Carbios 2022 Plastic Waste Recouperation Kings

 

Carbios advances the circularity of textiles thanks to its enzymatic recycling technology and validates the last technical step of the CE-PET project co-financed by ADEME

• Carbios has succeeded in manufacturing a white fiber in 100% enzymatically recycled PET from colored textile waste. 

 

• At the same time, the Company produced the first 100% recycled PET bottles from this same textile waste [2] . These bottles have successfully passed the food contact suitability validation tests. 

 

• As part of the validation of this last technical stage of the project co-financed by ADEME [3] , Carbios received an amount of 827,200 euros.

 

Carbios announces that it has validated the 3rd and final technical stage of the CE-PET research project, co-financed by ADEME3 (French Environment and Energy Management Agency), and of which Carbios is lead partner in alongside its academic partner TWB. This breakthrough once again confirms the potential of Carbios' enzymatic recycling process, C-ZYME™. This breakthrough innovation makes it possible to produce, from any PET waste, including textiles, a wide variety of products of equivalent quality to those of petro-sourced origin.

 

 

The first white PET fiber enzymatically recycled from colored textile waste

Globally, nearly 90 million tons of PET are produced each year, of which more than 2/3 are intended for the manufacture of fibres. However, only 13% of textile waste is to date recycled and mainly in "downcycling", that is to say in lower quality applications (such as padding, insulation or rags). By successfully manufacturing on a pilot scale a white fiber in 100% enzymatically recycled PET from colored textile waste, Carbios is paving the way for the circular economy in the textile industry. C-ZYME™ is now at the gates of industrialization and will soon allow the biggest brands to get closer to their sustainable development objectives.

 

Emmanuel Ladent, Managing Director of Carbios: “ Thanks to our enzymatic process, it will soon be possible to manufacture, on a large scale, t-shirts or bottles using polyester textile waste as raw material. This is a major step forward which makes it possible to give value to waste which today has little, if any. A concrete solution which opens up a world market of 60 million tonnes per year of potential raw materials and which will help to reduce the use of fossil resources by the same amount. »

 

 

Textile waste that also makes it possible to manufacture packaging suitable for food contact

In November 20203, Carbios had already produced the first transparent bottles from textile waste. These 100% recycled PET bottles have now successfully passed food contact suitability tests. This is an important step paving the way for the use of a new source of waste for the production of food packaging in 100% recycled PET.

 

 

Separate collection of textile waste will soon be made compulsory in Europe

From January 1 , 2025, the separate collection of textile waste, already in place in some countries, will be made compulsory for all Member States of the European Union (European Directive 2018/851 on waste). The process developed by Carbios will thus constitute one of the solutions that will make it possible to recover this waste, and to include it in a true circular economy model.

 

These technological validations were carried out as part of the CE-PET research project, co-financed by ADEME3. The project aims in particular to develop Carbios' enzymatic recycling process for PET on textile waste. C-ZYME™ technology is complementary to thermomechanical recycling, and will make it possible to treat deposits of plastic and textile waste that are currently not or poorly recycled. As part of the validation of this stage of the project, Carbios received an amount of €827,200 (€206,800 in subsidies and €620,400 in repayable advances).

CLERMONT-FERRAND - Biotech firm Carbios has been granted the building permit and operating authorisation for the world's first PET biorecycling plant, keeping the project on schedule for a 2025 start-up.

The plant will be built in Longlaville in the Grand-Est Region of France on a 13.7-hectare site adjacent to the existing PET production plant of its strategic partner, Indorama Ventures (IVL).