INS1-1701
SK Chemical’s Technology for PET Recycling
Topic
S1. Polymer Synthesis
When and Where
Sep 30, 2026
17:05 - 17:30
Room 101
Session Chairs
Sanghee YANG
Presenter(s)
Ji Seung KIM (SK Chemical)
Co-Author(s)
Abstract
While market for plastics continues to expand globally, its recycling rate remains at around 10%. Nearly 70% of the carbon emissions from plastic’s life cycle occur during feedstock production and end-of-life treatment, indicating that recycling can directly contribute to carbon emission reduction. Consequently, regulations promoting plastic recycling have become increasingly stringent. However, improvements in recycling rates cannot be driven by regulation alone, as product quality and cost competitiveness remain equally important. Therefore, development of more competitive plastic recycling technologies is essential for transition toward a circular plastics economy.
Chemical recycling, with its advanced pretreatment and separation processes, has attracted considerable attention because it can process diverse plastic wastes that are difficult to recycle through conventional physical methods while enabling repeated recyclability. Depolymerization, one of the key chemical recycling approaches, involves the chemical conversion of polymer into their constituent monomers. For polyethylene terephthalate (PET), depolymerization technologies such as glycolysis, methanolysis, and hydrolysis have been widely investigated.
Following the successful commercialization of glycolysis-based PET recycling technology, SK Chemicals has continued to enhance the versatility and economic feasibility of the process through extensive R&D. These efforts have enabled the recycling of lower-quality waste PET into high-value end products requiring strict quality standards. Recently, the technology’s application expanded to polyester textile recycling. This presentation provides an overview of chemical recycling technologies for PET, with a particular focus on SK Glycolysis and its commercialization. In addition, the current development status of SK Hydrolysis technology is introduced to highlight the potential of SK's depolymerization technologies as sustainable solutions for PET circularity.
Chemical recycling, with its advanced pretreatment and separation processes, has attracted considerable attention because it can process diverse plastic wastes that are difficult to recycle through conventional physical methods while enabling repeated recyclability. Depolymerization, one of the key chemical recycling approaches, involves the chemical conversion of polymer into their constituent monomers. For polyethylene terephthalate (PET), depolymerization technologies such as glycolysis, methanolysis, and hydrolysis have been widely investigated.
Following the successful commercialization of glycolysis-based PET recycling technology, SK Chemicals has continued to enhance the versatility and economic feasibility of the process through extensive R&D. These efforts have enabled the recycling of lower-quality waste PET into high-value end products requiring strict quality standards. Recently, the technology’s application expanded to polyester textile recycling. This presentation provides an overview of chemical recycling technologies for PET, with a particular focus on SK Glycolysis and its commercialization. In addition, the current development status of SK Hydrolysis technology is introduced to highlight the potential of SK's depolymerization technologies as sustainable solutions for PET circularity.
