KINGSPORT — Eastman, the producer of Naia cellulosic fibre, has claimed further progress in its ongoing work to increase its recycling capabilities, writes David Styles.

The latest development comes in the form of ‘carbon renewal technology’ which the company says can recycle some of the most complex plastic waste into the building blocks of materials such as textiles and nonwovens.

This follows the firm’s recent pledge to pursue the launch of an ‘innovative advanced circular recycling technology’ that is able to recover the value of polyester waste which at present cannot be recycled by existing mechanical methods.

By modifying the front end of its cellulosics production, Eastman states that its carbon renewal technology uses plastic waste as feedstock and converts it back into simple and versatile molecular components.

The proprietary process partially oxidises plastic and, at a very high efficiency, converts it into the basic building blocks of certain Eastman products, including Advanced Materials and Fibres for textiles and nonwovens end-use markets.

Eastman has now completed pilot tests at its Kingsport site and plans commercial production in 2019 by leveraging existing assets. The firm will also be exploring commercial collaborations to yield mixed plastic waste to be recycled through carbon renewal technology at commercial scale.

Steve Crawford, senior vice president and chief technology officer for Eastman, said: "As a leader in materials innovation, Eastman can now provide unique solutions that will support our customers and end users in achieving their sustainability goals.

"Eastman's circular technologies represent the opportunity for partnerships to provide solutions, including end-of-life options, that will have an impact on the global waste problem."