Chemical firm solves PET ‘puzzle’
28 Sep 2015
A process that allows all grades of PET (plastics) to be recycled will soon be commercialised by a Dutch chemical company.
Ioniqa Technologies has developed a process to remove colour from PET materials, restoring it back to raw materials, which it describes as “the missing piece of the puzzle” for PET recycling.
This month the company secured a multi-million injection of funds from investor, Chemelot Ventures, to upscale the new process. PET is primarily used for single-serve plastic bottles, such as water, soft drinks and juices.
With our game-changing chemical recycling process we are able to contribute to the circular economy by converting coloured post-consumer PET
Ioniqa Technologies’ Tonnis Hooghougt
Although PET is a recyclable packaging material, coloured PET must often be excluded. With the Chemelot funding, Ioniqa plans to scale up its recycling process to an industrial level by building a mini plant, said Tonnis Hooghoudt, chief executive of Ioniqa Technologies.
“With our game-changing chemical recycling process we are able to contribute to the circular economy by converting coloured post-consumer PET into pure and clear raw materials for ‘virgin’ PET,” he said.
“We note strong interest from many stakeholders in the circular economy, including leading multinationals.”
Chemelot Ventures’ investment manager Aruna Subramanian described Ioniqa’s recycling process as a “breakthrough in the world of post-consumer PET plastics”.
