made from industrial carbon emissions New technology developed at the research institution VTT, Espoo, Finland, enables the use of pectin- containing agricultural waste, such as citrus peel and sugar beet pulp, as raw material for bio-based PEF- plastics to replace fossil-based PET. The carbon footprint of plastic bottles can be lowered by 50% when replac- ing their raw material of PET with PEF polymers, which are claimed to pro- vide a better shelf life for food. “In the near future, you could be buying orange juice in bottles that are made out of orange peel. VTT’s novel technology provides a circular approach to using food waste streams for high-performance food packag- ing material, and at the same time reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” shares Professor of Practice Holger Pöhler from VTT. In addition to a lower carbon footprint when comparing PET with PEF (polyethylene furanoate), the VTT also states that the barrier properties of PEF plastics are better than PETs, meaning that the food products have a longer shelf life. PEF is a fully recyclable and renewable high-performance plastic. It therefore opens up pos- sibilities for the industries to reduce waste and to have a positive impact on the environment. VTT’s technology uses a stable intermediate for the production of FDCA (2,5-furandicarboxylic acid), one of the monomers of PEF, which enables an efficient process. In addi- tion, utilising pectin-containing waste streams opens up new possibilities for the circular economy of plastics. VTT has patented the technology, and the research has been published in the scientific journal Green Chem- istry on December 7, 2020 under the title “A unique pathway to platform chemicals: aldaric acids as stable intermediates for the synthesis of furandicarboxylic acid esters”. www.vttresearch.com As part of their innovative partner- ship, LanzaTech, Total and L’Oréal have unveiled the world’s first sustain- able packaging made from recaptured and recycled carbon emissions. The successful conversion process takes place in three steps: 1) LanzaTech captures industrial carbon emissions and converts them into ethanol using a unique biological process. 2) Thanks to a dehydration process developed with IFP Axens, Total converts the ethanol into ethylene before polymerising it into polyethylene, which has the same technical properties as the fossil version. 3) L’Oréal uses this polyethylene to produce packaging. It is claimed to have the same quality and proper- ties as conventional polyethylene. The partners now intend to con- tinue working together to increase the production volume of these sustainable plastics and look forward to working with all those who wish to join them in the use of these new sustainable plastics. www.loreal.com