PROJECT CO-FINANCED FROM THE STATE BUDGET UNDER THE 7TH CALL FOR ŁUKASIEWICZ TARGETED GRANTS

Acronym: (PB)_rePET

Partnership project:

• Łukasiewicz Research Network – Institute for Renewable Resources Chemistry – Project Leader
• Łukasiewicz Research Network – Institute of Polymer Materials
• Łukasiewicz Research Network – Institute of Electrical Engineering

Value of the entire project: 3 947 451,19 zł

The amount of funding for the entire project: 3 552 706,06 zł

Project value for Łukasiewicz – ICSO: 2 332 455,08 zł

Funding amount for Łukasiewicz – ICSO: 2 099 209,56 zł

Implementation period: 17.07.2025 – 31.12.2026

Substantive project manager: Marcin Muszyński, PhD Eng.

Project Description:

The project concerns the development of an innovative technology for the chemical recycling of waste poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) to produce plasticizers for plastics. The key element of the process is the depolymerization of PET using alcohols with varying carbon chain lengths, carried out in the presence of a specially developed catalyst. The developed catalyst is characterized by high resistance to impurities present in waste PET, which allows the process to be carried out efficiently even with highly contaminated fractions, such as colored PET, without the risk of its deactivation. The product of the process is terephthalic acid esters, which are used as plasticizers for plastics. They can also be further processed into value-added products. The resulting plasticizers show properties comparable to commercial plasticizers of petrochemical origin.

The project plans to build a prototype plant to carry out the depolymerization process, and the results obtained will be used to develop design guidelines for a full-scale chemical plant.