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Depolymerization of poly(ethylene terephthalate) waste
Author(s) -
Shukla S. R.,
Kulkarni K. S.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.10714
Subject(s) - depolymerization , ethylene , ethylene glycol , monomer , polyester , catalysis , polymer chemistry , differential scanning calorimetry , zinc , materials science , dimethyl terephthalate , char , sodium acetate , sodium bicarbonate , chemistry , nuclear chemistry , organic chemistry , polymer , physics , pyrolysis , thermodynamics
Abstract Poly(ethylene terephthalate) waste was depolymerized with ethylene glycol in the presence of different catalysts, two conventional metal catalysts (zinc acetate and lead acetate) and two alkalies (sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate). The resulting monomer bis(2‐hydroxy ethylene terephthalate) was characterized by thin layer chromatography, melting point, IR spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and elemental analysis. The results show that the qualitative and quantitative yields of the monomer obtained with alkalies as catalysts were most comparable with the conventional heavy metal catalysts, thus providing a further advantage for the recycling of polyester waste for the cause of environmental pollution abatement. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 85: 1765–1770, 2002