Japan and China in closed-loop fibre link-up

Japan/China – Teijin Ltd, the Japan-based authority on high-performance fibres, has confirmed plans to embark on a joint venture with China’€™s Jinggong Holding Group. To be launched this September, Zhejiang Jiaren New Materials Co. will chemically recycle polyester and sell the harvested fibres. The new plant is set to be located in China’€™s largest hub for fibre products, Zhejiang Province.

According to Teijin, the venture will be supported by its ECO CIRCLE recycling technology which is specifically tailored to polyester. The facility will convert the fibre material into dimethyl terephthalate (DMT), boasting a quality equal to that derived directly from petroleum. The DMT will be used for the production of both polyester resin and value-added polyester fibre.

Teijin has agreed to contribute 49% to the venture while Jinggong Holding Group will invest 51%. This will equate to a total financial injection of around Yen 6 billion (or more than US$ 76 million), which will be put towards construction of facilities for DMT production, polymerisation and fibre spinning.

The Zhejiang venture will initially have a DMT production capacity of 20 000 tons per year, which is expected to grow to 50 000 and 70 000 tons per year as demand increases, says Teijin. Annual production capacity of recycled polyester fibre is expected to average some 19 000 tons in the initial phase.

The Japanese recycler informs that this represents the first occasion on which it will take its polyester chemical recycling technology beyond national borders. The new plant is said to be ‘€˜the first step’€™ in a co-operative project agreed upon in March this year with the China Chemical Fibers Association (CCFA).

For more information, visit: www.teijin.co.jp/english and www.jinggonggroup.com