DMT and Ethylene Glycol Co-Supply: How Dimethyl Terephthalate Manufacturers Serve the Polyester Value Chain
ResourceCycle's 5,000-ton/year DMT and 1,600-ton/year Ethylene Glycol (EG) supply capability supports PBT, PET, polyester fiber, antifreeze and resin customers evaluating integrated raw material suppliers.
TL;DR
- ResourceCycle's 5,000-ton/year DMT and 1,600-ton/year Ethylene Glycol (EG) supply capability supports PBT, PET, polyester fiber, antifreeze and resin customers evaluating integrated raw material suppliers.
- Keywords: ethylene glycol co-production DMT · DMT and EG supply · Dimethyl Terephthalate manufacturer · high-purity DMT · polyester-grade DMT
Waste PET chemical recycling is not just about recovering DMT — the complete methanolysis route also produces large amounts of ethylene glycol (EG) as a co-product. Taking ResourceCycle's Huanggang project as an example, while recovering 5,000 tons of R-DMT annually, it also co-produces 1,600 tons of high-purity recycled ethylene glycol (R-EG), achieving full-component value utilization of waste materials.
Chemical Equation for PET Methanolysis PET + 2CH₃OH → DMT + EG (methanolysis) Each ton of PET methanolysis can theoretically yield approximately 0.86 tons of DMT and 0.31 tons of EG, with a material utilization rate approaching 100%, far superior to the 40-60% of pyrolysis routes.
R-EG Product Specifications and Market R-EG produced by ResourceCycle has a purity ≥99.8%, meeting the superior grade standard of GB/T 4649-2018 "Industrial Ethylene Glycol". Main downstream applications of R-EG include: antifreeze, polyester polymerization raw materials (re-synthesizing PET), unsaturated polyester resins, vinyl ester coatings, etc. Market acceptance of R-EG is growing, with mainstream prices in the East China region between 4,500-5,500 yuan/ton, narrowing the price gap with petrochemical EG and significantly improving competitiveness.
Methanol Recovery and Recycling Methanol consumed in the methanolysis process is separated and recovered through distillation towers, with recovery rate ≥97%, recycled back to methanolysis reactors, significantly reducing raw material consumption costs. Small amounts of methanol tail gas that cannot be recovered are treated by combustion, meeting the secondary requirements of GB 16297-1996 "Comprehensive Emission Standard of Air Pollutants".
Zero Waste Target In addition to DMT and EG main products, impurities such as PET labels and bottle caps separated during pre-treatment are handled separately: recyclable plastics are handed to professional recyclers, and non-recyclable portions are sent to cement kilns for co-disposal, achieving zero landfill of solid waste. All wastewater in the entire process is treated to standard through three stages and recycled for use, with wastewater discharge reduced by 85% compared to traditional processes.
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