PET producer Equipolymers (EQP, Dubai / United Arab Emirates; www.equipolymers.com) will in Q4 2019 start up production of its food-grade PET “Viridis 25” containing up to 25% chemically recycled PET – see Plasteurope.com of 17.10.2018. To this end, the company has invested a double-digit million euro amount at its site in Schkopau / Germany. The company told Plasteurope.com that the new grade is expected to be available at an industrial scale from the start of 2020.

EQP said it will use between 25,000 t/y and 30,000 t/y of rPET once production is fully up and running. This would correspond to more than 3% of the volume currently available in Europe. The company has been collaborating with Coca-Cola (Atlanta, Georgia / USA; www.coca-cola.com) on the development of the new Viridis type since 2016. The material complies with European guidelines for food-contact materials and can be used both in the production of beverage bottles and film packaging. EQP has been producing “Viridis 98”, a polyester containing up to 10% rPET, at the same site for ten years.

The PET producer belongs to the Equate group (Safat / Kuwait; www.equate.com), a joint venture of Dow (Midland, Michigan / USA; www.dow.com) and Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC; Sabahiya / Kuwait; www.pic.com.kw). EQP’s two PET plants are both located at Schkopau. The “PET 1” line currently has a capacity of 160,000 t/y, and the “PET 2” line has a capacity of 175,000 t/y. The newer line 2 was expanded for the production of Viridis 25.