Several tens of tons of post-consumer, polyester-rich, European textile wastes, sorted and prepared in France, have been processed in the Axens, IFPEN and JEPLAN semi-industrial demonstration unit, located in Japan, to successfully produce the base monomer of a 100% recycled polyester.This step paves the way for circular polyester loops for the textile industry, in particular sportswear, home furnishings and the luxury sector.
- AXENS, IFPEN and JEPLAN announce the success of a major industrial test for recycling post-consumer textile waste rich in polyester (PET) using their Rewind® PET technology. This test was carried out in their semi-industrial unit (capacity 1,000 ton/year) operated by JEPLAN in Japan.
- This validation at a significant scale consisted in processing several tens of tons of textiles from the French public collection, sorted and prepared by two French partners, Nouvelles Fibres Textile and Mapea. Several tens of tons of the base monomer of polyester, BHET, have been produced and will soon be converted into polyester yarns, fabrics and garments.
- This industrial textile-to-textile recycling test of several tons of post-consumer PET is one of the first of its kind under representative industrial conditions. It paves the way for large-scale industrial chemical recycling of textile polyester, offering textile stakeholders a building block that can be integrated into a global strategy across the entire value chain committed to reduction, reuse, and textile recycling.
A breakthrough innovation that can be deployed on existing sites
“Science, engineering and operational expertise come together to demonstrate the performance of the Rewind® PET process developed by IFPEN, JEPLAN and Axens. Axens and its partners thus demonstrate the robustness, stability and reproducibility of a cutting-edge recycling technology specifically designed to promote the circularity of textile polyester ” details Quentin Debuisschert, CEO of Axens.
This innovative process can be advantageously installed at industrial sites around the world that produce polyester for the textile industry, thereby enabling the substitution of fossil-based raw materials with their recycled equivalents.
Markets and deployment model
The technology, already proven and commercialized for recycling all PET packaging, including food-contact applications, is now validated for textile use under an exclusive license granted by IFPEN/JEPLAN to Axens worldwide to any industrial player wishing to develop local or regional textile-to-textile loops.
The PET recycled from this process is intended to be converted into yarn, fabric and then garments, thus completing the textile-to-textile loop for segments such as:
- sportswear and outdoor (heavy consumers of polyester);
- home furnishings (upholstery fabrics, curtains, covers);
- certain luxury applications that incorporate polyester in a controlled manner.
Read more : Textile sector needs innovative technologies for faster growth
Enable the development of circularity
Approximately 60% of global textile production relies on polyester and other synthetic fibers, while less than 1% of fibers produced today come from genuine textiles recycled into textiles (Source : Materials Market Report of Textile Exchange).
In a world where volumes of textile wastes are rapidly increasing and where textile-to-textile recycling remains limited, this semi-industrial test provides concrete proof that a circular production of polyester can now be rapidly implemented on a significant scale, from post-consumer waste streams.
The Rewind® PET process thus fits into a global circular strategy. It offers textile manufacturers a concrete lever to reduce consumption of virgin materials and extend the products life cycle.
Moreover, the technology offers the shortest pathway (short loop) to recycle spent textiles with a positive impact on carbon footprint and cost.
“With Rewind® PET, IFPEN is realizing more than ten years of research to put chemical recycling at the service of an ambitious circular economy. Our work has enabled the production of a high-purity recycled monomer that can be directly reintroduced into the most demanding applications such as textiles. This is an important step.” said Pierre-Franck Chevet, President and CEO of IFPEN
“By hosting the Rewind® PET semi-industrial demonstrator at our Kitakyushu site, we are demonstrating in practice that this technology can be integrated into a real industrial environment, with its complex constraints and waste streams. “This breakthrough opens up new possibilities for the market to develop fibers and fabrics incorporating a very high percentage of recycled material, without compromising on performance or sustainability.”
Masaki Takao
CEO of Jeplan
