Teijin to Establish Polyester Chemical Recycling Joint Venture in China

The Japanese company Teijin Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, has announced plans to establish a joint venture with the Chinese company Jinggong Holding Group to create a company called Zhejiang Jiaren New Materials Co. Ltd., in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, China, one of China’s largest production bases for fiber products. The joint venture is expected to begin in September 2012.

Through the joint venture, the two companies will chemically recycle polyester as well as manufacture and sell the resulting fibers, with the aim of establishing a closed-loop recycling system in China similar to Teijin’s Eco Circle program presently in operation in Japan.

Teijin will take a 49 percent stake in the venture, with Jinggong Holding Group, a Shaoxing-based multinational enterprise involved with environmental management, contributing the remaining 51 percent.

The joint venture will invest around ¥6 billion (US$72.4 million) to build facilities for DMT (dimethyl terephthalate) production, polymerization and fiber spinning. The construction will begin this November, with operations scheduled to begin by the end of March 2014. According to Teijin, this joint venture marks the first time the company has operated a polyester chemical recycling outside Japan.

The new plant will chemically recycle polyester fiber scraps and used polyester products into DMT. The DMT will be used to produce polyester resin and value-added polyester fiber.

Teijin estimates that the facility’s initial phase will have a DMT production capacity of 20,000 tons per year. As demand grows, capacity will be expanded an additional 50,000 tons per year in the second phase. Annual production capacity of recycled polyester fiber will be 19,000 tons in the initial phase.

The company says it will work with the China Chemical Fibers Association (CCFA), its recycled fiber committee and the city of Shaoxing to establish a locally centered supply chain and design efficient institutional arrangements for chemical recycling to build a unique closed-loop recycling system for China and to make a contribution to energy conservation and environmental preservation.

Teijin is involved in offering advanced solutions in the areas of sustainable transportation, information and electronics, safety and protection, environment and energy, and healthcare. Its main fields of operation are high-performance fibers, healthcare, films, resin and plastic processing, polyester fibers, products converting and IT.