Manufacturing | Chemco rPET - Granules Process

Bottle-to-Bottle Recycling

Our advanced PET bottle to bottle washing plant converts post-consumer PET bottle bales into high-purity, food-grade rPET flakes through a high-efficiency, closed-loop recycling process. Designed for precision and sustainability, the facility integrates best-in-class separation and decontamination technologies to ensure compliance with global industry standards. By sourcing high-grade PET bottle bales from verified suppliers, we maintain strict input quality control, reducing contamination at the source. Additionally, we support the informal waste collection sector, integrating ragpickers and aggregators into the formal recycling value chain, contributing to social and economic sustainability.

The multi-stage purification system includes AI-powered bottle sorting, optical flake sorting, flotation washing, friction scrubbing, and chemical hot-wash systems, effectively removing labels, adhesives, caps, multilayer materials, and organic residues. This ensures consistent IV, low acetaldehyde (AA) levels, and superior colour stability in the final rPET flakes. Our facility meets EFSA, US FDA, and FSSAI food-grade compliance standards, with strict quality control protocols, including colourimetric analysis, IV measurement, and contaminant screening. A Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) ensures 90%+ water recovery and zero wastewater discharge, while high-efficiency drying, pneumatic conveying, and air separation technologies optimise resource utilisation and energy efficiency. Built for scalability and cost-optimised operations, our plant empowers brands to meet their EPR commitments, circular economy goals, and sustainability targets.

Manufacturing Process

Collection & De-Baling

PET bottles sourced, de-baled for uniform processing

Initial Sorting & Multi-Stage Separation

AI sorting, metal detection, and impurity removal

Wet Crushing

Bottles ground to prevent dust and degradation

Flake Purification & Washing

Hot washing removes labels, adhesives, and residues

Drying & Final Sorting

Moisture removal, optical sorting ensures purity

Pre-Drying & Extrusion

rPET flakes dried, extruded for IV retention

Solid-State Polymerisation (SSP) & Pelletisation

Enhances IV, reduces AA, stabilises polymer chains

Packaging

rPET granules tested, packed, and dispatched

Solid-State Polymerisation

Chemco’s Solid-State Polymerisation (SSP) facility is engineered to produce high-IV, food-grade rPET granules that meet the most stringent regulatory standards. The SSP process utilises precisely controlled thermal and vacuum conditions to enhance molecular weight, mechanical properties, and purity, ensuring the highest quality recycled PET for direct food-contact applications. The process begins with pre-dried rPET flakes from Chemco’s in-house washing line, which undergo melt filtration and pelletisation to eliminate fine contaminants. These granules then enter the solid-state polymerisation phase, where controlled heating and vacuum trigger a polycondensation reaction, increasing Intrinsic Viscosity (IV) while removing volatile impurities and residual acetaldehyde (AA).

Designed to meet EFSA, US FDA, and FSSAI food-grade compliance, Chemco’s SSP facility ensures rigorous quality control through IV testing, colourimetric analysis, acetaldehyde monitoring, and contaminant screening. The plant integrates advanced heat recovery systems and optimised energy management, minimising resource consumption and enhancing cost-effective, high-purity production. With a scalable and modular infrastructure, the facility supports seamless capacity expansion, helping brands achieve their circular economy goals and sustainability commitments through closed-loop, high-efficiency recycling