Eastman building 3rd recycling plant

Eastman Chemical says a supply contract from beverage maker PepsiCo will allow it to move forward with its third methanolysis plant for breaking down hard-to-recycle polyethylene terephthalate (PET) materials such as sheet and fiber into the PET precursors dimethyl terephthalate and ethylene glycol. Eastman’s first plant, at its flagship facility in Kingsport, Tennessee, is due to be completed early next year. It will have the capacity to process 110,000 metric tons (t) of polymer per year. The firm is planning an even larger facility for France. The third plant, at an as-yet undetermined site in the US, will have 160,000 t of capacity. Eastman aims to make up to 150,000 t per year of PET polymer from the output of the methanolysis plant. The firm exited the PET industry about a decade ago but has continued to make polyester copolymers. Eastman isn’t saying how much of the output Pepsi will buy other than to say Pepsi’s contract will “baseload” the plant and that it is seeking additional customers.