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While the Italian government is screwed into a timeless discussion about the reality of waste recycling plants (It is clear that now this can not be done without), the whole world is overwhelmed by millions of tons of waste, much of which is made of plastic. The circular economy, invoked as a magic formula capable of solving the problem of waste, will not take off until we find it technology for efficient plastic recycling. And at the present time, this technology does not exist.
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The good news is that all over the world many laboratories and companies involved in this research. Whoever arrives first will not only save the planet, but will also make an avalanche of money. One of these companies is a Italian-Swiss start that works so well that large global groups are keeping a close eye on its progress, companies that, for their business, are among the most at risk in terms of plastic waste: let's talk about Coca-Cola, Nestle, Unilever, giants of food and beverages that use large amounts of "disposable" plastic.
The company is calling Gr3n, c & # 39; was created in 2012 by Matteo Parravicini and Maurizio Crippa, researchers from the Department of Materials Science of the University of Milan-Bicocca. They joined immediately Matteo Bertelè, training manager and financial experience. After three years of theoretical work aimed at giving Maurizio Crippa more intuition, Gr3n obtained in 2015 a first non-refundable loan from the EU of two million euros euros with which he has achieved a Piacenza a pilot plant.
Bertelè: "We checked that we are able to do the chemical recycling of the animal and more generally from the polyester: in our reactor takes the depolymerization and plastic, we take terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol, both ingredients being reused to make new pet and new polyester at a competitive cost compared to the production of plastic from virgin material, that is to say of oil ".
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After this success, Gr3n obtained from the European Union a second non-repayable loan of 10 million as part of the Demeto project, to build a demonstration plant.
The factory is currently under construction in Chieti. The design and construction were entrusted to Mayor Tecnimont, an Italian multinational that is part of the world of engineering and procurement, a world leader in the production of polymer systems. The pilot plant will be ready by the end of 2019.
The technology developed by Maurizio Crippa, Ceo di Gr3n, with the support of Mayor Tecnimont, is for the depolymerization of Pet and polyester, which are identical at the molecular level, then the purification of monomers. Pet and polyester are the second most used plastic in the world, after polyethylene: the annual production is about 80 million tons and only 10% of these are currently recycled.
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It is estimated that 400 million tons of plastic are produced each year worldwide, including 49 million in Europe. In Italy, the situation is as follows: despite the commendable efforts of Corepla to increase recyclingduring the last four years (2014-2017), they are 1.28 million tonnes of non-recycled plastic packaging accumulated on our territory. According to a report from the Monza Park Farm School, prepared on behalf of Greenpeace.
TheCurrent recycling technology relies on mechanical shredding of the plastic material, which is reduced to fsmall knots to be transformed later mainly into textile yarn. but it only works with the animal rigid material used for packaging food and for water bottles and soft drinks. This is instead impossible to recycle polyester yarn, that of the 80 million tons of which we have mentioned above represents the greater part, about two-thirds. Polyester is used extensively in the textile industry, accounting for more than 50% of the fibers used for fabric production. At the end of his life, he the main destination of the landfill or incinerator.
Things should change with Gr3n technology.
"In our reactor, we can treat indifferently, with the same efficiency, Pet and polyester – says Bertelè – obtaining monomers for the manufacture of new plastics again and again infinite".
Much attention has been paid to the world of Gr3n technology. Among the most interested are companies like Nestlé and Coca Cola, big users of bottles in Pet. For these giants drinks have the The brand consistently prominent among waste left on the beaches or elsewhere is a serious problem.
Hence the idea of Bertelè di set up a consortium of "support" companies from Gr3n. Support for the moment is not financial, but ideas, through an advisory committee with the participation of managers Coca Coca, Nestle, Unilever, Henkel, Ikea, Adidas, H & M, Oviesse, Suez and A2A. When the Chieti factory will be ready, their products will be the first to be tested.
In the meantime, Bertelè has has also attracted the interest of a Chinese semi-governmental agency: "China is the world's largest producer of PET and polyester, accounting for 56% of global production."He says.
Obviously, Gr3n is not the only company in the world working on the chemical recycling of plastics. Of the various competitor there is theAmerican Loop industryFounded in 2015, it is listed on the Nasdaq, where it capitalizes nearly $ 330 million, while it has not yet generated revenue. in la France the Carbios, which is listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 2013, now capitalizes around 35 million euros and even in its balance sheets, no sales figure has been seen. There are other companies in Netherlands and in Japan not listed on the stock market.
Comment on Bertelè: "Each of these companies is develop a different technology to achieve the same goal: depolymerization of plastics with an economically practical process. I do not worry about competition, we have a technically superior solution, and then I think there will be room for everyone: the demand for recycling is so strong …"
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