Enzymatic Recycling for PET

The French company Carbios has announced a new enzymatic recycling process that can reportedly infinitely recycle polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The process has the potential to replace thermomechanical recycling of PET, which can only produce downgraded plastics and cannot recycle colored products. The Carbios process, supported by L’Oreal, incubates plastic waste with enzymes, filters and recovers purified terephthalic acid and monoethylene glycol and then repolymerizes PET. The process, which has already produced 100% recycled PET bottles, is running at pilot scale, with a demonstration plant slated to open in 2021 and commercial production in 2023.