FRANCE: Carbios touts conclusion of final key stage of Thanaplast project for PET bioprocesses

Carbios, a pioneer company in the field of bioplasturgy, announced the successful completion of the fifth and final key stage of its Thanaplast project, which was launched in 2012 for the development of Carbios' polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bioprocesses.

"This five-year research and development program has led to the emergence of two valorization routes for plastics end-of-life: the biodegradation of PLA [polylactic acid]-based plastics and the recycling of PET, the predominant plastic in our bottle and trays," explained Carbios Scientific Director Alain Marty.

"Highly specific enzymes have been discovered and optimized to enable their introduction at a very high temperature within a plastic and to improve their catalytic properties," he continued.

"This work has led to the development of very innovative processes whose industrial implementation is already conducted within Carbiolice [a joint venture of Limagrain Céréales Ingrédients and the SPI funds run by Bpifrance] since 2016. Our next step will be to launch a PET biorecycling pilot plant," Marty added.

The Thanaplast project accounts for a budget of EUR 22 million over the past five years, including EUR 15 million directly raised by Carbios. Financing support from Bpifrance represents EUR 9 million, of which  EUR 6.8 million were directly allocated to Carbios in successive installments at the completion of the key five stages of the project.

Source: Weekly “PetroChemical News”, Durham, NC, USA; 15 Jan 2018
(Syed Rashid Ali, Karachi, Pakistan)