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Enache AC, Grecu I, Samoila P. Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Recycled by Catalytic Glycolysis: A Bridge toward Circular Economy Principles. MATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 17:2991. [PMID: 38930360 PMCID: PMC11205646 DOI: 10.3390/ma17122991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2024] [Revised: 06/13/2024] [Accepted: 06/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024]
Abstract
Plastic pollution has escalated into a critical global issue, with production soaring from 2 million metric tons in 1950 to 400.3 million metric tons in 2022. The packaging industry alone accounts for nearly 44% of this production, predominantly utilizing polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Alarmingly, over 90% of the approximately 1 million PET bottles sold every minute end up in landfills or oceans, where they can persist for centuries. This highlights the urgent need for sustainable management and recycling solutions to mitigate the environmental impact of PET waste. To better understand PET's behavior and promote its management within a circular economy, we examined its chemical and physical properties, current strategies in the circular economy, and the most effective recycling methods available today. Advancing PET management within a circular economy framework by closing industrial loops has demonstrated benefits such as reduced landfill waste, minimized energy consumption, and conserved raw resources. To this end, we identified and examined various strategies based on R-imperatives (ranging from 3R to 10R), focusing on the latest approaches aimed at significantly reducing PET waste by 2040. Additionally, a comparison of PET recycling methods (including primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary recycling, along with the concepts of "zero-order" and biological recycling techniques) was envisaged. Particular attention was paid to the heterogeneous catalytic glycolysis, which stands out for its rapid reaction time (20-60 min), high monomer yields (>90%), ease of catalyst recovery and reuse, lower costs, and enhanced durability. Accordingly, the use of highly efficient oxide-based catalysts for PET glycolytic degradation is underscored as a promising solution for large-scale industrial applications.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Petrisor Samoila
- “Petru Poni” Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, 41A Grigore Ghica Voda Alley, 700487 Iasi, Romania; (A.-C.E.); (I.G.)
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Yun LX, Zhang C, Shi XR, Dong YJ, Zhang HT, Shen ZG, Wang JX. The controllable and efficient synthesis of two-dimensional metal-organic framework nanosheets for heterogeneous catalysis. NANOSCALE 2024; 16:691-700. [PMID: 38054762 DOI: 10.1039/d3nr05348b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/07/2023]
Abstract
Two-dimensional (2D) MOFs exhibit unique periodicity in surface structures and thus have attracted much interest in the fields of catalysis, energy, and sensors. However, the expanded production scale of 2D MOFs had remained a great challenge in most previous studies. Herein, a controllable and efficient crystallization method for synthesizing 2D MOF nanosheets using high-gravity reactive precipitation is proposed, significantly improving heterogeneous catalysis efficiency. The two-dimensional ZIF-L nanosheets prepared in a rotating packed bed (RPB) reactor show a smaller lateral and lamellar thickness and a higher BET surface area compared to ZIF-L nanosheets prepared in a conventional stirred tank reactor (STR), with a greatly shortened reaction time. Applying the ZIF-L-RPB nanosheets as a catalyst, the catalytic Knoevenagel condensation as a probe reaction displays a high conversion rate of benzaldehyde (99.3%) within 2 h at room temperature, greatly exceeding that displayed by ZIF-L-STR and other reported catalysts. Furthermore, ZIL-L-RPB nanosheets of only 0.2 wt% enhanced the catalytic activity for the glycolysis of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) with a PET conversion and a monomer yield of 90% in a short period of 15 min at 195 °C and almost completely depolymerized PET with a monomer yield of 94% in 30 min, which was far above that achieved by ZIL-L-STR. These results indicate the promising prospects of a high-gravity reactive precipitation strategy with precise size control in an economical way to prepare high-activity 2D MOF nanosheets for a wide range of heterogeneous catalysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ling-Xia Yun
- State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, PR China.
- Research Center of the Ministry of Education for High Gravity Engineering and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, PR China.
| | - Cong Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, PR China.
- Research Center of the Ministry of Education for High Gravity Engineering and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, PR China.
| | - Xin-Ran Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, PR China.
- Research Center of the Ministry of Education for High Gravity Engineering and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, PR China.
| | - Yan-Jun Dong
- State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, PR China.
- Research Center of the Ministry of Education for High Gravity Engineering and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, PR China.
| | - Hang-Tian Zhang
- Research Center of the Ministry of Education for High Gravity Engineering and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, PR China.
- Quzhou Innovation Institute for Chemical Engineering and Materials, Quzhou, Zhejiang, 324000, China
| | - Zhi-Gang Shen
- School of Chemical Engineering, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, Hunan, 411105, China
| | - Jie-Xin Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, PR China.
- Research Center of the Ministry of Education for High Gravity Engineering and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, PR China.
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Muszyński M, Nowicki J, Zygadło M, Dudek G. Comparsion of Catalyst Effectiveness in Different Chemical Depolymerization Methods of Poly(ethylene terephthalate). Molecules 2023; 28:6385. [PMID: 37687213 PMCID: PMC10489063 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28176385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 08/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023] Open
Abstract
This paper presents an overview of the chemical recycling methods of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) described in the scientific literature in recent years. The review focused on methods of chemical recycling of PET including hydrolysis and broadly understood alcoholysis of polymer ester bonds including methanolysis, ethanolysis, glycolysis and reactions with higher alcohols. The depolymerization methods used in the literature are described, with particular emphasis on the use of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts and ionic liquids, as well as auxiliary substances such as solvents and cosolvents. Important process parameters such as temperature, reaction time, and pressure are compared. Detailed experimental results are presented focusing on reaction yields to allow for easy comparison of applied catalysts and for determination of the most favorable reaction conditions and methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcin Muszyński
- Łukasiewicz Research Network, Institute of Heavy Organic Synthesis “Blachownia”, Energetyków 9, 47-225 Kędzierzyn-Koźle, Poland; (M.M.); (J.N.)
- Department of Physical Chemistry and Technology of Polymers, PhD School, Silesian University of Technology, ks. M. Strzody 9, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
| | - Janusz Nowicki
- Łukasiewicz Research Network, Institute of Heavy Organic Synthesis “Blachownia”, Energetyków 9, 47-225 Kędzierzyn-Koźle, Poland; (M.M.); (J.N.)
| | - Mateusz Zygadło
- Department of Physical Chemistry and Technology of Polymers, Faculty of Chemistry, Silesian University of Technology, ks. M. Strzody 9, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland;
| | - Gabiela Dudek
- Department of Physical Chemistry and Technology of Polymers, Faculty of Chemistry, Silesian University of Technology, ks. M. Strzody 9, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland;
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Novel efficient method of chemical upcycling of waste poly(ethylene terephthalate) bottles by acidolysis with adipic acid under microwave irradiation. Polym Degrad Stab 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2022.110175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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Chemical recycling and upcycling of poly(bisphenol A carbonate) via metal acetate catalyzed glycolysis. Polym Degrad Stab 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2022.110210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Abedsoltan H, Coleman MR. Aryl sulfonic acid catalysts: Effect of pendant group structure on activity in hydrolysis of polyethylene terephthalate. J Appl Polym Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/app.52451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Hossein Abedsoltan
- Department of Chemical Engineering The University of Toledo Toledo Ohio USA
| | - Maria R. Coleman
- Department of Chemical Engineering The University of Toledo Toledo Ohio USA
- Polymer Institute University of Toledo Toledo Ohio USA
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