UPSCALING OF INNOVATIVE PROCESSES FOR THE RECYCLING OF PET FROM COMPLEX WASTES: A CASE STUDY INVOLVING MECHANICAL AND ENZYMATIC SORTING APPLIED TO TYRES, TEXTILES AND HOSES

Project Information

WHITECYCLE

Grant agreement ID: 101059639

DOI

10.3030/101059639

EC signature date 8 June 2022

Start date 1 July 2022

End date 30 June 2027

Funded under

• Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Total cost

€ 9 085 423,76

EU contribution

€ 7 075 439,25

Coordinated by

MANUFACTURE FRANCAISE DES PNEUMATIQUES MICHELIN
France

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - WHITECYCLE (UPSCALING OF INNOVATIVE PROCESSES FOR THE RECYCLING OF PET FROM COMPLEX WASTES: A CASE STUDY INVOLVING MECHANICAL AND ENZYMATIC SORTING APPLIED TO TYRES, TEXTILES AND HOSES)

Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2025-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

WhiteCycle was born to address this main problematic under the use case of PET, third most used polymer in the world with more than 82 Mt produced in 2019 worldwide and used in various applications such as packaging and clothing for example.

The objective of WHITECYCLE is to overcome the barrier posed by feedstock complexity via a set of versatile, disruptive, and fully scalable technological processes capable of infinitely retrieving and recycling PET, even from complex mixed waste to yield pure, industrially relevant monomer at any scale. WHITECYCLE includes a clear plan for replication of the technologies to be implemented at the industrial scale beyond the project, across a wide range of sectors implementing or manufacturing PET-containing products.

The main project outcomes will be:
• 3 industrially viable circular value chains from bin to highly technical products namely tyres, lay-flat hoses, and multicomponent textiles.
• Comprehensive Life Cycle Analysis, Life Cycle Cost, social acceptability studies and FAIR data for each of the 3 use-cases
• Agreements for upscaling and implementation from 12 brand-owners, 3 PET manufacturers and 3 waste managers / recycling equipment manufacturers

More generally we have for objectives to tackle carbon emissions and pollution due to landfilling and incineration and micro-plastic dissemination we hope to avoid 2.06 Mt CO2eq emissions and 1.80 Mt PET landfilling. We aim to contribute and create at our scale a prosperous, sustainable, and vibrant EU circular economy paving the way to meet 2025 and 2030 EU targets and to set more stringent targets leading up to 2050 for the full circularity of plastics and climate neutrality.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During RP2, the project achieved fiber purity targets for tires and hoses, but productivity was insufficient. Separator productivity improved by April 2024. LAVARIS optimization for tires failed, while MTB optimization for hoses succeeded with a two-stage shredding process. However, separator performance for ELT and ELH fibers did not meet TRL5. Pilot productions and scale-up are ongoing. WP1 also saw IRIS and Synergies TLC defining specifications for a TRL7 prototype for real-time, multilayer PET textile identification, focusing on PU detection. IRIS sorted 140kg of complex clothing, yielding 32kg of high-PET garments, reaching TRL5 after manual dismantling.

WP2 focused on 4 feedstocks:
- Puffy jacket (100% PET, Inditex): Carbios processed 320kg, yielding 216kg of pellets. Expansion quality needs improvement, but PET content (93%) and crystallinity (17%) are acceptable.
- Garment (>80% PET, IRIS sorted): Two batches sorted by IRIS achieved >80% and >90% PET content. After hard point removal, IFTH shredded the materials. Crystallinity (19%) exceeded the 15% goal, possibly due to PU or process conditions.
- ELT : Thermal amorphization was chosen. The "Main Scenario" (diluting ELT with industrial waste fibers) improved processability, leading to 14% crystallinity and 91% depolymerization. This scenario was chosen for pre-industrial scaling. Pilot-scale thermal amorphization at IFTH yielded 200kg of pellets (14+/-2% crystallinity), now micronized for Carbios.
- ELH (Mandals fibers sorted by PPrime and Lavaris): Plasma amorphization was selected due to PU content. Lab tests at Michelin, Carbios, and IFTH achieved <15% crystallinity (except with nitrogen).

Process upscales were also investigated:
- Extrusion (ELT and clothes): Chosen for cost and productivity. Puffy jackets were amorphized using Carbios' extruder (200 kg/h) after compaction. ELT fibers required IFTH's pilot extruder (4-6 kg/h) and fine shredding. Michelin plans to develop a feeder for fluffy fibers and upscale extrusion.
- Plasma (ELH feedstock): Chosen due to PET degradation with extrusion. Michelin is building a pilot process for 100 kg of non-woven fibers (early 2026), followed by semi-industrial upscale. IFTH and Michelin are developing a protocol for determining the amorphous/crystalline ratio, addressing PA removal.

In WP3, 12 new ELT samples were evaluated, with a PET-enriched tyre waste feedstock (50% ELT, 50% PET fiber) validated for pilot-scale. ELH and ELT processes were separated in early 2025. 14 new ELH samples were evaluated, but PET-enriched hoses waste has not fully depolymerized at lab-scale. Pilot-scale depolymerization of lab-validated ELT feedstock (69% PET) occurred without MEG recovery. While kinetics were slow, yield was compliant. TA separation was complex. Carbios will produce 40 kg of recycled PTA by July 2025. Puffy jacket depolymerization kinetics were also slow (70h vs. 24h target), though yield was acceptable, and TA purification was challenging. Carbios produced 78 kg of recycled PTA. Lab trials for complex garments began in April 2025, with pilot recycling planned for April 2026.

Carbios produced anhydrous sodium sulfate (98.5% recovery) during the ELT pilot, but impurities were present. Future pilot loops will focus on feedstock selection, drying, and filtration. Wet filter cake was sent to MICHELIN for valorization assessment. Carbios produced 1.5t of rPET in june 2023 but it was insufficient for WP4. A new production in early 2025 yielded 1.8 tons of improved rPET pellets for WP4 and WP5 testing.

Moving to WP4, DITF converted 45kg of PTA from puffy jackets into 48.7kg of rPET and prepared 50.4kg of vPET for comparison. They optimized PET's diethylene glycol for ELT fibers. IFTH prototyped 14kg of HMLS multifilament yarn. Puffy jacket r-PET yarns were non-homogeneous, brittle, and had lower breaking strength and higher elongation. Kordsa's v-PET dipped cord studies produced a 200-meter sample for Michelin's tire tests, showing feasibility despite cord breaking strength issues. Amorphous r-PET chips are near specifications but need optimization.

Due to the unavailability of PET yarns and cords (WP4), WP5 focused on r-PET specifications, risk management, and technical prognoses. Raw material specifications and test plans for tyres, hoses, and garments were adapted. r-PET limitations pose technical risks, especially for tyre performance. Polyester textile specifications and test plans were based on pilot scale constraints, technical issues, and using v-PET as a reference. r-PET performance will be compared to v-PET through characterization and product tests. Producing v-PET under the same conditions as r-PET is crucial for technical prognoses.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

WhiteCycle project results are promising, introducing new knowledge. We've developed a novel technology to identify PET-based layers in multilayered clothing, successfully tested with a prototype. Additionally, specific amorphization technologies were developed for complex feedstocks like garments, tires, and hoses. These breakthroughs are crucial for achieving our three closed-loop demonstrations, paving the way for industrial applications and bridging the gap between research and market.

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