Depolymerization of Waste PET with Phosphoric Acid-Modified Silica Gel Under Microwave Irradiation

作者：Ohmura Satoshi D; Muroi Choki; Sakata Hajime; Wada Makoto; Miyoshi Norikazu^*

来源：Journal of Polymers and the Environment, 2017, 25(2): 250-257.

DOI：10.1007/s10924-016-0802-7

• Poly(ethylene terephthalate)
• Depolymerization
• Solid catalyst
• Microwave

Chemical recycling of waste poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) using phosphoric acid-modified silica gel as a solid catalyst is reported. Advantageously, microwave irradiation was used to progress the depolymerization of PET. In this study, depolymerization of PET with a small amount of water is suggested as a suitable method. The depolymerized product, terephthalic acid was obtained and assigned by H-1 NMR and FT-IR spectroscopy. Finally, over 90 % conversion to terephthalic acid was achieved when waste plastic bottles were treated with the method. This results confirm the importance of the microwave power technique as a promising recycling method for plastic bottles made from PET, resulting in monomer recovery in addition to substantial energy saving.

• 出版日期2017-6