TRADE SHOW REVIEW PETplanet Insider Vol. 25 No. 0/24 www.petpla.net 45 “The demonstration plant includes a depolymerisation reactor capable of processing 60 kg/h of PET, which is the equivalent of almost 2,000 bottles, the yearly consumption of two people. This is a turning point for Gr3n, as with this plant we will be able to finetune the process the already existing Process Design Package of the 40K tons industrial plant,” added Dr Crippa. Thanks to the MADE technology developed by Gr3n, this approach is now feasible and is claimed to make Gr3n one of the few companies with the potential to provide a reliable enhanced recycling solution that closes the life cycle of PET, offers food grade polymer material, processes a large variety of waste (post-consumer and/or post-industrial polyesters will be both from bottles, i.e., coloured, colourless, transparent, opaque, and textiles, 100% polyester but also with up to 30% of other materials like PU, cotton, polyether, polyurea, etc.) and reduces carbon dioxide emissions. In principle, the obtained monomers can potentially be re-polymerised endlessly to provide brand new virgin PET or any other polymer using one of the monomers. Polymers obtained can be used to produce new bottles,trays and/or new garments, essentially completely displacing feedstock material from fossil fuels, as the recycled product has the same functionality as that derived traditionally. This means that Gr3n can potentially achieve bottleto-textile, textile-to-textile, or even textile-to-bottle recycling, moving from a linear to a circular system. Franco Antonio Cavadini, CTO at Gr3n, explained the MADE technology process. Gr3n developed a new process, based on the application of microwave technology to alkaline hydrolysis, which provides an economically viable approach to the recycling of PET, allowing the industrial implementation. The Gr3n process is claimed to be economically sustainable and industrially viable as it breaks down any type of PET and polyester plastic into its two core components (TPA and MEG monomers), which can then be re-assembled to obtain virgin-like plastics allowing endless recycling loops. The company’s goal is to become a leading supplier of recycled PET and polyester, addressing the global need for virgin plastics and triggering a truly circular approach to plastic recycling. Gr3n is part of Petcore Europe, Chemical Recycling Europe, and Accelerating Circularity. www.gr3n-recycling.com
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