Recycling synthetic fibres with enzymes
Sustainability
This novel approach breaks down complex fibres that are typically hard to recycle
Spotted: In Europe alone, consumers throw away around six million tonnes of textiles each year, or around 11 kilogrammes per person. On average, two-thirds of this consists of plastic-based, blended synthetic fibres such as polyester and nylon, which are notoriously hard to recycle. This is why Evoralis, a spin-out from the University of Cambridge, is pioneering the discovery and development of an enzymatic solution to the problem.
Evoralis’ plastic-depolymerising enzymes are capable of breaking down these complex blended fibres and transforming them into reusable materials. To make this possible, the company uses a unique microfluidic platform, enabling enzyme discovery to be sped up by a factor of 1000 compared to traditional methods. This means Evoralis can screen for the most effective enzymes capable of depolymerising difficult plastics, such as nylon and polyurethane, at an unprecedented pace to select them for optimisation.
What sets Evoralis’ system apart is not only its speed of enzyme development, but also its ability to target specific materials, which perfectly lends itself to the problem of recycling blended synthetic fibres. “Enzymes are environmentally friendly,” explains CEO Dr Daniel Kaute, and his long-term vision is “to enable recycling of at least 80 per cent of textiles fibre to fibre within two years […] this is also applicable to other industries like automotive, packaging, and construction.”
Backed by a recently closed seed funding round of £2.5 million from investors such as LIFTT S.p.A. and Cambridge Enterprise Ventures, Evoralis is now on a path to commercialise this technology. The company is already working with major fashion retailers and aims to scale its polymer-recycling solution as soon as possible.
Written By: Oscar Williams
9th October 2024
Email: info@evoralis.com
Website: evoralis.com
Contact: evoralis.com/contact-us