GE Plastics Win Environmental Award for PET-Derived Resins

At the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) 2007 Global Plastics Environmental Conference in Orlando, Fla., GE Plastics received this year’s environmental award for New Technologies in Progress because of its Valox iQ* and Xenoy iQ* resins. These resin grades are synthesized from post consumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles that get upcycled to make polybutylene terepthalate (PBT) resin, offering virgin thermoplastic properties with an extremely low carbon footprint. If all PBT plastic globally used the iQ resin technology, it could result in an annual reduction of 5.2 million barrels of oil.

The 2007 Environmental Awards were presented at a dinner on March 7. Dhaval Shah, platform technology manager, Crystalline Products at GE Plastics received the award on behalf of the team.

“Valox iQ and Xenoy iQ resins are the result of a major technological breakthrough that enables both environmental responsibility and exceptional performance,” said Ken Miller, global technology manager, Crystalline Products at GE Plastics. “We are honored to receive recognition from SPE for our corporate efforts to improve the environment while providing customers with innovative and versatile new materials.”

Valox iQ and Xenoy iQ resins were developed as a result of a successful two-year initiative that examined GE Plastics’ manufacturing processes to redefine how its products could be made cleaner and more environmentally responsible than traditional materials. Valox iQ and Xenoy iQ resins are the essential elements of an environmentally progressive resin portfolio developed as part of GE’s ecomagination* initiative.

Valox iQ PBT resins are derived from 85 percent post-consumer PET waste that gets upcycled to PBT resin. Xenoy iQ resin is an alloy of PBT and polycarbonate (PC) based polymers, also derived from 85 percent post-consumer plastic waste. The proprietary manufacturing process for these materials does not involve recycling, but rather upcycling, a novel way to regenerate and upgrade low end synthetic solid waste. The process also helps conserve non-renewable fuel resources while lowering carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the environment.

Valox iQ and Xenoy iQ resins consume less energy and yield less CO₂ in their manufacturing than traditional resins. Specifically:

• This approach reduces CO₂ emissions by at least 1.7 kg per kg of resin and can save up to 8.5 barrels of crude oil per 1,000 kg of resin vs. a standard PBT resin.
• In addition, Valox iQ PBT resin uses 80 percent less energy and CO2 emissions than standard Nylon 6/6, 64 percent less energy and 41 percent less CO₂ emission than bio-PTT (poly trimethylene terepthalate), and 50 percent less energy and CO₂ emission than bio-based PLA (polylactic acid).
• If all PBT produced in 2005 was replaced with the Valox iQ and Xenoy iQ resins, it could have created an outlet for over 562,000 metric tons/year of PET waste. This is equivalent to 22.5 billion bottles – enough to circle the earth 120 times if aligned end-to-end.

The new GE products are good candidates for applications in the automotive, consumer electronics, and transportation industries.