PET without antimonium oxide
Catalytic Technologies Ltd (CTL) has developed a titanium catalytical technology, that eliminates the use of heavy metals such as antimonium oxide in the production of PET. Already tested in important sector industries, it has aroused the attention around world and won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category.
Investments and objectives. For the development of this technology the British company - that aims at acquiring 50% of the PET plate and sheet market over the coming fives years - has invested over a million pounds.
The UP technology platform, launched in 2013 and currently in the process of being patented, presents superior performance to the PET catalyzers, eliminating the undesired collateral effects of this type of process.
In particular, as well as avoiding the use of antimonium oxide, it confers the polymer a high thermal stability, a better shine and transparency thanks to the lesser amount of impurities contained, a significant reduction in the energy required in the production cycle of bottles and packaging that - even more important - are lighter with the same sturdiness.
Response. The UP platform of Catalytic Technologies is currently under adoption in a series of industrial plants in Asia and, at the same time, under further testing all around the world.
The outcome of a series of tests carried out by independent experts, particularly those carried out continuously on a pilot system based on the advanced 2R-MTR® Uhde Inventa-Fischer process has been fundamental to its success. The extent of the results has been synthesised by Alan Cooper, CTL Technical Director: «the ecological credential of the new technology have been made clear.The UP platform enables the complete replacement, without modification of equipment and any other type of limits, of the current heavy metal catalysers in all PET production processes.
All actors along the chain will benefit - PET resin producers, packaging converters and users - and, importantly, without any further cost to the consumer.
