Axens, IFPEN and JEPLAN Complete Semi-Industrial Test for Polyester Textile Recycling Loop

Axens, IFP Energies nouvelles and JEPLAN have completed a semi-industrial trial demonstrating the recycling of post-consumer polyester textiles into new raw materials, marking a step toward closed-loop systems in the textile sector.

According to reports, the test involved processing several tens of tons of polyester-rich textile waste collected and sorted in France at a demonstration unit in Japan operated by JEPLAN. The facility, with a capacity of around 1,000 tons per year, uses the partners’ Rewind® PET chemical recycling technology.

The process successfully converted the textile waste into BHET (bis(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate), a base monomer used to produce polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The recovered material is expected to be further processed into yarns, fabrics and finished garments, completing a textile-to-textile recycling loop.

The trial is among the first to validate chemical recycling of post-consumer polyester textiles at a semi-industrial scale under conditions representative of commercial operations. The companies said the results support broader deployment of the technology across existing polyester production sites, enabling substitution of fossil-based feedstocks with recycled inputs.

Axens holds a global license for the technology for textile applications, granted by IFPEN and JEPLAN, and plans to offer it to industrial partners seeking to establish regional recycling loops. The process has already been commercialized for PET packaging, including food-grade applications, and is now being extended to textile feedstocks.

Polyester accounts for roughly 60% of global textile production, yet less than 1% of fibers are currently recycled back into textiles, according to industry data. Limited collection, sorting and processing capabilities have constrained circularity, particularly for blended and post-consumer materials.

The partners said the demonstrated process offers a shorter recycling pathway with potential benefits in cost and carbon footprint compared with conventional routes, supporting efforts to scale textile recycling across segments such as apparel, home furnishings and technical textiles.

Source: Axens

SUNSHINE Spotlight: A semi-industrial trial shows polyester textile waste can be chemically recycled into new fibers, signaling progress toward scalable textile-to-textile circular systems.