Knowledge Agora

Title	A recyclable process between a monomer and polyester with a natural catalyst
ID_Doc	7797
Authors	Zhang, Q; Hu, CY; Duan, RL; Huang, YZ; Li, X; Sun, ZQ; Pang, X; Chen, XS
Title	A recyclable process between a monomer and polyester with a natural catalyst
Year	2022
Published	Green Chemistry, 24, 23
Abstract	Polylactide (PLA) is a biodegradable polyester with wide applications, and it degrades readily into CO2 and H2O. Although PLA paves the way for a circular economy with 'neutral' carbon footprint in the ecosystem, its complete degradation and the loss of lactic units are inevitable. Therefore, it is highly desirable to develop an efficient and economical recycling method among end-of-life options. In this work, a novel closed-loop process is constructed: l-ascorbic acid (vitamin C, VC) and sodium l-ascorbate (VCNa), two natural catalysts, were applied for the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of lactide (LA) to PLA. More importantly, VCNa could catalyze the upcycling of PLA to alkyl lactate. Alkyl lactate could be converted back to LA by VCNa, providing an opportunity for a closed-loop process. The ROP of other lactones and copolymerization of lactide and lactone were also investigated. The relationship between the degradation rate and stereo-regularity of PLA was also explored for the first time.
PDF

Similar Articles

ID	Score	Article
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)
16449		McKeown, P; Jones, MD The Chemical Recycling of PLA: A Review(2020)Sustainable Chemistry, 1, 1
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
19996		Shi, CX; Quinn, EC; Diment, WT; Chen, EYX Recyclable and (Bio)degradable Polyesters in a Circular Plastics Economy(2024)Chemical Reviews, 124.0, 7
9472		Sun, B; Zhang, J; Wang, ML; Yu, SX; Xu, Y; Tian, SH; Gao, ZR; Xiao, DQ; Liu, GS; Zhou, W; Wang, M; Ma, D Valorization of waste biodegradable polyester for methyl methacrylate production(2023)Nature Sustainability, 6.0, 6
6499		Yang, RL; Xu, GQ; Dong, BZ; Hou, HB; Wang, QG A "Polymer to Polymer" Chemical Recycling of PLA Plastics by the "DE-RE Polymerization" Strategy(2022)Macromolecules, 55, 5
9077		Roman-Ramírez, LA; Powders, M; McKeown, P; Jones, MD; Wood, J Ethyl Lactate Production from the Catalytic Depolymerisation of Post-consumer Poly(lactic acid)(2020)Journal Of Polymers And The Environment, 28.0, 11
18628		Liu, S; Hu, L; Liu, JY; Zhang, ZS; Suo, HY; Qin, YS Zinc Catalyst for Chemical Upcycling of PLA Wastes: Novel Industrial Monomer Resource toward Poly(ester-amide)(2024)Macromolecules, 57.0, 10
23588		Payne, J; Jones, MD The Chemical Recycling of Polyesters for a Circular Plastics Economy: Challenges and Emerging Opportunities(2021)Chemsuschem, 14, 19
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