REVALPET’UP: REVALORIZATION OF RECYCLED OPAQUE PET INTO INNOVATIVE MATERIALS
Specific programme: Cooperation Programme Interreg V-A España-Francia-Andorra (Interreg POCTEFA)
UPV/EHU Partner Status: Partner
UPV/EHU PI: ALEJANDRO JESÚS MÜLLER SANCHEZ
Project start: 01/05/2020
Project end: 01/06/2022
Brief description: Opaque PET waste, a plastic material increasingly present in plastic packaging, is difficult to revalorize. It disturbs the PET sorting and recycling value chain, for which it constitutes a threat that has led to a growing awareness among the general public and environmental associations. The RevalPET project has developed a methodology for the recycling of opaque PET, and showed that in order to develop high added value applications for this recycled material, there is a need to stabilize and improve its quality. The RevalPET'UP project aims to address this challenge by using the reactive extrusion process. This upgraded opaque PET will then be transformed by blending with other materials, to target applications requiring good mechanical performance, or in foams for building insulation.
RevalPET'UP will go as far as the production of materials on a pilot-plant scale, the production of prototypes for the measurement of insulation performance, and the study of the commercial potential of the materials developed. The plastics packaging recycling sector, which is well represented in the POCTEFA area, will thus be able to develop new outlets with high added value and long service life. The building materials sector will also be able to develop a sector using recycled materials to replace currently imported insulation materials. Cross-border cooperation will enable the problem to be tackled on a relevant regional scale and benefit from an unprecedented synergy of skills and know-how.