Green news: SKC to build PBAT plant in Vietnam; Revalyu breaks ground on rPET facility in US

South Korea's materials maker SKC has decided on a location in Vietnam’s northeastern city of Hai Phong to establish a manufacturing plant for biodegradable plastics, as it pushes to expand its eco-friendly business.

Amid mounting global calls to reduce plastic waste, the international market size for bioplastics is expected to grow at an annual rate of over 20%.

SKC and its joint venture Ecovance officials and top executives visited Vietnam recently to attend a ceremony marking the launch of the investment plan. The factory, set to be operational in 2025, aims to generate an annual output of 70,000 tonnes of polybutylene adipate terephthalate or PBAT, a biodegradable co-polymer.

High-strength PBAT has been independently developed by Ecovance by using cellulose extracted from trees. It boasts enhanced durability compared to conventional PBAT, facilitating commercialisation and its extensive use in general-purpose plastics, from industrial films and food containers to diapers and masks.

Additionally, SKC will be building a separate facility at the same site to produce 36,000 tonnes/year of a biodegradable material named Limex .

Limex is made by mixing limestone with plastic resins, such as polyethylene and polypropylene, to reduce the use of plastics in the manufacturing process. SKC says it is seeking to commercialise biodegradable Limex made of its high-strength biodegradable PBAT, which decomposes more quickly in the environment.

“Going forward, we will leverage our technical expertise in high-strength PBAT, and biodegradable Limex technology to diversify our eco-friendly business portfolio and actively pursue our foray in the field of renewable sources,” an official from SKC stated in a released statement.

Hai Phong is Vietnam's top port city and a key industrial hub with a highly developed logistics infrastructure.

In other news, the Development Authority of Bulloch County was joined by state and local officials to celebrate Germany-based Revalyu Resources breaking ground on its first advanced PET recycling facility in the US, located at Gateway Regional Park in Statesboro, GA. Revalyu is investing over US$200 million to build a plant capable of recycling 90,000 tonnes/year of post-consumer PET plastic.

Construction is expected to be completed in Q3 2025. Once complete, the facility will employ 71 people in Phase One and another 50 people in Phase Two, for a total of 121 jobs.

Revalyu adds it has already recycled over 6 billion bottles in India. Due to its unique recycling process based on glycolysis, the quality of its rPET products enables its customers to replace conventional oil-based PET. Compared to conventional PET, Revalyu adds its rPET is produced using 75% less water, 91% less energy, and saves around 0.7 barrels of oil and 0.2 cubic meters of landfill space per 2,000 pounds of PET recycled.

According to Jan van Kisfeld, Managing Director of Revalyu, the company plans to recycle the equivalent of 25 million plastic bottles per day at its Georgia facility. He noted that, “Our first plant in the US is a very important step for the expansion of our company. Our existing and future US customers have a huge demand for our 100% recycled pellets which are equivalent in quality to conventional oil-based PET pellets. This advanced recycling plant will serve our customers directly from the US, enabling quicker transportation time, lower cost and a smaller CO₂ footprint.”

Dr. Vivek Tandon, Founder of Revalyu states: “Used PET plastic can now be efficiently, profitably and easily recycled again and again without degradation of quality.  Our already commercialised revolutionary process will transform the PET plastic industry as we know it.  We thank Bulloch County for their incredible support, we could not have chosen a better partner for our international expansion.”

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