rePET

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

Project name: Chemical Recycling of Waste PET Packaging – An Innovative Method of Obtaining Plasticizers for Plastics

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 PLN

Funding amount for the entire project: 3,552,706.06 PLN

Funding amount for Łukasiewicz – ICSO: 2,099,209.56 PLN

Funding amount for Łukasiewicz – IMPiB: 998,614.00 PLN

Funding amount for Łukasiewicz – IEL: 454,882.50 PLN

Implementation period: 17.07.2025 – 31.12.2026

Substantive project manager (ICSO): Marcin Muszyński, PhD Eng.

The project concerns the development of an innovative technology for the chemical recycling of waste packaging made of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), enabling waste to be converted into higher value-added products. The technology under development will make it possible to obtain terephthalic acid esters that can be used as plasticizers for plastics, including PVC blends.

Łukasiewicz Research Network – Institute of Electrical Engineering participates in the project as a consortium partner. The Institute’s contribution is delivered by the Research Centre for Electrotechnical Materials, which develops expertise in functional materials, plastics, composites and technologies supporting the circular economy.

The project contributes to the circular economy by using waste PET as a raw material for the chemical and plastics-processing industries. An important feature of the proposed solution is its ability to process lower-quality feedstock through the use of a catalyst resistant to contaminants present in waste PET.

The project will involve the development of a chemical PET depolymerization process, including the preparation of feedstock with varying degrees of fragmentation, process optimization using a prototype installation, and the development of methods for purifying the final products.

The project will result in a chemical PET recycling technology enabling waste packaging to be converted into fully usable raw materials for industrial applications.

The expected outcomes of the project include:

• the development of a technology for the depolymerization of waste PET,
• process optimization using a prototype installation,
• the ability to process lower-quality waste PET,
• the development of methods for purifying the final products,
• the production of terephthalic acid esters for use as plasticizers for plastics,
• increasing the technology readiness level of the solution from TRL 5 to TRL 7.