PET resin: Production route
Two ingredients, and the slow bake for bottle strength
What this tab covers How it is made: the main production routes or, for product families, the main product types and technologies, compared on share of supply, inputs per tonne, plant scale, yield, co-products and unit cost.PET resin is made from PTA and MEG by esterification and melt polycondensation, then upgraded by solid-state polymerisation to bottle-grade viscosity. Newer melt-to-resin plants reach bottle grade directly. The DMT (dimethyl terephthalate) route is a legacy. On the circular side, PET is unusual: it can be recycled mechanically to food-grade quality and also depolymerised chemically back to monomers. Bio-based routes swap fossil MEG for sugarcane MEG or replace PET with PEF.
Routes compared
| Route | Share of supply | Inputs per tonne | Typical scale | Yield | Co-products | Unit cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PTA + MEG melt polycondensation with SSP | about 75-80% of bottle-grade capacity (indicative) | about 0.86 t PTA, 0.335 t MEG, 0.015-0.025 t IPA, about 200-300 ppm antimony, about 0.3 MWh power and 1-2 GJ heat (indicative) | 300-600 kt/yr per line (indicative) | about 98-99% (indicative) | water and small amounts of acetaldehyde, recycled glycol | 0.86 x PTA plus 0.335 x MEG plus about $80-120/t conversion (indicative) |
| Melt-to-resin direct high-IV (e.g. Polymetrix, Uhde Inventa-Fischer MTR) | about 20% of capacity, mostly new Chinese lines (indicative) | as above, with lower heat use (indicative) | up to about 600 kt/yr per line (indicative) | about 99% (indicative) | water | lower conversion cost and energy than SSP (indicative) |
| Mechanical recycling to food-grade rPET (bottle-to-bottle) | Europe's beverage bottles must contain 25% recycled PET from 2025; India about 200,000-300,000 t/yr of approved food-grade capacity (2026) | about 1.2-1.3 t of baled bottles per t rPET (indicative) | 20-100 kt/yr (Ganesha Ecosphere 42 kt rising to 132 kt by FY27) | about 75-85% (indicative) | caps, labels, fines (PE and PP recovered) | bale cost plus processing; Indian PET flake rose from Rs 42/kg to over Rs 55/kg in FY25 (Readon) |
| Chemical recycling and bio-based alternatives (glycolysis, methanolysis, enzymatic; bio-MEG PET; PEF) | well under 1% (indicative) | varies | pilot to tens of kt/yr (indicative) | high monomer recovery for glycolysis and methanolysis (indicative) | dyes, additives, residues | well above virgin and mechanical rPET (indicative) |
How each route works
PTA + MEG melt polycondensation with SSPPTA and MEG are esterified, then polycondensed under vacuum with antimony (or titanium) catalyst. Amorphous chips are crystallised and solid-stated to bottle-grade IV, with 1.5-2.5% isophthalic acid as comonomer to slow crystallisation.
Proven and flexible; SSP adds energy and capex.
indicative (industry standard) Melt-to-resin direct high-IV (e.g. Polymetrix, Uhde Inventa-Fischer MTR)Polycondensation continues in the melt to bottle-grade IV and acetaldehyde is removed in the melt, eliminating the SSP step.
Lowest cost at scale; drives Chinese overcapacity.
indicative Mechanical recycling to food-grade rPET (bottle-to-bottle)Collected bottles are sorted, washed to flake, then decontaminated by extrusion under vacuum and SSP so the rPET meets food-contact rules (FSSAI in India, EFSA in the EU).
Low carbon and proven, but limited by collection, contamination and food-contact approvals.
Readon (Substack), Jan 2026; Procurement Resource, Mar 2026; indicative Chemical recycling and bio-based alternatives (glycolysis, methanolysis, enzymatic; bio-MEG PET; PEF)PET is broken back to BHET, DMT or PTA and MEG and repolymerised; enzymatic routes use engineered PET hydrolases. Bio-PET swaps up to 30% of mass (the MEG) for sugarcane MEG; PEF uses bio-based FDCA.
Handles coloured and dirty PET and textiles, but costly; several first-of-a-kind plants have been delayed (indicative).
indicative; MEG tile (India Glycols bio-MEG) Unit economics are indicative ranges from the sources named; costs move with feedstock and energy prices, plant size and region.