PET hydrolase enables infinite recycling of PET waste plastics

First PET bottle made from waste plastic

In June of this year, Carbios, L'Oreal, Nestle, Pepsi and Suntory jointly announced that they had successfully produced the world's first food-grade PET plastic bottle from waste plastic using Carbios' enzymatic PET recycling technology
.
Carbios produced individual vials for these partners
.

Jean-Claude Lumaret, CEO of Carbios, said: "This is the first time in the world that Carbios' patented enzymes are used to break down coloured PET plastic and create food-grade clear PET bottles with the exact same properties as PET made by traditional methods
.
This is a real The transformative innovation of PET plastics could finally enable the global supply cycle of PET plastics so that it never ends up in waste
.
”

The enzyme was discovered from composted leaves in autumn, and the hydrolase produced by it can break down the leaf membrane of the leaves.
The researchers modified it and finally obtained a highly efficient PET hydrolase
.
At 72°C, the enzyme can decompose nearly 90% of 1 ton of waste plastic bottles within 10 hours
.

Carbios to build first PET recycling plant in 2025

Lumaret said that its first PET enzymatic recycling industrial demonstration plant is about to start operation in September this year.
The construction of the plant is supported by the Michelin Group.
It is built on the new base of the Michelin Group in Clermont-Ferrand, France.
The demonstration plant will verify the enzyme The technical, environmental and economical performance of the PET recycling process by the method of preparation of the complete engineering documentation for the construction and implementation of the first industrial plant in Carbios
.

In May of this year, Carbios successfully completed a capital increase of 114 million euros, and plans to use the funds to build a 40,000-ton industrial facility, which is expected to be completed and put into use in 2025
.

However, the company has been established for 10 years and has not yet launched any PET products.
Carbio's annual operating income in 2020 was 1.
643 million euros, compared with 1.
45 million euros in the previous fiscal year.
As the company's business is still based on the industrial development of innovative processes Mainly, most of the operating income comes from subsidies and services
.
There are two main revenue models, one is to obtain license fees or dividend income through intellectual property licensing; the other is to sell enzymes to plastic recycling-related companies and the company's affiliates to achieve revenue
.