Coca-Cola unveils 100% biobased prototype bottle made using technologies validated at demo scale

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Type of post: NEWS IN BRIEF.

The Coca-Cola Company has revealed a next generation prototype bottle made from 100% plant-based plastic (bio-PET), excluding cap and label, using technologies that are now ready to be commercially scaled across the industry (validated at demonstration scale).

Figure 1. Coca-Cola unveils 100% biobased prototype bottle made using technologies validated at demo scale

In 2009, Coca-Cola launched PlantBottle, the world’s first recyclable PET plastic bottle made with up to 30% plant-based material. The company continued to invest toward the development of a 100% plant-based solution. In 2015, it unveiled its first prototypes for a 100% biobased PET PlantBottle, excluding cap and label, using laboratory-scale production methods to produce biobased paraxylene, still in early stages of development. The new prototype is the first beverage packaging material resulting from plant-based paraxylene produced at demonstration scale. It was produced using sugar from corn, though Virent’s catalytic process.

A limited run of approximately 900 of the prototype bottles have been produced. The prototype is the product of partnerships with biobased technology providers that are working to develop sustainable, future-facing packaging solutions. It is made by combining sugars converted from plant-based materials to form biobased monoethylene glycol (bio-MEG), as well as biobased paraxylene (bio-PX), which has in turn been converted to biobased terephthalic acid (bio-PTA). While the plant-based MEG in today’s bottle was produced using sugar from corn, commercial quantities from sustainable wood biomass will be available soon (Finnish forest-based bioeconomy leader UPM announced in 2020 the construction of a full-scale biorefinery to convert wood biomass from forest residues and thinnings to plant-based MEG).

Also, Coca-Cola worked with the team at Alpek Polyester to bring the technology online to convert the renewable chemicals into 100% plant-based PET that meets quality standards for beverage packaging. Bottles were manufactured and filled within The Coca-Cola System. The bottle is recyclable and can be recycled bottle-to-bottle within existing recycling infrastructures, alongside PET from oil-based sources.

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