South Korean resin maker SK Chemicals (SKC, Seoul; www.skchemicals.com) signed a USD 98.4 mn (EUR 92 mn) deal with China’s Shuye Environmental Technology (Shantou, Guangdong; www.shuye.com.cn) to acquire the latter’s assets in the business division specialising in chemically recycled bis-hydroxyethyl terephthalate (BHET) and chemically recycled PET.

The assets include a depolymerisation plant in Shantou that chemically decomposes waste plastics to produce rBHET and a chemically recycled PET production facility, which uses the rBHET produced here to make PET again. SKC claims that Shuye‘s plant with current rBHET capacity of 70,000 t/y, and rPET capacity of 50,000 t/y uses a depolymerisation technology that is a few years ahead of other domestic companies.

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Last year, SKC signed an memorandum of understanding with Shuye to build a depolymerisation plant in the Shantou Comprehensive Free Trade Zone with a production capacity of 100,000 t/y of chemically recycled BHET, with commercial production planned for 2024. SKC owns 51% interest in this joint venture.

Along with the expansion of its co-polyester business, SKC plans to make the chemically recycled BHET and chemically recycled PET businesses with high growth potential as new growth drivers. The company also plans to sell the rBHET as a standalone product to polyester manufacturers worldwide who want to make recycled products.

In addition to recycled polyester products, Shuye manufactures biodegradable shopping and logistics bags along with polyester-based functional films, among others.