Toss your plastic with pride

LanzaTech, Shougang, Indian Glycols Limited and Far Eastern New Century are converting commercial quantities of LanzaTech ethanol to PET (polyethylene terephthalate) vía MEG intermediate. Bfeore fans of LanzaJet begin to scream, “I want my ethanol!”, keep in mind that PET is a key raw material for the production of fibers and packaging. Recycled PET is, of course, well known but as with all mechanical recycling, the products don’t have the same properties as the original.  To make direct substitutes to the fossil equivalents, a viable option now is to start with ethanol and sugar/carbohydrate ethanol derived PET has been demonstrated to provide the same properties as virgin PET.

This collaboration will take that process one more step and enable the production of virgin PET from recycled waste gas emissions.  And they expect to be able to deliver commercial quantities of PET in 2020 through this collaboration.

According to the IEA, 30% of petroleum demand growth between now and 2030 is expected to come from our demand for more goods.  This means that reducing the use of fresh fossils for the production of chemicals to make those goods is as important as reducing the demand of fresh fossils for fuels.

OK, here’s your takeaway for Greta Thunberg, who seemed long on enthusiasm and short on specific in her recrnt address at the United Nations: some of the work being done today by folks converting forest residue derived naphtha to chemicals, cellulosic and sustainable sugar/carbohydrates derived chemicals, including this approach, will enable our global economy to further reduce the demand for fresh fossils.

In short, it’s a great complement to mechanical recycling approaches. Keeping fossils in the ground without making huge sacrifices regarding what we do is to many the key to reaching goals like limiting global temperature change. And, think of all the (T-shirts, bottles, and packaging).