Biodegradable plastics are considered one of the solutions to solve the environmental pollution caused by plastic waste. However, on easy-to-collect occasions, recovery of biodegradable plastics is a preferable option rather than biodegradation, since it can fully utilize carbon resources and reduce carbon emissions. Herein, efficient and eco-friendly recycling of widely used biodegradable plastic, polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT), was demonstrated by alkaline hydrolysis in the solution of ethanol and H 2 O. The degradation ratio of PBAT was achieved above 99% at 80 °C for 50 min. Diacid salts were self-precipitated out from the reaction solution, followed by acidification to obtain diacid monomers. The reaction solution after filtrating away the diacid salts can be recycled several times without sacrificing the degradation ratio of PBAT, while 1,4-butanediol monomer can be further recovered by the two-step mild distillation at 80 °C. The carbon emission of the whole recycling process was evaluated, and it was only half of that of the biodegradation. The work provides new insight into the recycling of biodegradable plastics.

Polypropylene waste was upcycling into terminal functionalized long-chain chemicals with the aid of anionic surfactants. The reaction only needs to be heated at 80 oC for 5 min by coupling...

As the largest class of organic thermoplastic polymers, polyolefins generated huge amounts of plastic wastes, which cannot be chemically recycled into their monomers or high-value chemicals in a cost- or energy-efficient way. To address this challenging issue, we develop a novel strategy for upcycling polypropylene (PP) waste. An anionic surfactant-induced oxidative degradation method is developed to transform polypropylene into terminal ketone/carboxylic acid/olefin functionalized long-chain oligomers (mainly average C70), which are important feedstocks used in synthetic surfactants, poly-α-olefin lubricants, and polyesters. The reaction only needs to be heated at 60oC for 5 min, and the subsequent reaction is completed by oxidative self-heating. The fast self-heating temperature up to 280oC triggers the thermal cracking of PP. Coupling exothermic oxidative cracking with endothermic thermal cracking promotes oxygenation and dehydrogenation of PP. Controlling the amount of Sodium dodecyl sulfate could modulate the self-exothermic process, giving the products with different degrees of functionalization. The approach provides a mild, facile, and fast solution to obtain value-added chemicals from waste polyolefins.