Chemically recycled vs. mechanically recycled rPET and the JB rPET equation

• May 17, 2024

While moving towards sustainability, the industry and the world have seen a major inclination towards rPET. rPET has emerged as a significant ally in the world’s collective effort for environmental betterment.

Though, not all rPETs are made similarly. There are several methods including chemical recycling and mechanical recycling. Both of these methods are helpful in the recycling industry since they reduce the dependency on virgin plastic. But the process along with implications and results is quite different.

If we want to understand the impact, benefits and drawbacks it is crucial to understand the difference between these processes and how they impact our environment when we bring sustainability into the equation.

To begin let’s understand what exactly mechanically recycled and chemically recycled PET are so we can understand them better.

Mechanically recycled PET

When we talk about mechanically recycled PET, it is used to make new products after sorting, cleaning and melting post-consumer PET bottles and/or containers. In this method processes such as shredding and melting are included which help in transforming post-consumer PET waste into rPET resins/pallets.

Mechanically recycled PET is a comparatively sustainable option to virgin plastic since it reduces the demand for it. But we also have to take into consideration the carbon footprints and energy consumption that come with this process.

The collection, transportation, sorting and processing part of this process is responsible for a significant amount of carbon footprint in this method. Moreover, the quality of mechanically recycled PET varies depending on factors like contamination, which affects the usability and performance of the recycled plastic in some applications.

Though this method has a fair share of challenges, mechanically recycled PET plays a big role in aiding the circular economy and reducing plastic waste from landfills, which helps a great deal in building an environmentally sound future.

Chemically Recycled PET

The chemical recycling, as the name suggests, makes use of various chemical processes to break the plastic into monomers. Chemical recycling converts PET into its building components, like ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid. These monomers are later used to produce rPET that does not degrade in quality, as usually happens in the process of mechanical recycling.

FMuch like mechanical recycling, chemical recycling, too, has some benefits in that it helps to promote a circular economy. It without any doubt reduces the environmental impact and carbon footprint by reusing plastic that usually ends up in landfills.

In addition, it helps in reducing the demand for virgin plastics, saving energy that goes into producing more plastic. There are some disadvantages as well, but they are mainly related to the energy and resources required for this process and somewhat to the waste that we are left with after the process is done.

If we consider the overall environmental impact, notwithstanding a few drawbacks that we have at hand, the scalability and feasibility of chemical recycling are important factors to be noticed.

How JB rPET’s chemically recycled PET saves the day

At JB rPET, we have done years of research to understand the nature of PET polymers. To aid the circular economy, we invented a technology that helps us in the chemical recycling of PET, which has been our vision from the very beginning.

Not only for plastic waste but working in the direction of conservation and preservation of natural resources, which in turn reduces the environmental impact and works in the direction of keeping our environment in better shape.

Our process can make high-quality polyester granules from rPET. These granules are of equal quality as virgin granules, ensuring reliability in the performance of products made out of them. Any and every product which can be made from virgin granules can also be made from these rPET granules, resulting in a vast field for making products for industries. With the help of chemical recycling, we can motivate businesses to move toward sustainability and that too without any kind of compromise on the quality or performance.

Another advantage of chemical recycling is the reduction of virgin plastics demand, which results in the decrease of fossil fuel extraction and connected carbon emissions. Thus, our efforts contribute to mitigating climate change and fostering a more sustainable future for coming generations.