This prototype PET bottle has been shown off by the Suntory Group as a new packaging solution that was developed in partnership with Annelotech over the past decade. The packaging utilizes plant-based paraxylene that is converted into terephthalic acid (PTA) that is traditionally used to make up 70% of the material composition for PET. This is combined with Annelotech’s mono ethylene glycol (MEG) that's plant-based as well that has been sourced from molasses.
President and CEO of Annelotechm spoke on the prototype PET bottle saying, "The competitive advantage of Anellotech’s Bio-TCat generated paraxylene is its process efficiency (it uses a single-step thermal catalytic process by going directly from biomass to aromatics: benzene, toluene and xylene), as well as the opportunity it creates for a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions as compared to its identical fossil-derived paraxylene in the manufacture of PET especially as it generates required process energy from the biomass feedstock itself.”
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Plant-based Packaging
- Companies that develop packaging solutions using plant-based materials are disrupting the traditional fossil-derived packaging industry.
- Greenhouse Gas Reduction
- Innovative companies using plant-based materials in their packaging solutions that can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, represent a disruptive innovation in the packaging industry.
- Single-step Thermal Catalytic Process
- Companies that use a single-step thermal catalytic process to go from biomass to aromatics represent a disruptive innovation in the production of packaging materials.
Where This Applies
- Packaging
- Companies developing plant-based packaging materials that are sustainable and environmentally friendly are disrupting the traditional packaging industry.
- Beverage
- Companies in the beverage industry that use plant-based packaging materials can differentiate themselves from their competitors, in terms of sustainability, by being environmentally conscious.
- Biotechnology
- Innovative companies that use bio-technology in the production of packaging materials, such as Annelotech, represent a disruptive innovation in the field of packaging solutions.
