The ‘world’s first’ bio-PET bottle, derived from used cooking oil and believed to reduce CO2 emissions, has been launched at commercial scale by Indorama Ventures, Suntory, Neste, ENEOS, Mitsubishi Corporation, and Iwatani.
Starting this month, the Suntory Group will begin to distribute bio-PET bottles for selected beverages in Japan – initially launching around 45 million bottles. More products are set to embrace such bottles in the future.
The bottle is made from ISCC+-certified bio-paraxylene. Neste starts with used cooking oil and produces bio-naptha, which Mitsui Chemicals uses to produce an intermediate material; in turn, ENEOS Corporation takes the next steps to produce bio-paraxylene.
From this, Indorama Ventures creates terephthalic acid, then reacts it with monoethylene glycol to produce PET resin. Suntory Group uses the resin to form PET bottles for its products.
Each step of the process, from the treatment of the cooking oil to the production of the resin, reportedly takes place at ISCC+-certified plants. Mitsubishi Corporation manages the supply chain as a whole, while Iwatani Corporation oversees operations from production to delivery.
Using PET derived from cooking oil is thought to reduce a product’s CO2 emissions ‘significantly’. By taking a mass balance approach, this process is said to ‘transparently and effectively’ implement bio-based materials into PET bottles.
Additionally, the production process highlights the value of collaboration in tackling global challenges to sustainability.
Yash Lohia, executive president Petchem Special Projects and chairman of Indorama Ventures’ ESG Council, commented: “This exciting collaboration reflects the shared vision and responsibility of all partners involved to contribute to a more sustainable future.
“We are proud to work alongside industry leaders in this pioneering effort, which not only brings new possibilities to the packaging industry but also reinforces the importance of collaboration in driving meaningful change. And we are excited to see the fruits of the collaboration on the shelves soon as high-quality Suntory products.”
The news comes after Neste, Suntory, ENEOS, and Mitsubishi Corporation joined forces last year, uniting with the shared goal of producing PET resin from ‘renewable’ Neste RE feedstock. Suntory anticipated that it would use the resin to produce bottles in 2024.
More recently, Neste and Mitsubishi Corporation have set their sights on defossilizing supply chains in the food and beverage, apparel, and consumer electronics sectors by introducing renewable chemical and plastic value chains for Japanese brands. This will also utilize Neste RE.
Indorama Ventures has also entered a joint venture with Dhunseri Ventures and Varun Beverages – PepsiCo’s second-largest bottling company globally outside the US – to found greenfield state-of-the-art PET recycling facilities in India. Two of the facilities are already under construction, with plans to complete them by 2025.
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