CIRC – a recycling technology innovator based in US, has developed and patented textile recycling technology to separate and recover various valuable raw materials contained in most fabrics and used in textile production. This cutting-edge process mainly focuses on the handling of mixed polymer streams, specifically any blend of polyester and cotton.
The agreement comes after many months of successful CIRC processing trials in various ANDRITZ research and development facilities.
As part of the agreement, ANDRITZ will engineer, design, manufacture and start up the process equipment for the first demonstration plant and other commercial textile recycling facilities and provide support in its role as a global technology player.
“We have already been very active in the recycling of various waste streams for different industries. We know about the importance of recovering raw materials in order to maintain value. The cooperation with CIRC will enable us to further focus on the rapidly growing textile recycling sector.”, said Wolfgang Lashofer, Senior Vice President and Division Manager of Paper, Fibre and Recycling.
Jorma Latva-Kokko, Vice President, Mechanical Pulping, in the Paper, Fibre and Recycling division at ANDRITZ added, “In the past year, CIRC’s highly innovative process underwent an intensive development and optimization program at our pilot plant in Springfield, Ohio, USA, leading to production runs on a small scale. Thus, we have seen CIRC’s comprehensive capabilities and were very impressed by their highly skilled recycling experts and open-minded cooperation.”
Dr. Julie Willoughby, CIRC’s Chief Scientific Officer, said, “ANDRITZ has global reach, depth of expertise, and a solid reputation for executing world-class projects. The ANDRITZ team is working shoulder-to-shoulder with CIRC to implement our vision of a circular economy for textiles and other materials. We are delighted with the high competence of the ANDRITZ staff, and we are more than excited about our next chapters together.”
