In silico COSMO-RS predictive screening of ionic liquids for the dissolution of plastic

Mood Mohan; Jay D. Keasling; Blake A. Simmons; Seema Singh

doi:10.1039/d1gc03464b

In silico COSMO-RS predictive screening of ionic liquids for the dissolution of plastic

Mood Mohan, Jay D. Keasling, Blake A. Simmons, Seema Singh

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43 Scopus citations

Abstract

Plastic waste is currently produced at an alarmingly high rate, nearing 400 Mt per year. The accumulation of plastics in the environment is growing rapidly, yet our knowledge of their persistence is very limited. Efficient and affordable dissolution and chemical upcycling of plastic wastes are also a significant hurdle in the conversion of plastic polymers to value-added chemicals, and finding a suitable solvent is also a major concern. Ionic liquids (ILs) have recently demonstrated their ability to dissolve and convert polyethylene terephthalate (PET) into valuable products. However, identifying an optimal IL from the large number of anion and cation combinations possible is quite challenging. To address this issue, the COSMO-RS (COnductor-like Screening MOdel for Real Solvents) model has emerged as a reliable computational tool that can screen numerous ILs based on the different thermodynamic properties that are needed for polymer dissolution. The current study demonstrates the dissolution behavior of plastic wastes in ILs using the COSMO-RS model. In this study, 99 cations and 95 anions were chosen and combined to form 9405 ILs, which were evaluated by predicting logarithmic activity coefficient (ln(γ)) and excess enthalpies (H^E) of typical plastic wastes (PET, polystyrene, polypropylene, and polyvinylchloride). Based on the COSMO-RS predicted thermodynamic properties (ln(γ) and H^E), anions such as acetate, formate, glycinate, and N-methylcarbamate in combination with the cations like superbase, ammonium, and pyrrolidinium are predicted to be suitable solvents for plastic dissolution. The predicted ln(γ) and H^E results are further validated with the experimental results and the predicted thermodynamic properties and experimental results are in good alignment. An excess enthalpy calculation demonstrated that strong hydrogen bond interactions between the polymer and the IL are vital factors for efficient dissolution to occur, with the anion and the cation of the IL having a similar effect on the process.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	4140-4152
Number of pages	13
Journal	Green Chemistry
Volume	24
Issue number	10
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1039/d1gc03464b
State	Published - May 10 2022
Externally published	Yes

Funding

This work was part of the DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute (http://www.jbei.org) supported by the U. S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research, through contract DE-AC02-05CH11231 between Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the U. S. Department of Energy. The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, world-wide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes. The authors would like to thank Dr Roland Kalb from Proionic for his insightful discussions on the toxicity and recycling of Ionic Liquids. This work was part of the DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute ( http://www.jbei.org ) supported by the U. S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research, through contract DE-AC02-05CH11231 between Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the U. S. Department of Energy. The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, world-wide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes. The authors would like to thank Dr Roland Kalb from Proionic for his insightful discussions on the toxicity and recycling of Ionic Liquids.

Funders	Funder number
United States Government
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Science
Biological and Environmental Research	DE-AC02-05CH11231
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

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title = "In silico COSMO-RS predictive screening of ionic liquids for the dissolution of plastic",

abstract = "Plastic waste is currently produced at an alarmingly high rate, nearing 400 Mt per year. The accumulation of plastics in the environment is growing rapidly, yet our knowledge of their persistence is very limited. Efficient and affordable dissolution and chemical upcycling of plastic wastes are also a significant hurdle in the conversion of plastic polymers to value-added chemicals, and finding a suitable solvent is also a major concern. Ionic liquids (ILs) have recently demonstrated their ability to dissolve and convert polyethylene terephthalate (PET) into valuable products. However, identifying an optimal IL from the large number of anion and cation combinations possible is quite challenging. To address this issue, the COSMO-RS (COnductor-like Screening MOdel for Real Solvents) model has emerged as a reliable computational tool that can screen numerous ILs based on the different thermodynamic properties that are needed for polymer dissolution. The current study demonstrates the dissolution behavior of plastic wastes in ILs using the COSMO-RS model. In this study, 99 cations and 95 anions were chosen and combined to form 9405 ILs, which were evaluated by predicting logarithmic activity coefficient (ln(γ)) and excess enthalpies (HE) of typical plastic wastes (PET, polystyrene, polypropylene, and polyvinylchloride). Based on the COSMO-RS predicted thermodynamic properties (ln(γ) and HE), anions such as acetate, formate, glycinate, and N-methylcarbamate in combination with the cations like superbase, ammonium, and pyrrolidinium are predicted to be suitable solvents for plastic dissolution. The predicted ln(γ) and HE results are further validated with the experimental results and the predicted thermodynamic properties and experimental results are in good alignment. An excess enthalpy calculation demonstrated that strong hydrogen bond interactions between the polymer and the IL are vital factors for efficient dissolution to occur, with the anion and the cation of the IL having a similar effect on the process.",

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AB - Plastic waste is currently produced at an alarmingly high rate, nearing 400 Mt per year. The accumulation of plastics in the environment is growing rapidly, yet our knowledge of their persistence is very limited. Efficient and affordable dissolution and chemical upcycling of plastic wastes are also a significant hurdle in the conversion of plastic polymers to value-added chemicals, and finding a suitable solvent is also a major concern. Ionic liquids (ILs) have recently demonstrated their ability to dissolve and convert polyethylene terephthalate (PET) into valuable products. However, identifying an optimal IL from the large number of anion and cation combinations possible is quite challenging. To address this issue, the COSMO-RS (COnductor-like Screening MOdel for Real Solvents) model has emerged as a reliable computational tool that can screen numerous ILs based on the different thermodynamic properties that are needed for polymer dissolution. The current study demonstrates the dissolution behavior of plastic wastes in ILs using the COSMO-RS model. In this study, 99 cations and 95 anions were chosen and combined to form 9405 ILs, which were evaluated by predicting logarithmic activity coefficient (ln(γ)) and excess enthalpies (HE) of typical plastic wastes (PET, polystyrene, polypropylene, and polyvinylchloride). Based on the COSMO-RS predicted thermodynamic properties (ln(γ) and HE), anions such as acetate, formate, glycinate, and N-methylcarbamate in combination with the cations like superbase, ammonium, and pyrrolidinium are predicted to be suitable solvents for plastic dissolution. The predicted ln(γ) and HE results are further validated with the experimental results and the predicted thermodynamic properties and experimental results are in good alignment. An excess enthalpy calculation demonstrated that strong hydrogen bond interactions between the polymer and the IL are vital factors for efficient dissolution to occur, with the anion and the cation of the IL having a similar effect on the process.

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In silico COSMO-RS predictive screening of ionic liquids for the dissolution of plastic

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