articleNature CommunicationsJun 5, 2023GOLD OA

Acetolysis of waste polyethylene terephthalate for upcycling and life-cycle assessment study

University of Science and Technology of China · CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion · +2 more institutions

PubMed
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Abstract

To reduce environmental pollution and reliance on fossil resources, polyethylene terephthalate as the most consumed synthetic polyester needs to be recycled effectively. However, the existing recycling methods cannot process colored or blended polyethylene terephthalate materials for upcycling. Here we report a new efficient method for acetolysis of waste polyethylene terephthalate into terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol diacetate in acetic acid. Since acetic acid can dissolve or decompose other components such as dyes, additives, blends, etc., Terephthalic acid can be crystallized out in a high-purity form. In addition, Ethylene glycol diacetate can be hydrolyzed to ethylene glycol or directly polymerized…

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