This photo provided by SK Chemicals Co. shows its ECOTRIA CR products.
SEOUL, May 18 (Korea Bizwire) — SK Chemicals Co. said Monday that it had acquired a 10 percent stake in Shuye Environmental Technology Co., a Chinese company that possesses technology that can chemically break down waste PET, by investing 23 billion won (US$20 million).
The company made the investment decision as part of efforts to commercialize its chemical recycling copolyester (PETG) business.
With the investment, SK Chemicals acquired an off-take capacity of 20,000 tons of chemical recycling materials and exclusive rights to raw materials and products in South Korea.
Chemical recycling refers to a method of producing high polymer plastics by decomposing and returning plastics into pure raw materials.
Compared to physical recycling, which uses the mixture with recycled materials created by grinding and processing waste PET, chemical recycling can prevent the deterioration of product quality, while enabling repeated recycling.
SK Chemicals recently announced plans to increase its share of chemical recycling products up to 50 percent by 2025.
Copolyester features an excellent chemical resistance, while retaining a high level of transparency even when used to make thick containers.
In recent days, accordingly, it is drawing significant attention from cosmetics companies and packaging container makers both in South Korea and abroad.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
