Pearl River, N.Y.-based Anellotech has announced plans to start advanced lab testing and scale-up of its Tex-TCat™ mixed textile waste recycling technology. The solution is a fluid bed catalytic pyrolysis process that effectively recycles mixed waste textiles directly into the same chemical feedstocks such as benzene, toluene and xylenes. The closed-loop, fiber-to-fiber process then uses these compounds to make virgin polyester and nylon. According to the company, lab-scale studies have shown that Tex-TCat is capable of handling a variety of textile materials including cotton, polyester, nylon, elastane, acrylic and polyurethane. The technology is one solution to the mixed waste stream that ends up in landfills since it tackles single fiber garments as well as blends and traditionally non-recylable blends.
“Tex-TCat has the potential to divert large quantities of previously unrecyclable textiles from landfills and provide major brands, through their existing suppliers, with recycled content,” said David Sudolsky, president and CEO of Anellotech. “The technology promises to be a key enabler of the textile industry’s work to become more sustainable.”
January/February 2023
