Catalytic Technologies Ltd is aiming to take over 50% of the PET resin and sheet market within the next five years with the titanium catalyst technology it has developed for the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) polyester.
According to the UK-based innovations company, its new titanium catalyst technology is now being adopted around the world as PET manufacturers and processors seek to eliminate the use of the heavy metal catalyst antimony oxide.
Catalytic Technologies (CTL) has so far invested £1 million on research and development of the new UP-Technology platform, initially launched in 2013, which it says exhibits performance “unlike any other PET catalyst”.
UP is a catalyst technology platform that allows CTL to produce catalysts with unique chemical composition and that eliminates undesired side reactions in this application.
In addition to eliminating antimony oxide, the new catalyst offers a range of other benefits, including: high polymer thermal stability; improved brightness and clarity owing to lower impurity content; a significant net reduction in the overall process energy required to produce plastic packaging; and “most significantly”, lighter bottles without compromising on bottle strength.
CTL’s new products target the markets for mainstream, high intrinsic viscosity PET resin and sheet used for the production of bottle and packaging plastics: their use is currently greater than 30 million tonnes per annum.
The company’s UP-Technology platform is being exploited on industrial scale plants in Asia, with further commercial trials scheduled and worldwide pilot unit testing ongoing.
“The eco-credentials of our new UP-Technology are indisputable,” says CTL technical director Dr Alan Cooper.
“The UP-Technology platform can be modified to act as a drop-in replacement to current heavy metal catalysts for all PET production processes without any compromises."
This new UP-Technology benefits everyone along the supply chain, Dr Cooper adds, including PET resin manufacturers, resin processors and the packaging consumers, and all “without an increase in cost to the consumer”.
CTL has received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise 2014, in the category Innovation.
www.ctl8.com
