The Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) announced sustainable technology company, Anellotech, as the winner of PLASTICS’ 2022 Innovation in Bioplastics Award. The announcement came as part of PLASTICS’ annual, online #BioplasticsWeek awareness and education event. Anellotech won the award in recognition of the development of the first PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottle made entirely from loblolly pine and other biomass feedstocks, potentially lessening the industry’s reliance on petroleum and natural gas as feedstocks. PET is a widely used plastic most commonly seen by consumers in plastic beverage bottles.
According to Anellotech, their product will enable the plastics industry to use the same plastic materials used today while producing them from sustainable biomass resources, dramatically improving the sustainability of the plastics industry. “I am honored to accept this award on behalf of the employees of Anellotech,” said David Sudolsky, CEO of Anellotech. “We’re excited to join our Bio-TCat Process development partners, IFP Energies nouvelles and Axens, as well as our strategic partner Suntory, in creating new routes to sustainable plastics.”
Anellotech’s patented Bio-TCat™ technology converts biomass into benzene, toluene and xylene (including paraxylene used in making PET), which are chemically identical to their petroleum-based counterparts and result in a product with 70% lower greenhouse gas emissions than petroleum-based PET. “PET is the most recycled plastic and enjoys a lower comparative carbon footprint than metals or glass in most applications,” said Patrick Krieger, Vice President of Sustainability at PLASTICS. “Producing with renewable feedstocks only improves the sustainability of the material and puts the industry a step closer to realizing a more circular plastic economy.”