Project description
New recycling process for PET shows promise for a true circular economy
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic is one of the world’s major pollutants, and large-scale PET recycling efforts are limited by technological barriers. The ChemPET project has developed a chemical recycling technology that converts a wide range of PET plastics into bis (2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET), the monomer building block of PET. This can then be used to form virgin PET, closing the circular economy loop and avoiding the use of crude oil substrates to produce new PET plastics. ChemPET will now look to optimise and scale this process up, and collaborate across the plastics and recycling value chain to ensure the process is widely used.
Objective
The massive industrial use of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) poses serious economic and environmental problems due to its poor recyclability. Current PET disposal options include incineration, landfilling and recycling while a relevant amount is still dumped into oceans. Landfilling and incineration are however outdated since environmentally unsustainable. Recycling is the preferred option, but a series of technological barriers limit the recycling into high-quality rPET (recycled PET).
The ChemPET project aims to scale-up a cutting-edge chemical recycling technology, based on glycolysis, for PET based waste converting it into monomer BHET.
Currently, there are no alternatives which guarantee efficient results at industrial scale considering heterogeneous PET feedstock. BHET can be newly used as raw material in the production of virgin PET instead of the terephthalic acid (TPA) and the ethylene glycol (EG) that derive from crude oil. This determines advantages for the PET value chain in terms of environmental sustainability, competitiveness and job creation. ChemPET will help Europe to achieve the “Zero Plastics to landfill by 2025”, promoting the Circular Economy and reducing Europe dependency on fossil feedstocks. ChemPET project foresees the technical improvement of ChemPET technology and the valorisation of by-products.
After the optimization of the BHET production phase, GARBO will collaborate with many stakeholders across plastic industry value chain to maximize the business opportunities and foster the uptake of ChemPET technology. The production of chemical recycled PET (crPET) from BHET will close the loop supporting the growth of the circular economy thus reshaping the PET value chain at whole. Large occupational benefits are expected by the replication of ChemPET process.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology environmental engineering waste management waste treatment processes recycling
- natural sciences chemical sciences organic chemistry aliphatic compounds
- social sciences economics and business economics sustainable economy
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.2.3. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.3. - PRIORITY 'Societal challenges
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H2020-EU.2.1. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
SME-2 - SME instrument phase 2
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
28065 CERANO NO
Italy
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.