Kimpur Produced Polyester from PET Bottle Wastes

Kimpur Produces Polyester from PET Bottle Waste Kimpur, Turkey's 100% domestic polyurethane systems producer, continues taking new steps toward creating a sustainable future. The chemical industry company takes pride in having developed one of the industry's leading examples of environmentally friendly product ranges. The company was able to source approximately 20% of the polyester polyol used in slipper production from PET waste and approximately 17% from bio-based raw materials. The innovation, launched on 20 September at SIMAC TANNING TECH in Italy, represents an industry breakthrough by enabling the production of slippers with the first elastic structure made from PET waste. According to data from the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change for 2021, recycling tons of collected plastic eliminates 41 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions, saves 66% of raw materials, and conserves 80% of energy—equivalent to 5,774 kilowatts. With its project, industrially tested in slipper production, Kimpur, one of the largest polyurethane system house exporters, synthesized polyester polyol from PET bottle waste based on these significant sustainability and nature protection data. The resulting product surpasses current standard systems in both physical and mechanical properties. In 2021, Kimpur implemented the "Polyester Polyol Synthesis from PET Bottle Waste and Commercial Use in Polyurethane Systems" project, which won recognition at the 10^th R&D Project Market organized by the Istanbul Chemicals and Chemical Products Exporters' Association (İKMİB), marking a pioneering step toward sustainable and recycling-oriented production.

"We continue our R&D efforts that significantly contribute to efficiency and savings"

In 2017, the Ministry of Industry and Technology registered Kimpur R&D Center. According to Kimpur R&D Director Dr. Yener Rakıcıoğlu, the company is pleased to lead the industry by delivering exceptional solutions to develop projects beneficial to the environment and society: "As Turkey's 100% domestic polyurethane systems manufacturer, we continue our R&D studies that significantly contribute to efficiency and savings throughout the life cycle of our products. In accordance with the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement to combat global warming and climate change, we have completely removed ozone-depleting blowing agents from our products through investments made with encouragement from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and we use more environmentally friendly blowing agents. We continue working on bio-based projects. In 2021, we began using bio-based raw materials in our footwear product group and in our rigid foam systems product group used in sandwich panel production. This year, we successfully synthesized polyester polyol from PET bottle waste to produce a final product that maintains its physical and mechanical properties without compromise, while offering cost advantages over standard systems. We are breaking new ground in the industry with the elastic structure of this product, and we are pleased to have taken a pioneering step in our sector. We launched our environmentally friendly product at SIMAC TANNING TECH in Italy on 20 September and received significant interest. Through our investments, we will continue contributing to the sustainable transformation of industry and economy."

Recycling facility capacity is 5,000 tons

Aiming to significantly increase commercial use of its environmentally friendly product, Kimpur is commissioning a 5,000-ton capacity PET waste recycling facility at its second production site in Düzce. The company focuses on recycling within its sustainability goals and targets meeting approximately 55 percent of its total electricity consumption through this investment, while reducing approximately 679 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. Kimpur, which continues adding new projects to its mission of leaving a habitable world for future generations through its sustainability efforts, achieved a 7.06% energy saving in 2021 according to its sustainability report. The company, which has taken an important step toward the industrial transformations required by the EU Green Deal—which has potential to affect nearly everything from industry to exports, from access to finance to economic functioning—will obtain approximately 20 percent of its production energy requirements from clean energy via the solar power plant installed at its Gebze facility. Video link of the new eco-friendly product launched at SIMAC TANNING TECH: https://youtu.be/hpaEbjUoJVo