RITTEC and TU Braunschweig nominated for the German Raw Material Efficiency Award 2022
A milestone on the way to independence from fossil raw materials
RITTEC and TU Braunschweig have been nominated for the German Raw Materials Efficiency Award 2022
- RITTEC and TU Braunschweig were nominated for the joint technology development
- Waste that was not previously recyclable becomes secondary raw materials
- PET packaging and polyester textiles are recycled with high quality
- revolPET® technology provides the basis for recycled raw materials for virgin-quality PET
Lüneburg/Braunschweig (October 2022) – The start-up RITTEC Umwelttechnik from Lüneburg and the TU Braunschweig have been nominated by the Federal Ministry of Economics for the German Raw Material Efficiency Award 2022. Since 2011, this Prize has been awarded to special services and solutions for the efficient use or recycling of raw materials. The revolPET® technology developed by RITTEC and the TU Braunschweig recycles mixed PET waste into high-quality raw materials for a new PET production.
Empty juice bottles, cheese packaging, old textiles: the team from RITTEC and TU Braunschweig see valuable secondary raw materials where many people imagine filthy cities and seas. With their revolPET® solution, they are realizing the circular economy for previously non-recyclable waste streams and were nominated for the German Raw Material Efficiency Award 2022 by the Federal Minister of Economics. With the revolPET process, PET plastic can be produced from plastic waste such as packaging or old textiles, instead of from crude oil. The innovative process offers the possibility of realizing a complete and closed material cycle for PET via its monomers - and at the same time saving 60 percent CO2 compared to the petroleum-based production of the monomers.
New secondary raw materials are developed
A large number of PET packaging or polyester-containing textiles cannot currently be recycled. Colorful or multi-layer packaging as well as technical or fashion textiles, such as e.g. Sports jerseys, are mainly incinerated after they have been used, which means that these resources are irrevocably lost to a material cycle. RITTEC is tackling precisely this problem with its new technology. “We are very pleased about the nomination for the German Raw Materials Efficiency Award. It confirms that scientifically based development leads to innovative solutions," says RITTEC founder Carsten Eichert confidently. He complements, "this is also shown by regular exchanges with industry representatives." The next step is to realise the construction of an integrated and automated miniplant to be operated. "We are thus demonstrating the industrial suitability of the revolPET process, which can make a substantial contribution, especially in these raw material-critical times," adds Prof. Stephan Scholl, head of the Institute for Chemical and Thermal Process Engineering, "revolPET® offers a solution option away from the consumption of fossil raw materials towards a sustainable circular economy!”.
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Background to the German Raw Materials Efficiency Award
The Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection has been awarding the German Raw Material Efficiency Prize since 2011 to outstanding examples of raw material and material-efficient products, processes or services as well as application-oriented research results. Under the technical direction of the German Raw Materials Agency (DERA), up to four companies and one research institution are awarded with the German Raw Materials Efficiency Prize every year.
About RITTEC Umwelttechnik GmbH
RITTEC develops technological solutions for securing resources and thus increases the added value in waste treatment. The motivation for RITTEC is the realization that the qualitative performance of the treatment and recycling processes is particularly decisive for the success of the circular economy. RITTEC's goal is to develop technologies for a recycling economy that avoids the downcycling of secondary raw materials and produces products in new quality. With its patented revolPET® technology, RITTEC makes a significant contribution to the complete recycling of PET and/or polyester-containing products from the packaging and textile sectors.
About revolPET®
revolPET® is the recycling technology that achieves the recycling of PET waste into high-quality products at the original quality, regardless of the input material. revolPET® implements the depolymerization and subsequent processing in a continuous operation with the highest yields and primary product quality. The revolPET® technology helps to solve the global challenges with PET packaging and to create new value-added options. The development of the revolPET® technology was funded as part of various public research projects and brought to technical maturity by RITTEC Umwelttechnik and TU Braunschweig in cooperation with other academic and industrial partners.