Starlinger: New recycling system for Egyptian PET bottle-to-bottle recycler BariQ

Christian Lechner, Sales Manager Starlinger recycling technology, and Andreas Pechhacker, General Manager Starlinger recycling technology, present BariQ COO Ahmed ElKasaby with the Starlinger crystal award in recognition of the excellent long-time business relationship between their companies - (Photo: BariQ).

Based in Giza, Egypt, the biggest PET bottle-to-bottle recycler in MENA region is expanding and upgrading its existing plant with another Starlinger PET recycling system and an additional solid-state-polycondensation (SSP) reactor.

As the machine builder further communicates, the new recycling system, a “recoStar PET 215 HC iV+” including a “viscoStar 350 SSP” reactor, reaches an output of 2,700 kg/h and will enable BariQ to increase its total production capacity to 35,000 metric tonnes of food-grade rPET pellets per year. The “viscoStar 350 SSP” reactor – the biggest size of the latest reactor generation – provides extended processing capacity and residence time while it keeps the footprint of the new recycling line compact like the first Starlinger PET recycling line BariQ installed in 2012.

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BariQ will also upgrade its existing Starlinger “recoStar PET 165 iV+” recycling line with a new melt filter for fine filtration and an additional SSP reactor. BariQ’s investment also includes the latest sorting equipment from Tomra Recycling.

The contracts for the new equipment were signed during a ceremony held on February 13, 2022, at the BariQ plant located in the CPC Industrial Park, 6th October City, Giza. Besides experts and international brand owners from the Middle East and African plastics and water/beverage sectors and the European equipment suppliers, the guests included also high-ranking Egyptian politicians and ambassadors of several African countries as well as the USA. Members of the management of Intro, the parent company that acquired BariQ in 2021, and BariQ explained details of the company’s sustainability strategy and drivers for the plant expansion in presentations during the event. The expansion is planned to be finalized in 2023.

According to BariQ, the high variability of the input material and the rising quality requirements of the customers are the biggest challenges the company has been facing since it started operations in 2012. BariQ sources its post-consumer bottles mainly from local collection and GCC countries. As bottle quality and decontamination vary greatly, the recycling equipment must be able to handle such demanding conditions in order to achieve top rPET quality and meet customer requirements.

About BariQ
Founded in 2011, BariQ is the first food-grade rPET producer in Egypt and the biggest in the MENA region. The company started production of food-grade rPET with a Starlinger PET recycling line in 2012 and holds a positive EFSA opinion and an FDA Letter of Non-Objection (LNO). It is also the first non-European recycling company to be registered with ECOEMBES Spain. In November 2021 BariQ was acquired by Intro Resource Recovery, a member of Intro Group, to strengthen its waste management portfolio. With the upcoming facility expansion, BariQ aims to recycle 3.5 million PET bottles per year, producing 35,000 tonnes of food-grade rPET for new bottles and saving 80,000 tonnes of CO2. BariQ supplies the food-grade rPET to major converters and brand-owners in Europe and worldwide.

More information: www.starlinger.com, www.bariq-eg.com

Starlinger & Co. GmbH, Vienna, Austria

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