THE PROBLEM

The vast majority of plastic materials that are considered low quality feedstock for recycling purposes, and not recycled, but rather ends up in incinerators, landfills or leaked into nature. Even when these plastics are recycled, they are down-cycled to create even lower grade plastics for lower end uses.

THE SOLUTION

Ioniqa is a clean-tech spinoff from the Eindhoven University of Technology (NL), specialized in creating value out of PET waste by using its proprietary circular technology. This award winning innovation transforms all types and colors of PET waste into valuable resources of ‘virgin quality’ new PET. 

The feedstock for Ioniqa’s proces is based on low-end feedstock, the majority (up to 90%) that currently ends up in incinerators, landfills and the oceans. The plastic, also known as a polymer, is submerged in a solution, such as water or glycol. The molecular structure of the polymer, which consists of identical units (the monomers), will then slowly start to dissolve. With the raw material that we harvest, we produce new, clear PET bottles that are food safe.

Ioniqa built its first PET plastic up-cycling factory in The Netherlands, with operations beginning in Summer 2019. Once the technology has been proven in Ioniqa’s 10k ton plant this so called ‘blue print’ will be the basis to start selling licenses worldwide for the production of monomers on an estimated 50k ton scale.

COMPETING SOLUTIONS

Other recycling solutions for PET are available, however this process allows for mixed plastics to enter the same process without separation, reducing sorting and separation costs, and increasing recycling volumes.

CASE STUDY EXAMPLES

See the first Ioniqa facility, recently opened in July 2019: https://ioniqa.com/ioniqa-takes-first-10-kiloton-pet-upcycling-factory-into-operation/