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Fast, High Monomer Yield from Post-consumer Polyethylene Terephthalate via Combined Microwave and Deep Eutectic Solvent Hydrolytic Depolymerization

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    Research Article

    Fast, High Monomer Yield from Post-consumer Polyethylene Terephthalate via Combined Microwave and Deep Eutectic Solvent Hydrolytic Depolymerization
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    • Olivia A. Attallah*
      Olivia A. Attallah
      Materials Research Institute, Technological University of the Shannon, Midlands Midwest, Athlone N37 HD68, Ireland
      Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Heliopolis University, Cairo - Belbeis Desert Road, El Salam, Cairo 11777, Egypt
      *Email: [email protected]
      More by Olivia A. Attallah
      Orcidhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6449-5108
    • Arno Janssens
      Arno Janssens
      Institut Meurice, Haute École Lucia de Brouckère, Avenue Emile Gryson 1, 1070 Bruxelles, Belgium
      More by Arno Janssens
    • Muhammad Azeem
      Muhammad Azeem
      Materials Research Institute, Technological University of the Shannon, Midlands Midwest, Athlone N37 HD68, Ireland
      More by Muhammad Azeem
    • Margaret Brennan Fournet
      Margaret Brennan Fournet
      Materials Research Institute, Technological University of the Shannon, Midlands Midwest, Athlone N37 HD68, Ireland
      More by Margaret Brennan Fournet
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    ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering

    Cite this: ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2021, 9, 50, 17174–17185
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    https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c07159
    Published December 10, 2021
    Copyright © 2021 American Chemical Society
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    Abstract

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    Efficient low carbon foot print methods are critical to achieving circularity for the dominant post-consumer plastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET). In a strong sustainability advancement over previous technologies, depolymerization of waste PET bottles was performed using a dissolution/degradation approach optimized in accordance with polymer mechanical parameter inter-relationships. A dual functioning deep eutectic solvent (DES), comprising m-cresol and choline chloride, served as both the solubilizing and catalyzing agent for alkaline hydrolysis of PET using high energy efficiency microwave (MW) irradiation. The PET depolymerization process was optimized using Box–Behnken design while tailoring the DES volume, concentration of the depolymerizing agent (sodium hydroxide), and MW irradiation time as independent variables. The percentage PET weight loss as high as 84% was obtained using 15 mL of DES containing 10% (w/v) NaOH under 90 s MW irradiation. Simple, cost-effective purification steps were afforded by the DES’s advantageous physicochemical nature and were implemented to provide the terephthalic acid (TPA) monomer with acceptable yield. Validation of the PET depolymerization and identification of obtained monomers were carried out by a range of characterization techniques including FTIR, NMR, DSC, and HPLC. Post-consumer PET bottle depolymerization was evaluated, and a 91.55% TPA monomer yield ready for repolymerization as virgin PET demonstrates the high potential market application of this low energy, low carbon solvent virgin to virgin approach to PET circularity.

    Copyright © 2021 American Chemical Society

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    • Calibration curve for TPA quantification and 3D surface plots of response surface analysis of BBD (PDF)

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    This article is cited by 35 publications.

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    ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering

    Cite this: ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2021, 9, 50, 17174–17185
    Click to copy citationCitation copied!
    https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c07159
    Published December 10, 2021
    Copyright © 2021 American Chemical Society
    Request reuse permissions

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