Jun 7 2013
Sustainable glycol technologies leader GlyEco, Inc. ("GlyEco" or the "Company") has completed initial plant upgrades at its South Carolina plant and successfully processed and sold several thousand gallons of waste glycol sourced from the textile industry.
The worldwide textile industry is the largest consumer of monoethylene glycol, with demand exceeding 3.8 billion gallons annually. Glycols are used to create polyester fiber chips, the base material in plastic food and beverage containers, as well as polyester fabrics, carpets, and upholstery.
"We've made tremendous progress on our plant upgrades. I am very proud of what we have accomplished as a team, but I am even more excited about the opportunities that lie ahead, driven by customer needs in underserved markets," said John Lorenz, chairman and CEO of GlyEco. "We are well positioned to offer a real solution designed to help our customers create more environmentally friendly products, all while protecting their businesses from the threat of damage caused by improper waste glycol disposal."
Mr. Lorenz continued, "The waste glycol created by polyester manufacturing is difficult to clean. Most glycol recycling methods cannot remove all of the potentially deadly pollutants, while more effective processes don't make economic sense. As a result, textile manufacturers have very limited options for disposal, and at best this material ends up in a landfill. We intend to change that."