AIMPLAS, participates in a new European project bringing to the market high-quality polyester textile products from the valorization of CO2 waste streams. Threading-CO2 aims to scale up and demonstrate its first-of-its-kind technology producing high-quality commercially viable sustainable PET textile products from CO2 waste streams at an industrial scale. The overall objective of this research is to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of the textile industry, using a circular manufacturing approach and running on renewable energy sources.
AIMPLAS will focus on the preparation of innovative catalysts for the reactions involved in the synthesis process and its scale-up production process. Moreover, AIMPLAS collaborates in the set-up of the pre-industrial pilot for operations in the continuous, large-size reactor of the pilot plant. AIMPLAS will aim for a fully circular manufacturing process by optimizing the reuse and recycling of all catalysts, solvents, and additives used in the process. AIMPLAS and FAIR will collaborate on the optimization of the preparation methodology in relation to the use of industrial procedures.
13 partners from 7 EU countries are involved in this project: Fairbrics, University of Antwerp, TECNALIA, LUT University, CiaoTech, Deutsche Institute fur Textil- und Faserforschung denkendorf, City of Lappeenranta, Digiotouch, Faurecia, Naldeo, SurePure, Les Tissages de Charlieu, and AIMPLAS.
The Threading- CO2 consortium has been selected to bring together the skills and expertise necessary to realize first-in-class technology capable to use CO2 as feedstock to produce polyester. The Threading- CO2 partnership is built to have all required skills (CO2 supplier, carbon capture, electrolysis, hydrogenation, bio catalyzers), complementary experimental facilities (field platforms able to host various trials with different kinds of protocols and measurement complexity, controlled environment platform able to reach an industrial scale), and collaborative networks to connect with stakeholder groups essential to the project. In Threading- CO2, leaders in the textile industry were also identified and involved in the project to guarantee product quality at the final stage of the value chain.
