Upcycling Waste PET: I. Ammonolysis Kinetics of Model Dimethyl Terephthalate and the Catalytic Effects of Ethylene Glycol.

ABSTRACT: Chemical upcycling of waste plastics can play an important role in developing greater circularity in the material flows associated with the plastics industries. In this study, a fundamental understanding of upcycling poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) using ammonolysis is established. First, rate constants are determined for model studies of the ammonolysis of dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) in methanol. Ammonolysis proceeds sequentially, and a first ester group of DMT reacts with ammonia to produce methanol and the monoamide methyl 4-carbamoylbenzoate (MCB). Next, MCB reacts with ammonia to yield methanol and terephthalamide (TPD). At 100 °C, the pseudo first order rate constants are k ₁ ^' = 0.25 ± 0.02 h^-1 and k ₂ ^' = 0.11

SUBMITTER: Peterson RL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11921030 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature