Dutch researchers uncover polycotton recycling pathway
The Netherlands-headed Avantium N.V., a leader in renewable and circular polymer materials, has announced that it, together with research partners at the University of Amsterdam, has found an important solution for recycling polycotton waste textiles enabling the polyester to be fully recycled, facilitating fiber-to-fiber recycling.
Developed in collaboration with the Industrial Sustainable Chemistry group at the University of Amsterdam, and led by Avantium Chief Technology Officer Gert-Jan Gruter, Avantium has developed a patented technology to break down cotton in polycotton fabric into glucose using hydrochloric acid (HCl), while leaving the polyester intact.
This allows the polyester to be fully recycled, facilitating fiber-to-fiber recycling. Additionally, the cotton glucose can be utilized as feedstock for industrial applications.
This innovative method, presented in the article “Polycotton waste textile recycling by sequential hydrolysis and glycolysis” and published in Nature Communications, is the first effective method for recycling both polyester and cotton components with high efficiency.
This marks a significant advancement in textile recycling, addressing the growing environmental challenge of textile waste.
Avantium supported this groundbreaking project by hosting PhD students from the Industrial Sustainable Chemistry research group of the University of Amsterdam in its laboratories and its Dawn pilot plant in Delfzijl.
The first author of the paper, PhD student Nienke Leenders, works on secondment at Avantium.
Leverage existing technology portfolio
Avantium is a frontrunner in developing innovative technologies for producing chemicals and materials from sustainable carbon feedstocks, like plant-derived carbon or carbon dioxide (CO2).
One such technology, Dawn Technology, converts non-food plant-based feedstock into glucose and lignin, proven in its pilot plant in Delfzijl, the Netherlands.
This glucose can be used in chemical and fermentation processes for diverse products such as monomers for bio-based plastics.
After several successful trials in its laboratories, Avantium has been using its Dawn Technology pilot plant to test the viability of breaking down and recycling post-consumer polycotton waste textiles at a larger scale.
Fully hydrolyze cotton cellulose
By using highly concentrated HCl on polycotton waste, the cotton cellulose was fully hydrolyzed into glucose, which can be easily separated from the solid polyester residue.
This enables the complete recycling of polyester and the use of cotton-derived glucose for a wide range of industrial applications, including polymers, resins, and solvents.
The resulting glucose can for example be used by Avantium to produce its lead product 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA).
Scalable and cost-effective
The trials at Avantium’s Dawn pilot plant have shown high glucose yields from polycotton waste, indicating scalability and cost-effectiveness.
This method is therefore the first viable process to effectively recycle both polyester and cotton fractions in high yields.
With global textile production expected to reach 149 million tonnes by 2030 and a recycling rate of less than 1 percent, Avantium’s technology offers a sustainable solution for the circular, low-carbon textile industry and aligns with new regulations that make textile producers responsible for waste management.
We are excited about this groundbreaking solution, which is not only providing feedstock for our own FDCA and PEF technology and aligns with our environmental objectives but also marks a crucial advancement towards achieving a circular economy. At Avantium, we are committed to perfecting this technology in collaboration with partners and broadening its application to address the global textile waste problem. Simultaneously, we aim to supply non-food glucose to support the large-scale transition toward a bio-based economy, said Gert-Jan Gruter, CTO at Avantium.
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