Strong consortium will bring Carbios biological recycling technology to market on an industrial scale

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Type of post: NEWS.

Carbios, a green chemistry company founded in 2011, has developed two biological processes for the breakdown and recycling of polymers in an attempt to reinvent their lifecycle. Unlike currently used plastics recycling processes, which are primarily thermo-mechanical, its recycling process is based on enzymes. Carbios and L’Oréal founded a Consortium to bring this enhanced recycling technology to market on an industrial scale in October 2017. Committed to supporting sustainable development with innovative solutions, Nestlé Waters, PepsiCo and Suntory Beverage & Food Europe are joining the Consortium to promote the circular plastics economy.
Press release: “Nestlé Waters, PepsiCo and Suntory Beverage & Food Europe join consortium founded by Carbios and L’Oréal to support the world’s first enzymatic technology for the recycling of plastics”, 2/5/2019.

Under the terms of the four-year agreement, the Consortium partners’ ambition is to bring Carbios’ PET-enhanced recycling technology to the market and increase the availability of high-quality recycled plastics to fulfil their sustainability commitments. The collaboration includes technical milestones and support for the efficient supply of consumer-grade, 100% recycled PET plastics for global markets.

The enzymatic recycling process

Carbios has developed an innovative process that breaks down PET plastic waste into its original building blocks, which can be used to produce high-quality PET plastic. This new approach enables the specific de-polymerization of a single polymer. At the end of the first stage, the monomer or monomers resulting from the de-polymerization process will be purified, with the objective to re-polymerize them, thus enabling a recycling process to infinity. Eventually, the plastic residues not degraded during the first stage will be de-polymerized in the same way in a second stage by applying a different enzyme that will de-polymerize other polymers in the same way as in the first stage.

Figure 1. Carbios enzymatic biorecycling process principle (taken from the website of the company)

This patented technology is marked by:
- Its potential to recycle PET plastics repeatedly and rise the recycled PET content in new products (Carbios recently achieved a world first using its enzymatic technology to create PET bottles from 100% recycled plastics).
- Its ability to handle all forms of PET plastics (clear, coloured, opaque and multilayer) and polyester fibres.
- A process at low temperature and pressure and without solvents, which improves its environmental impact.

The enzymatic biodegradation technology

Carbios is pioneering the use of enzymes to degrade the polymers that make up plastic materials. This breakthrough innovation involves embedding enzymes into plastic materials, thus enabling them to fully biodegrade themselves with a controlled life span into base molecules that can be assimilated by the microorganisms in nature.

Figure 2. Carbios “enzymated” plastics principle (taken from company website)

Carbios founded the joint venture Carbiolice in 2016, in partnership with Limagrain Céréales Ingrédients and the SPI fund, run by Bpifrance. This company will market the first technology licensed by Carbios by producing enzyme pellets used in the manufacturing of biodegradable and bio-sourced plastics. Carbiolice will target the markets of flexible films (mulch films, bags and sacks, industrial films…) and rigid plastics (in the field of agriculture and for disposable tableware). Theses biodegradable plastics will meet the increasingly stringent requirements defined by France’s energy transition law.

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