Selenis makes high-quality rPET from Circ’s recovered terephthalic acid

Using inputs recovered from polycotton textile waste, the high-quality PET chip has been transformed into DTY yarn and will be used in product development as Circ builds additional capsule launches. Selenis is building on the success of this initial phase of collaboration by committing to work toward an offtake partnership in support of Circ’s first industrial facility.

“The monomer synthesis performed similarly to virgin terephthalic acid,” said Eduardo Santos, Head of Corporate Strategy at Selenis. “These results are a promising indication of the consistent quality of Circ’s monomer output and future commercial success. As this partnership with Circ aligns with our mission and sustainability goals in the textile world, we look forward to building upon this work and supporting Circ’s commercial production trials in the future.”

Selenis, a global supplier of high-quality, innovative, and sustainable specialty polyester solutions for diverse applications, is a subsidiary of the IMG Group, a multinational with sixty-five years of experience in the industry. The collaboration with Circ reinforces Selenis’ sustainable mission, which relies on employing the company’s profound knowledge of polymers, formulations, and processing, to partner with customers in developing eco-friendly solutions and commitment to creating opportunities. Highly focused on sustainability, this current endeavor with Circ is enabling Selenis to develop products with PTA using recovered terephthalic acid from Circ and bio-monoethylene glycol (Bio-MEG) from second-generation biobased sources. Their ultimate goal is to eliminate plastic waste, reduce carbon footprint, and conserve valuable resources by enabling the transformation of waste into new, high-quality products, over and over again.

“By working with the Selenis strategic and pilot plant manufacturing teams, we demonstrated the quality of Circ monomers and confirmed its performance as a like-for-like replacement of virgin monomers in synthesizing rPET from blended textile waste,” said Kaushik Vashee, SVP of Manufacturing at Circ. “The Selenis teams’ commitment to realizing the pilot trials has been instrumental in demonstrating the value of our recycled monomers.” 

Circ is the leader in blended textile-to-textile recycling, a known challenge for the industry. Each year, tens of millions of tons of polycotton textile waste is landfilled or burned because existing recycling solutions cannot separate the plastic from the natural fiber and recover both materials. Circ’s innovative recycling technology is the only platform to successfully separate polycotton blended textile waste and recover both cellulosic and synthetic fibers. As Circ begins to implement its transformational technology, it is seeking partners that demonstrate product quality, reinforce its mission, and embrace the change with creativity and enthusiasm.