LanzaTech and Plastipak produce greener PET

The PPKNatura resin might safe up to 30% carbon emissions because it replaces petroleum-based monoethylene glycol (MEG), together with terephtalic acid a building block of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), by CarbonSmart MEG.  CarbonSmart MEG uses carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide from industrial waste gas or organic waste gasification to make the building block. According to the partners, the virgin PET produced by LanzaTech and Plastipak Packaging is food and pharma-grade, and can be used for personal care or other other non-packaging applications.

It complements other approaches that use biotechnological processes to reduce the CO₂ footpring of commodity plastics such as PET such as Carbios’ SAS enzymatic recycling technology, which is set to be extended to polyethylene and polypropylene in the mid-term, according to Emmanuel Ladent, CEO of the French greentech firm.

Leading Swiss retailer Migros and its subsidiary Mibelle Group were the first to use this PET in in-house brand packaging, including in creating PET bottles for smoothies and the containers of household cleaners that also contained LanzaTech ethanol as a key ingredient.

According to German nova institute, today 80% of all carbon is petroleum-based and new regulations put a high pressure on companies to reduce their carbon footprint. Thus, in the industry there is a high interest to market products that appear to have a lower carbon footprint that fossil-based products.

“LanzaTech’s commercial technology is designed to enable our partners in diverse industries to reduce their carbon footprint and overall environmental impact,” said Jennifer Holmgren, Chief Executive Officer of LanzaTech. “Our partnership with Plastipak is critical to demonstrating what is possible today. Today we are producing food- and pharmaceutical-grade packaging and are well on our way to creating a more sustainable future for all.”

Using a variety of waste feedstocks, LanzaTech’s technology platform is creating a future where consumers are not dependent on virgin fossil inputs for everything in their daily lives. According to Christoph Meili, from WWF Switzerland the use of fossil fuels must be avoided. Where this is not possible, it makes sense to include greenhouse gases in products so that the gases do not contribute to global warming and climate change.”