Investigation of the main regularities of glycolysis of polycarbonate plastic during catalysis by basic agents

Abstract

This research focuses on analyzing how different primary catalysts affect the glycolysis of plastic made from bisphenol A (PC) polycarbonate. It was found that the process of chemical decomposition of PC leads to the formation of products with high added value: bisphenol A (PC monomer, BPA), BPA, and ethylene carbonate or ethylene glycol co-ethers (BPA monohydroxyethyl ether, MHE-BPA; BPA bishydroxyethyl ether, BHE-BPA). A quantitative assessment of the yields of the reaction products was also carried out. The yield of products at 100% PC conversion was 33% for BPA, 50% for MHE-BPA, and 17% for BHE-BPA. The effectiveness of using various alkalis depending on the type of metal was also compared within the context of this investigation.