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Poly(ethylene terephthalate) glycolysis under microwave irradiation
Author(s) -
Kržan Andrej
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
polymers for advanced technologies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.61
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1099-1581
pISSN - 1042-7147
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1581(199910)10:10<603::aid-pat914>3.0.co;2-v
Subject(s) - diethylene glycol , ethylene glycol , materials science , catalysis , ethylene , reagent , gel permeation chromatography , irradiation , nuclear chemistry , zinc , organic chemistry , chemistry , polymer , composite material , physics , nuclear physics , metallurgy
The use of microwave irradiation as the source of heating in glycolysis of waste poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) was investigated and shown to achieve complete PET solubilization in approx. 5 min. The reaction in diethylene glycol and propylene glycol was monitored in terms of temperature and pressure. Other glycols were also used as solvolysis reagents and a number of basic inorganic compounds were examined as potential catalysts. Their effectiveness was evaluated on the basis of irradiation time needed for PET solubilization and gel permeation chromatography analyses of reaction products. The effect of the amount of catalyst used was investigated for the case of zinc(II) acetate and showed a limited effect on the ratio of characterized products. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.