News daily updated News at www.bioplasticsmagazine.com EPBP endorses PET/PEF packaging in PET bottle recycling stream Avantium (Amsterdam, the Netherlands), announced that the European PET Bottle Platform (EPBP) has awarded an interim endorsement to Avantium, allowing the recycling of multilayer PET/PEF packaging in the European bottle recycling market. PEF can be used, amongst others, in multilayer PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles as a barrier material, replacing existing barrier materials such as nylon. Due to the excellent barrier properties of PEF (the ability to withstand gas permeability through the bottle), this leads to a full polyester (PET and PEF) product design for beverages such as carbonated drinks, juices, or beer. The replacement by PEF of other barrier materials, such as nylon, furthermore leads to improved recyclability of the multilayer PET bottle. In accordance with the EPBP protocol, an independent third party (PTI Europe Sarl) conducted an evaluation to determine the effect of multilayer PET bottles containing 10 % PEF on the PET recycling stream. The results have demonstrated that the PET/PEF multilayer bottles have no negative impact on haze and other properties of the resulting rPET products at a market penetration of 5 %, also taking potential local accumulation into account. Based on the assessment’s outcome, EPBP has awarded an interim endorsement to Avantium’s PEF resin. Dirk De Cuyper, CEO of Resilux (Wetteren, Belgium), is pleased with this interim endorsement. Resilux, an international rigid plastic packaging supplier, signed a conditional offtake agreement for PEF with Avantium in 2021. “This endorsement of EPBP is an important milestone for the market introduction of PEF. We believe that PEF as a barrier material will significantly improve the circularity of high-barrier bottles for carbonated and/or perishable beverages. The results leading to this interim endorsement show the potential of combining the PEF performance in PET product designs. We look forward to teaming up with our customers to further close the loop for PET recycling”. The interim endorsement applies for a period that will expire on 30 June 2025. This interim period allows Avantium to collect data from the recycling market at scale, once Avantium’s commercial plant is operational, expected in 2024. If the data is in line with its guidelines, EPBP will convert the endorsement to a full endorsement. The full text of the EPBP interim endorsement is published on the EPBP website. MT www.epbp.org | www.avantium.com | www.resilux.com Renewable MEG technology Braskem (Triunfo, Brazil), and Sojitz (Tokyo, Japan), have signed an agreement to establish a joint venture which will produce and market bioMEG (monoethylene glycol) and bioMPG (monopropylene glycol). Subject to the conclusion of technology development in 2022, the business plan includes the construction of three industrial units, with the startup of the first plant in 2025, taking advantage of market opportunities and feedstock availability. With the agreement signed, the establishment of the joint venture has been submitted to antitrust authorities for approval. The joint venture will combine Braskem's expertise in the industrial production and sale of chemicals and plastics made from renewable sources with Sojitz's strong presence in Asia, a region that concentrates 80 % of the global MEG market and where its consumption registered the highest growth. "We are pooling the efforts, expertise, and investments of the two companies that are references in their respective segments to create a global leader in bioMEG that can meet the strong market demand for sustainable and renewable products", said Gustavo Sergi, Renewable Chemicals & Specialties Officer at Braskem. "The partnership between Braskem and Sojitz marks the advance of technology - developed on a demonstration-scale with Danish company Haldor Topsoe (Lyngby, Denmark) – to the commercial production phase with a clear combination of competencies and resources for scaling up," he added. "We are pleased to have the partnership with Braskem. We promote this sustainable material to various industries globally with our strong and wide-ranged market networks", said Manabu Endo, General Manager of Basic Chemicals Dept. at Sojitz. He added, "This is a huge progress towards our ambition to realize 100 % Biomass PET together with our project to produce bio paraxylene, another raw material of PET, partnering with Japanese partners". MEG is the raw material for the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which has numerous applications and is an essential input in sectors such as textiles and packaging, especially beverage bottles. Currently, it is produced mainly from fossil-based raw materials such as naphtha, gas or coal, and its global market stands at around USD 25 billion. On the other hand, monopropylene glycol (MPG) is a product that has a wide range of applications from unsaturated polyester resins (UPR), commonly used in the construction sector, to cosmetics. MT www.braskem.com | www.sojitz.com 8 bioplastics MAGAZINE [03/22] Vol. 17
Call for papers is open organized by 20 - 22.10.2022 Messe Düsseldorf, Germany BIOPLASTICS BUSINESS BREAKFAST B 3 Bioplastics in Packaging PHA, Opportunities & Challenges Bioplastics in Durable Applications www.bioplastics-breakfast.com At the World‘s biggest trade show on plastics and rubber: K‘2022 in Düsseldorf, Germany, bioplastics will certainly play an important role again. On three days during the show bioplastics MAGAZINE will host a Bioplastics Business Breakfast: From 8am to 12pm the delegates will enjoy highclass presentations and unique networking opportunity. Venue: CCD Ost, Messe Düsseldorf The trade fair opens at 10 am. Supported by bioplastics MAGAZINE [03/22] Vol. 17 9
