Enzymatically recycled PET for high strength packaging

Overview

Birch Biosciences introduces an innovative enzymatic recycling technology for PET plastics, allowing the creation of high-strength packaging from 100% recycled materials. This breakthrough ensures that packaging maintains its economic viability and performance attributes, such as clarity, color, and tensile strength, equivalent to or better than those made from virgin PET. The process not only aligns with sustainable practices but also reduces greenhouse gas emissions by over 70% compared to traditional plastic manufacturing methods.

Technical specifications

Key features of the technology include:

• Utilization of high-performance enzymes for efficient, low-temperature hydrolysis of PET plastics.
• Compatibility with existing manufacturing processes to produce 100% enzymatically recycled PET at the same cost as virgin PET.
• Achieves a 25% reduction in resin quantity for packaging production without compromising performance.
• Characterization of resin for intrinsic velocity, clarity, and tensile strength meets or exceeds industry standards.

Technology readiness level

Currently at Technology Readiness Level 4, Birch Biosciences is validating its process at a 50L scale. The next steps involve producing 50 kg batches of key components for further testing and characterization, paving the way for commercialization and large-scale implementation.