United Resource Recovery Corporation

UnPET [United Resource Recovery PolyEthylene Terephthalate] A process for recycling waste PET (polyethylene terephthalate). The PET is first hydrolyzed by hot aqueous alkali, and the product then undergoes five complex processes. The only products leaving the process are terephthalic acid, ethylene glycol, carbon dioxide, and water. Developed from 1996 by the United Resource Recovery Corporation, Spartanburg, SC, and operated on a large scale in Switzerland, Germany, and the United States. 

Another possibility to use PET recyclate for food applications is the URRC process (United Resource Recovery Corporation). In this method the cleaned PET flakes are covered with concentrated caustic soda. After evaporation of the water in a rotary kiln the sodium hydroxide etches the surface of the PET at a temperature of more than 200°C. The resulting sodium terephthalate is removed by washing. The remaining flakes are used for the production of bottle preforms. Since 2000 several plants in Switzerland and Germany have been established [1],... 

J. A. Schwartz, United Resource Recovery Corporation, US Patent, 5,580,905 (1996). 

Recypet This is a Swiss recycler using the HybridUnPET process from the United Resource Recovery Corporation. The website is WWW. cleanaway-pet. com. 

United Resource Recovery Corporation This outfit were the originators of the UnPET and ElybridUnPET processes. The former appears to be a saponification process. The latter is less clear, but appears to at least include an additional grinding stage to increase the efficiency of the overall process. The company is currently mainly involved in licensing out these processes to other recyclers. The website is www.urrc.net. 

United Resource Recovery Corporation (URRC) of Spartanburg, SC, became the second U.S. company to get approval for food-grade recycled PET from curbside collection... 

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