Eastman to catalyse polyester waste ecosystem with major recycling projects – exec

NEW YORK (ICIS)–US-based Eastman aims to light a fire under the ecosystem for collecting hard-to-recycle polyester waste with $2bn in new investments for plastics recycling projects in the US and France, a senior executive said.

“As we demonstrate the value of the technology, there will need to be dramatic changes in the way society works to create circularity – the recycling infrastructure, the recovery, the sortation and the materials chosen to be used. All that is going to have to evolve dramatically,” said Scott Ballard, president, Plastics Division at Eastman, in an interview with ICIS.

“We’re catalysing that change – that’s the way we think about it,” he added.

Eastman has three major plastics recycling projects using its polyester renewal technology (PRT) in the offing – one under construction in the US and two more planned – one in France and the other in the US.

The company’s PRT technology uses methanolysis to break down polyester waste into monomers dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) and ethylene glycol (EG).

This chemical (also called advanced or molecular) recycling process can be applied not only to clear polyethylene terephthalate (PET) drink bottles but also to hard-to-recycle materials such as carpet, polyester clothing and coloured PET bottles that today are mostly going into landfill.

“We’re showing the world what’s possible with advanced recycling, taking in hard-to-recycle waste – things that are otherwise bound for landfill or incineration – and being able to create something new again out of it,” said Ballard.

KINGSPORT PROJECT FOR INTERNAL CONSUMPTION TO COPOLYESTER
Eastman’s first project, with an input capacity of 110,000 tonnes/year, is already under construction at its Kingsport, Tennessee, US site and on track for start-up in Q1 2023.

The company is collecting and storing feedstock ahead of its launch.

“We’ve got [suppliers] identified and are buying [waste] streams. We’re filling up warehouses, waiting for start-up,” said Ballard.

The output will be used internally in several copolyester lines at Kingsport. Eastman’s Tritan and other copolyesters are used in applications such as reusable water bottles, household and kitchen wares, cosmetics and personal care packaging, medical supplies and devices, and durable goods.

SECURING FEEDSTOCK FOR FRANCE PROJECT
Eastman’s second PRT project is planned in Port-Jerome-sur-Seine, France with 160,000 tonnes/year of input capacity, and scheduled for start-up in 2026.

The company’s ability and willingness to pay for polyester waste material that previously had no value should incentivise the creation of infrastructure and processes to collect the material and bring it to the plants, Ballard pointed out.

For the France project, Eastman confirmed an agreement in September with Germany-based Interzero for Interzero to provide up to 20,000 tonnes/year of hard-to-recycle PET household packaging waste for the facility.

“They already have a pretty mature infrastructure for recycling and will be separating all the good, clean stuff that can be mechanically recycled, and then a lot of what’s left over – what we’re buying – is either very, very low value, usually going to incineration,” said Ballard.

The output from the France plant will likely go into a mix of specialty co-polyesters as well as R-PET for offtake, he noted.

THIRD PROJECT IN US WITH PEPSICO AS KEY OFFTAKER
Eastman is evaluating locations in the US, including Texas City, Texas, for its third PRT project, also with a planned input capacity of 160,000 tonnes/year, and scheduled for start-up in 2026.

For this project – its second in the US – Eastman reached a definitive supply agreement with PepsiCo in October, whereby PepsiCo will be the baseload customer for the plant. The input capacity of 160,000 tonnes/year of hard-to-recycle polyester waste is expected to result in an output capacity of at least 150,000 tonnes/year of recycled PET (R-PET) downstream.

PLASTIC WASTE AND CARBON FOOTPRINT
The ultimate goal for plastics recycling is to help solve the dual problem of plastic waste and climate change, he noted.

“You have to take a very principled approach if you want to create a futuristic ecosystem that can solve this very complicated issue,” said Ballard.

The first thing is to reduce consumption and ultimately the production of plastics. Then it’s about bringing whatever plastic is out there back into circulation through collection and advanced technology,” he pointed out.

“There needs to be many of these investments from Eastman and from other companies. And in order to truly solve the problem, there has to be dramatic change,” said Ballard.

“In order to catalyse change in the world, there are many things that need to be evolved,” he noted.

On the carbon footprint, which relates to climate change, mechanical recycling of plastics is the lowest carbon route and thus should be used where it can, he said.

“But where it can’t, you need the best next technology to be able to address that,” said Ballard.

Eastman’s PRT process reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 20-30% at the monomer level versus traditional processes, according to the company.

And the France site could produce R-PET with a 40-80% lower carbon footprint than virgin polymer based on plant design as well as the use of renewable energy, Ballard pointed out.

MOMENTUM TO CONTINUE
The momentum in plastics recycling is unlikely to be slowed by challenging economic conditions going into 2023, he said.

“Most of the brands and customers we’ve been talking to are taking a very strategic view and believe this is something that’s absolutely necessary for the future. They have been supportive of Eastman in investing through any downturn that might happen,” said Ballard.

“We’re committed to this strategy. We do not expect any potential economic downturn to impact our investment strategy on circularity,” he added.

Eastman plans to deploy around $2bn in capital for PRT projects – roughly $250m for the Kingsport project, $1bn for the France project and $600-800m for the third plant to be located in the US, said Ballard.

Once construction starts, the projects will take about two years until completion, he noted.

“We’re excited about what we’re doing and showing what’s possible and opening up opportunities. But ultimately, we think there’s the need for more and more of these,” said Ballard.

“There’s a lot of demand for this type of solution, and so there needs to be more than just one or two companies trying to solve this. Hopefully there are going to be several companies trying to find ways to take material that’s currently considered waste and making it valuable,” he concluded.

Additional reporting by Emily Friedman and Al Greenwood

Interview article by Joseph Chang