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Green bottle gets a boost from new plant-based PET

The search for a fully renewable PET drinks bottle has moved a step closer with the development of a PET feedstock from plant sugars.

By using its own catalytic process, the US-based company Virent has created paraxylene (PX), a new feedstock created entirely from plant-based sugars.

According to the manufacturers, the PX molecules exactly match those of petroleum and therefore share the same properties.

With the trademark BioFormPX, the petroleum-free feedstock has potential applications in bottling, other packaging and various fibres and materials.

“Our plant-based PX paves the way for 100 per cent sustainable, recyclable products and packaging with complete freedom from crude oil,” said Virent CEO, Lee Edwards.

The process used to create PX can incorporate different raw materials and can be adapted to specific customer requirements, according to Mr Edwards.

“Our PX can be blended at any ratio the customer desires, and made from a wide variety of feedstocks, including sugar cane, corn, and woody biomass. Our catalytic process is tunable to customer specs, and situated to meet the entire spectrum of fossil fuel replacement.”
 

 

Image courtesy of www.youwb.com

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