Selenis participates in the fibre‑to‑fibre LIFE POLITEX project

In 2020, the global textile industry consumed approximately 93 billion m³ of water, generated 1.7 billion tonnes of CO₂ emissions, released around 1 million tonnes of microfibres into the oceans, and was responsible for 92 million tonnes of waste, representing between 3% and 10% of the EU's environmental impact. Synthetic fibres currently account for 64% of global fibre production, with polyester holding 54% of the market.

Despite available recycling technologies across Europe, less than 50% of discarded clothing is collected for potential reuse or recycling, and only 1% is recycled into new clothing. Brands are increasingly transitioning to recycled versions of synthetic fibres, mainly polyester, typically using polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. However, to truly establish circular economies in the textile industry, converting textile waste back into new textiles is imperative.

LIFE POLITEX represents a pioneering effort to become the first industrial pilot plant for comprehensive fibre-to-fibre recycling technology. This initiative seeks to demonstrate complete closed circularity of polyester within the textile sector, transforming processed textile waste into new polyester fibres in a single industrial process.

The LIFE POLITEX project aims to establish the first industrial pilot plant for comprehensive fibre-to-fibre recycling technology, showcasing the potential for a circular economy in the textile industry. The project aims to achieve closed circularity by implementing a comprehensive fibre-to-fibre recycling technology through the following keysteps:

1. Collection and Sorting: The project collects textile waste, including polyester-based materials, from various sources. Sorting ensures that only suitable material senter the recycling process.
2. Mechanical Recycling: The collected waste undergoes mechanical recycling. This involves shredding and processing the waste to create recycled polyester (rPET) flakes.
3. Chemical Depolymerization: The rPET flakes are further treated using chemical depolymerization. This process breaks down the polyester molecules into their monomers (such as ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid).
4. Polymerization and Spinning: The recovered monomers are then polymerized to create new polyester. These polymers are spun into high-quality polyester fibres.
5. Integration into Textile Production: The recycled polyester fibres are integrated into textile production, creating new fabrics, garments, and other textile products.
6.  End-of-Life Recycling: At the end of their life cycle, these textile products can be collected and recycled again, closing the loop.

LIFE POLITEX aims to reduce or eliminate the number of polyester textiles currently landfilled or incinerated by implementing new PET recycling methodologies and processes to depolymerize PES textiles into their basic constituents or monomers (BHET), which can be used as secondary raw materials to produce new recycled PES filament yarns for textile applications. The project will also recycle yarn and polymer waste through mechanical, chemical recycling, or alternative applications such as fibres for nonwovens for internal use.

LIFE POLITEX will scale up and validate the complete chemical recycling process at an industrial scale, combining novel waste treatment processes with depolymerisation and polymerisation technologies, already demonstrated at the laboratory scale (batch reactor, 20L) from post-consumer textile waste. The project aims to achieve overall yields close to 80% and a monomer (BHET) purity of around 99%.