Catalytic chemical recycling of biodegradable polyesters

Féghali, Elias; Tauk, Lara; Ortiz, Pablo; Vanbroekhoven, Karolien; Eevers, Walter

doi:10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2020.109241

Cited by 76 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 79 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Physical-chemical degradative processes, such as pyrolysis, cracking, gasification, chemolysis, or enzymatic hydrolysis, can be considered valuable methods for the upcycling of PHAs into valuable products, such as chemicals or new monomers, opening new applications and markets. [81][82][83] Ariffin et al, for example, studied the controlled pyrolysis of PHB and PHBV and their conversion into crotonic acid and 2-pentenoic acid. [84] The thermal degradation of pure PHAs in presence of alkali earth compound catalysts has been optimized, obtaining 85 % yield of crotonic acid, 11 % yield of 2pentenoic acid, and only 4 % of remaining oligomers.…”

Section: Upcyclingmentioning

confidence: 99%

End of Life of Biodegradable Plastics: Composting versus Re/Upcycling

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Nowadays the issues related to the end of life of traditional plastics are very urgent due to the important pollution problems that plastics have caused. Biodegradable plastics can help to try to mitigate these problems, but even bioplastics need much attention to carefully evaluate the different options for plastic waste disposal. In this Minireview, three different end-of-life scenarios (composting, recycling, and upcycling) were evaluated in terms of literature review. As a result, the ability of bioplastics to be biodegraded by composting has been related to physical variables and materials characteristics. Hence, it is possible to deduce that the process is mature enough to be a good way to minimize bioplastic waste and valorize it for the production of a fertilizer. Recycling and upcycling options, which could open up many interesting new scenarios for the production of high-value materials, are less studied. Research in this area can be strongly encouraged.

show abstract

Section: Upcyclingmentioning

confidence: 99%

End of Life of Biodegradable Plastics: Composting versus Re/Upcycling

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The chemical recycling of PET has been extensively studied in literature and even several review articles have been published during the last 15 years [50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60]. Review papers on the chemical recycling of PLA have also appear in literature [19,35,61], whereas only a few papers have been published on the chemical recycling of PEF and PHA [16,19]. Different methods for the chemolysis of PET, PLA, PEF and PHB are presented next.…”

Section: Chemical Recycling Of Plasticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, PHB has good oxygen permeability and UV resistance and it is water-insoluble and relatively resistant to hydrolytic attack. These properties make it an exception among biodegradable plastics [19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical Recycling of PET in the Presence of the Bio-Based Polymers, PLA, PHB and PEF: A Review

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The great increase in the production and consumption of plastics has resulted in large amounts of plastic wastes, creating a serious problem in terms of their environmentally friendly disposal. The need for the production of more environmentally friendly polymers gave birth to the production of biodegradable, and more recently, biobased polymers, used in the production of biodegradable or biobased plastics. Although the percentage of currently produced bioplastics is rather small, almost 1% compared to petrochemical-based plastics, inevitably is going to significantly increase in the near future due to strict legislation recently posed by the European Union and other countries’ Governments. Thus, recycling strategies that have been developed could be disturbed and the economic balance of this sector could be destabilized. In the present review, the recycling of the polymer mainly used in food plastic packaging, i.e., poly(ethylene terephthalate), PET is examined together with its counterparts from the biobased polymers, i.e., poly(lactic acid), PLA (already replacing PET in several applications), poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), PHB and poly(ethylene furanoate), PEF. Methods for the chemical recycling of these materials together with the chemical products obtained are critically reviewed. Specifically, hydrolysis, alcoholysis and glycolysis. Hydrolysis (i.e., the reaction with water) under different environments (alkaline, acidic, neutral), experimental conditions and catalysts results directly in the production of the corresponding monomers, which however, should be separated in order to be re-used for the re-production of the respective polymer. Reaction conditions need to be optimized with a view to depolymerize only a specific polymer, while the others remain intact. Alcoholysis (i.e., the reaction with some alcohol, methanol or ethanol) results in methyl or ethyl esters or diesters that again could be used for the re-production of the specific polymer or as a source for producing other materials. Glycolysis (reaction with some glycol, such as ethylene, or diethylene glycol) is much studied for PET, whereas less studied for the biopolymers and seems to be a very promising technique. Oligomers having two terminal hydroxyl groups are produced that can be further utilized as starting materials for other value-added products, such as unsaturated polyester resins, methacrylated crosslinked resins, biodegradable polyurethanes, etc. These diols derived from both PET and the bio-based polymers can be used simultaneously without the need for an additional separation step, in the synthesis of final products incorporating biodegradable units in their chemical structure.

show abstract

“…Plastics are found in seawater, jungles, or municipal solid wastes. More than 8.3 billion tons of plastics were produced in the span of 1950 to 2015, in which less than 20% were recycled or incinerated, and the rest were left in the environment or were landfilled [ 7 , 8 ]. The environmental issues and ecological impact associated with plastics have led to more studies and research into developing more sustainable materials.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…PLA is considered as one of the most prevalent and commercial bioplastics worldwide, with a production of 0.2 million tons in 2015 and 0.3 million tons in 2019. PLA is fabricated from lactic acid, which is produced from the fermentation of the starch present in sugarcane and corn [ 7 ]. PLA is used in different industries, such as healthcare, textile, packaging, and so on [ 22 , 23 , 24 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Life Cycle Assessment for Polylactic Acid (PLA) to Make It a Low-Carbon Material

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The massive plastic production worldwide leads to a global concern for the pollution made by the plastic wastes and the environmental issues associated with them. One of the best solutions is replacing the fossil-based plastics with bioplastics. Bioplastics such as polylactic acid (PLA) are biodegradable materials with less greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. PLA is a biopolymer produced from natural resources with good mechanical and chemical properties, therefore, it is used widely in packaging, agriculture, and biomedical industries. PLA products mostly end up in landfills or composting. In this review paper, the existing life cycle assessments (LCA) for PLA were comprehensively reviewed and classified. According to the LCAs, the energy and materials used in the whole life cycle of PLA were reported. Finally, the GHG emissions of PLA in each stage of its life cycle, including feedstock acquisition and conversion, manufacturing of PLA products, the PLA applications, and the end of life (EoL) options, were described. The most energy-intensive stage in the life cycle of PLA is its conversion. By optimizing the conversion process of PLA, it is possible to make it a low-carbon material with less dependence on energy sources.

show abstract

Catalytic chemical recycling of biodegradable polyesters

Cited by 76 publications

References 79 publications

End of Life of Biodegradable Plastics: Composting versus Re/Upcycling

End of Life of Biodegradable Plastics: Composting versus Re/Upcycling

Chemical Recycling of PET in the Presence of the Bio-Based Polymers, PLA, PHB and PEF: A Review

The Life Cycle Assessment for Polylactic Acid (PLA) to Make It a Low-Carbon Material

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About