December 26, 2023 - Köksan, Turkey's leading PET production giant, recently announced that its new 300-ton per day recycled BHET production line will soon be operational. This significant development marks another important advancement for the company in the field of recycled plastics. The line is characterized by its seamless connection to the polymerization unit, demonstrating Köksan's continued investment and leadership in technological innovation.
In November last year, Köksan successfully commissioned its second primary PET production plant with ThyssenKrupp Wood Evonne Dafycer MTR technology, further expanding its presence in the global market. The use of this technology not only increases production efficiency but also reduces environmental impact.
Köksan's annual primary PET production capacity has now reached 432,000 tons. In addition, the company has adopted MTP technology, which enables it to melt directly into preforms, further enhancing its competitiveness in the market.
It is understood that Köksan is not only leading in the production of virgin PET, but also continues to make efforts in the field of recycled PET. 2020, the company built a PET washing line with a monthly production capacity of 3,000 tons, which effectively promotes the recycling of plastics. Although the company plans to put into operation a 20,000-ton per year recycled particle production line by the end of this year, it has not yet been certified for food contact recycling process, which has attracted the attention of the industry.
Meanwhile, Wood Evonstad Fraser, as a partner of the PET Summit 2024 in Shanghai, is expected to showcase its advanced technology in semi-chemical method (FTR), which will lead a new trend in the industry.
Glycolysis Recovery Technology
After pre-cleaning the used polyester garments with color, ethylene glycol terephthalate (BHET) is produced by EG alcoholysis, filtered to remove impurities and decolorization, and then polycondensation can be obtained from the regenerated PET.
Waste polyester by EG alcoholysis and then polycondensation to PET
Several foreign companies such as the United States Goodyear (Goodyear), the United States DuPont (DuPont), Germany Hoechst (Hoechst) and so on has realized the industrialization of EG alcoholysis, EG / PET molar ratio of 2, add 0.05% to 1.0% zinc acetate and other catalysts, alcoholysis at atmospheric pressure for 3 ~ 8h, filtration and add cold EG, cooled to 0 ~ 25 ℃, to get the coarse Crystals, add 50 ~ 100 ℃ distilled water melting crystals, and then add 1% ~ 10% of the activated carbon (AC), filtration to obtain pure BHET, can be directly used for the production of PET. In addition, Fujita also disclosed the relevant technology: EG / PET mass ratio of 1.3 ~ 2.0, under nitrogen protection at 215 ~ 250 ℃ for alcoholysis. The company proposes that the crushed fabric should be wetted with EG before entering the alcoholysis system, which is conducive to accelerating the alcoholysis reaction.
