CuRe tech makes polyester chain circular together

CuRe Polyester Recycling Technology, new investment in low energy polyester recycling has been launched, treating any type of used polyester, removing colour and turning it back into clear pellets with the same properties. The goal is to recycle used polyester waste streams in polyester suitable for high demanding applications like carpets and textiles.

The recycling process is developed by Cumapol, DuFor and two Universities of Applied Science (NHL Stenden and Windesheim). Other partners working together with CuRe are Morssinkhof Plastics and DSM-Niaga. CuRe is a pilot plant that enables a continuous polyester recycling process for various contaminated polyester waste streams – including packaging materials and textile products – and cleans the original plastic material from contaminants and colour. The CuRe project aims to test the technical financial and sustainability of the new solution. This line is expected to be operational by summer 2019.

Realising low energy recycling for different polyester product waste streams is a major step towards a fully circular polyester chain. The partnership kicks off with a pilot plant, to prove the technical and financial sustainability of new technology for thermoplastic polyester recycling.

“Using this new CuRe Technology, we can use different sources of polyester waste streams. Food safety regulations mean we have to use 95 per cent PET from food packaging for mechanical recycling. However, with our CuRe Technology we can use every kind of polyester starting material including colored polyester. And there is another option: during this CuRe recycling process, bio-based monomers could be incorporated into the polymer chain to make it even more sustainable," Marco Brons, technical director.