cleaned, size-reduced and extruded for re-use in new plastic applications. As mentioned previously, this is not a solution for textile-to-textile recycling due to the degradation of fibres. Solvent-based purification or dissolution
is a physical rather than chemical process where the target polymer is dissolved using a specific solvent, and the polymer is recovered via precipitation and solvent removal. There are currently a few solvent- based technology providers focusing on the polymer aspect of textile waste, while several focus on the cotton component of blended fibres. Thermal cracking refers to processes
such as pyrolysis, hydrothermal technologies and gasification where the polymer is broken down into basic hydrocarbons, including oils. Upgrading these oils can produce virgin equivalent feedstocks for plastics. In pyrolysis, plastics are heated in the absence of oxygen in order to break down the polymer bonds. In hydrothermal technologies, plastics are heated in the presence of supercritical water at high temperature and pressure in a process that tolerates limited amounts of oxygen and moisture. Both of these technologies have a limit on the amount of oxygen and nitrogen they can handle, and so cannot accept PET or PA-based materials. This means they are not a solution for textile recycling. Gasification is the partial combustion of
mixed plastics in the presence of limited oxygen, producing syngas. While this technology can take any material, including textile waste, AMI’s analysis shows most gasification products are currently being converted into fuels, which is not considered recycling under the Waste Framework Directive.
30 Textiles Loop • Autumn 2025
Depolymerisation In depolymerisation, polycondensation polymers such as PET or PA are reversed to monomers or oligomers using solvolytic processes. This technology forms the basis for most textile chemical recycling processes. There are four available depolymerisation technologies for PET and PA, all of which utilise a solvent to unzip the polymer back into a form of monomer and have their own advantages and disadvantages. Hydrolysis uses water as the solvent and
may utilise enzymes or other catalysts to speed up the reaction, which results in high monomer purity. For PET, it produces PTA and ethylene glycol, the most common PET monomers. However, it requires higher operating conditions and therefore higher energy consumption. Glycolysis is the most common form of
depolymerisation, which utilises ethylene glycol as a solvent. For PET, this produces BHET and some secondary oligomers. There are advantages to only producing one product, such as energy, CAPEX and OPEX
Textiles and the waste hierarchy
savings, although the purity may not be high without the use of a catalyst. In addition, large capacities are required for facilities to become cost effective. Methanolysis uses methanol as the
solvent, and for PET produces DMT and ethylene glycol. This process appears to be more easily scalable, although also has higher operating conditions and additional toxicity and safety requirements. And finally, for PA, ammonolysis is a viable depolymerisation pathway. This utilises ammonium-based chemicals to break the nitrogen-carbon bonds and depolymerise the polyamide. However, research suggests this has had varying levels of success, with only one company publicly working on it.
Input capacities AMI’s new market report, Textiles Chemical Recycling, Global Status, undertakes a global site-by-site analysis of chemical recycling companies processing PET and PA. In particular, depolymerisation technologies where textiles are noted as a feedstock
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