Closing the cycle: Enzymatic recovery of high purity glucose and polyester from textile blends

Gritsch, Sebastian M.; Mihalyi, Sophia; Bartl, Andreas; Ipsmiller, Wolfgang; Jenull-Halver, Uta; Putz, Robert; Quartinello, Felice; Guebitz, Georg M.

doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2022.106701

Cited by 15 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 30 publications

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“…1b ). Current research efforts predominantly concentrate on converting easily treated cotton fibers into chemicals, such as sugars or furfural, using acid or ionic liquid, while keeping the polyester unchanged 23 , 24 . Differently, in our recent work, in-situ alkaline hydrolysis of polyester into terephthalic acid (TPA) is achieved while cotton fibers remain intact in CH 2 Cl 2 -EtOH solvents 25 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Internal water circulation mediated synergistic co-hydrolysis of PET/cotton textile blends in gamma-valerolactone

Zhang,

Xu,

et al. 2024

Nat Commun

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Recycling strategies for mixed plastics and textile blends currently aim for recycling only one of the components. Here, we demonstrate a water coupling strategy to co-hydrolyze polyester/cotton textile blends into polymer monomers and platform chemicals in gamma-valerolactone. The blends display a proclivity for achieving an augmented 5-hydroxymethylfurfural yield relative to the degradation of cotton alone. Controlled experiments and preliminary mechanistic studies underscore that the primary driver behind this heightened conversion rate lies in the internal water circulation. The swelling and dissolving effect of gamma-valerolactone on polyester enables a fast hydrolysis of polyester at much lower concentration of acid than the one in the traditional hydrolysis methods, effectively mitigating the excessive degradation of cotton-derived product and undesirable product formation. In addition, the system is also applicable to different kinds of blends and PET mixed plastics. This strategy develops an attractive path for managing end-of-life textiles in a sustainable and efficient way.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%