Chemical recycling of post-consumer polyester wastes using a tertiary amine organocatalyst

Shaoqu Xie; Caiqi Wang; Wenda Hu; Jian Zhi Hu; Yong Wang; Zhun Dong; Nadia N. Intan; Jim Pfaendtner; Hongfei Lin

doi:10.1016/j.xcrp.2024.102145

Chemical recycling of post-consumer polyester wastes using a tertiary amine organocatalyst

Shaoqu Xie
, Caiqi Wang
, Wenda Hu
, Jian Zhi Hu
, Yong Wang
, Zhun Dong
, Nadia N. Intan
, Jim Pfaendtner
, Hongfei Lin

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

Recycling diverse waste plastics poses challenges due to complex sorting and processing, resulting in high costs and inefficiency. To tackle this, we present a metal-free catalytic sorting method for targeted deconstruction of polyester from post-consumer plastic waste, encompassing textiles, plastic mixtures, and multilayer packaging materials. This method employs N-methylpiperidine, a tertiary amine catalyst in methanol, to depolymerize polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Operating under these conditions (160°C, 1 h), we achieve 100% yields of dimethyl terephthalate and ethylene glycol. This technique also effectively breaks down other polyesters, including polylactic acid, polycarbonate, and polybutylene terephthalate, yielding high-yield monomers at relatively low temperatures. Through comprehensive nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis, we propose that N-methylpiperidine's role is in enhancing methanol nucleophilicity and activating PET's ester bond. Our insights advance the chemical recycling of post-consumer plastic waste, offering a potentially simple and efficient path to closing the polyester production loop.

Original language	English
Article number	102145
Journal	Cell Reports Physical Science
Volume	5
Issue number	8
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrp.2024.102145
State	Published - Aug 21 2024
Externally published	Yes

Funding

The funding was supported by NSF EFRI E3P award #2132219. The in situ MAS NMR experiments were supported by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences Division, Catalysis Science program, FWP 47319. H.L. and S.X. conceived the idea. H.L. supervised the project. S.X. and C.W. conducted most of the experiments and wrote and revised the manuscript. W.H. J.Z.H. and Y.W. performed the in situ MAS NMR experiment and analysis. N.N.I. and J.P. performed the AIMD calculations and analysis. Z.D. conducted some catalyst evaluation experiments. H.L. Y.W. J.P. and J.Z.H. managed the funds. All authors contributed to the discussion and revision of the manuscript. The authors declare a patent application. Lin, H. “Conversion of co-mingled waste plastics to monomers and fuels in sequential catalytic process.” US patent application no. 18/251,958, filed November 9, 2021. Hosted at: https://ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/20240025085.

Keywords

NMR
PET
circular economy
organocatalyst
plastic recycling
polyester
sustainability
tertiary amine

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10.1016/j.xcrp.2024.102145

Cite this

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title = "Chemical recycling of post-consumer polyester wastes using a tertiary amine organocatalyst",

abstract = "Recycling diverse waste plastics poses challenges due to complex sorting and processing, resulting in high costs and inefficiency. To tackle this, we present a metal-free catalytic sorting method for targeted deconstruction of polyester from post-consumer plastic waste, encompassing textiles, plastic mixtures, and multilayer packaging materials. This method employs N-methylpiperidine, a tertiary amine catalyst in methanol, to depolymerize polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Operating under these conditions (160°C, 1 h), we achieve 100\% yields of dimethyl terephthalate and ethylene glycol. This technique also effectively breaks down other polyesters, including polylactic acid, polycarbonate, and polybutylene terephthalate, yielding high-yield monomers at relatively low temperatures. Through comprehensive nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis, we propose that N-methylpiperidine's role is in enhancing methanol nucleophilicity and activating PET's ester bond. Our insights advance the chemical recycling of post-consumer plastic waste, offering a potentially simple and efficient path to closing the polyester production loop.",

keywords = "NMR, PET, circular economy, organocatalyst, plastic recycling, polyester, sustainability, tertiary amine",

author = "Shaoqu Xie and Caiqi Wang and Wenda Hu and Hu, \{Jian Zhi\} and Yong Wang and Zhun Dong and Intan, \{Nadia N.\} and Jim Pfaendtner and Hongfei Lin",

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AU - Xie, Shaoqu

AU - Wang, Caiqi

AU - Hu, Wenda

AU - Hu, Jian Zhi

AU - Wang, Yong

AU - Dong, Zhun

AU - Intan, Nadia N.

AU - Pfaendtner, Jim

AU - Lin, Hongfei

PY - 2024/8/21

Y1 - 2024/8/21

N2 - Recycling diverse waste plastics poses challenges due to complex sorting and processing, resulting in high costs and inefficiency. To tackle this, we present a metal-free catalytic sorting method for targeted deconstruction of polyester from post-consumer plastic waste, encompassing textiles, plastic mixtures, and multilayer packaging materials. This method employs N-methylpiperidine, a tertiary amine catalyst in methanol, to depolymerize polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Operating under these conditions (160°C, 1 h), we achieve 100% yields of dimethyl terephthalate and ethylene glycol. This technique also effectively breaks down other polyesters, including polylactic acid, polycarbonate, and polybutylene terephthalate, yielding high-yield monomers at relatively low temperatures. Through comprehensive nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis, we propose that N-methylpiperidine's role is in enhancing methanol nucleophilicity and activating PET's ester bond. Our insights advance the chemical recycling of post-consumer plastic waste, offering a potentially simple and efficient path to closing the polyester production loop.

AB - Recycling diverse waste plastics poses challenges due to complex sorting and processing, resulting in high costs and inefficiency. To tackle this, we present a metal-free catalytic sorting method for targeted deconstruction of polyester from post-consumer plastic waste, encompassing textiles, plastic mixtures, and multilayer packaging materials. This method employs N-methylpiperidine, a tertiary amine catalyst in methanol, to depolymerize polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Operating under these conditions (160°C, 1 h), we achieve 100% yields of dimethyl terephthalate and ethylene glycol. This technique also effectively breaks down other polyesters, including polylactic acid, polycarbonate, and polybutylene terephthalate, yielding high-yield monomers at relatively low temperatures. Through comprehensive nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis, we propose that N-methylpiperidine's role is in enhancing methanol nucleophilicity and activating PET's ester bond. Our insights advance the chemical recycling of post-consumer plastic waste, offering a potentially simple and efficient path to closing the polyester production loop.

KW - NMR

KW - PET

KW - circular economy

KW - organocatalyst

KW - plastic recycling

KW - polyester

KW - sustainability

KW - tertiary amine

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DO - 10.1016/j.xcrp.2024.102145

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JO - Cell Reports Physical Science

JF - Cell Reports Physical Science

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ER -

Chemical recycling of post-consumer polyester wastes using a tertiary amine organocatalyst

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