Albany International and Cyclezyme Advance Enzymatic Recycling Project for Industrial Textiles

Albany International Corp. reported progress in its collaboration with Swedish biotechnology company Cyclezyme AB to develop enzyme-based recycling technology for industrial textiles made primarily from polyester and polyamide. The project aims to create circular recycling pathways for technical textile materials that currently have limited end-of-life recovery options.

Albany International, a global supplier of engineered components and process materials, serves industries including papermaking, aerospace, construction, and advanced manufacturing. The partnership with Cyclezyme focuses on applying enzyme technology to break down complex industrial textiles into reusable chemical building blocks, enabling the recovery and reuse of materials in new production processes.

The initiative addresses a longstanding challenge within the technical textiles sector, where products often contain high-performance synthetic materials that are difficult to recycle using conventional mechanical methods. Successful development of enzymatic recycling processes could expand circularity opportunities for a range of industrial applications while reducing dependence on virgin raw materials.

According to the companies, Cyclezyme has successfully depolymerized selected textile samples during the project, demonstrating the feasibility of converting polyester-based materials back into their constituent components. The company has also undertaken optimization work to improve degradation efficiency and process performance.

In parallel, Cyclezyme has developed and produced several enzymes capable of degrading nylon and other polyamide-based materials. The next stage of the project will focus on refining analytical methods to evaluate enzyme activity and further enhance recycling efficiency across different material streams.

“Along with performance, we know how important recycling capability is for our customers,” said Merle Stein, President of Machine Clothing at Albany International. “We are encouraged by progress on this project, which has demonstrated the possibility of circularity in advanced textiles, including paper machine clothing.”

Stein noted that existing recycling technologies often target only a single polymer type, while Cyclezyme's approach has shown potential to process both polyester and nylon-based materials. This could allow manufacturers to prioritize product performance while preserving recyclability at the end of a product's service life.

The project reflects growing interest in advanced recycling technologies as manufacturers face increasing pressure to reduce waste, improve resource efficiency, and comply with evolving sustainability requirements. Technical textiles are widely used in industrial filtration, papermaking, logistics, construction materials, and process industries, creating substantial demand for scalable recycling solutions.

Cyclezyme Chief Executive Officer Peter Falck said the results reinforce the company's view that enzymatic recycling can play a significant role in managing more complex textile and plastic waste streams.

“We have succeeded in developing and producing enzymes for nylon degradation, which demonstrates the breadth of our platform technology and the potential to recycle several different types of plastics and textiles, not only polyester,” Falck said.

The companies have already begun discussions regarding the next phase of the collaboration, which is expected to focus on technology scale-up and the evaluation of future industrial applications. Commercial deployment would represent an important step toward establishing circular material flows for industrial textiles that currently lack viable recycling routes.

Work on the project is continuing as planned, with ongoing efforts focused on process optimization, analytical testing, and assessment of additional textile and polymer streams.

Source: Albany International

SUNSHINE Spotlight: Albany International and Cyclezyme have demonstrated early success in using enzymes to recycle polyester and nylon-based industrial textiles, highlighting the potential for advanced recycling technologies to create circular solutions for difficult-to-recycle materials.