Knowledge Agora



Similar Articles

Title Co-upcycling of polyvinyl chloride and polyesters
ID_Doc 26273
Authors Cao, RC; Zhang, MQ; Jiao, YC; Li, YC; Sun, B; Xiao, DQ; Wang, M; Ma, D
Title Co-upcycling of polyvinyl chloride and polyesters
Year 2023
Published Nature Sustainability, 6, 12
Abstract Catalytic upcycling of plastic wastes to valuable chemicals offers the opportunity to simultaneously address the enormous environmental problems associated with plastics and achieve the circular economy. However, the upcycling of plastic wastes containing polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is particularly challenging due to the interference of chlorine, which can be released during PVC depolymerization and deactivate the catalyst. Here we present a catalytic process for the co-upcycling of PVC and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). By using a chlorine-containing ionic liquid as the catalyst/solvent and ZnCl2 as Lewis acid catalyst, with in situ utilization of PVC-released chlorine, we successfully converted PET into terephthalic acid and 1,2-dichloroethane with high yields. The results reveal that chlorine from PVC, previously considered detrimental to the transformation of other polymers and the cause of catalyst poisoning, can actually have a positive role in the upcycling of plastic wastes. This work can incentivize further progress in plastics upcycling and pave the way to sustainable plastic wastes management, moving societies one step forward towards realizing the circular economy. Catalytic upcycling of waste plastics has multiple benefits from a sustainability perspective, but available processes struggle with chlorine-containing feedstocks. Here the authors propose a strategy capable to upcycle chlorine-containing plastic wastes to valuable chemicals.
PDF

Similar Articles

ID Score Article
29678 Feng, B; Jing, YX; Liu, XH; Guo, Y; Wang, YQ Waste PVC upcycling: Transferring unmanageable Cl species into value-added Cl-containing chemicals(2023)
8199 Kots, PA; Vance, BC; Quinn, CM; Wang, C; Vlachos, DG A two-stage strategy for upcycling chlorine-contaminated plastic waste(2023)Nature Sustainability, 6.0, 10
23588 Payne, J; Jones, MD The Chemical Recycling of Polyesters for a Circular Plastics Economy: Challenges and Emerging Opportunities(2021)Chemsuschem, 14, 19
5465 Sajwan, D; Sharma, A; Sharma, M; Krishnan, V Upcycling of Plastic Waste Using Photo-, Electro-, and Photoelectrocatalytic Approaches: A Way toward Circular Economy(2024)Acs Catalysis, 14, 7
7263 Chen, XR; Cheng, LL; Gu, J; Yuan, HR; Chen, Y Chemical recycling of plastic wastes via homogeneous catalysis: A review(2024)
16527 Wang, CL; Han, HG; Wu, YF; Astruc, D Nanocatalyzed upcycling of the plastic wastes for a circular economy(2022)
6319 Hubble, D; Nordahl, S; Zhu, TY; Baral, N; Scown, CD; Liu, G Solvent-Assisted Poly(lactic acid) Upcycling under Mild Conditions(2023)Acs Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 11, 22
24949 Yue, S; Wang, PF; Yu, BN; Zhang, T; Zhao, ZY; Li, Y; Zhan, SH From Plastic Waste to Treasure: Selective Upcycling through Catalytic Technologies(2023)
22788 Fuchs, M; Schäfer, PM; Wagner, W; Krumm, I; Walbeck, M; Dietrich, R; Hoffmann, A; Herres-Pawlis, S A Multitool for Circular Economy: Fast Ring-Opening Polymerization and Chemical Recycling of (Bio)polyesters Using a Single Aliphatic Guanidine Carboxy Zinc Catalyst(2023)Chemsuschem, 16.0, 12
21053 Becker, T; Hermann, A; Saritas, N; Hoffmann, A; Herres-Pawlis, S Open- and Closed-Loop Recycling: Highly Active Zinc Bisguanidine Polymerization Catalyst for the Depolymerization of Polyesters(2024)
Scroll