Plastics to fertilizers: chemical recycling of a bio-based polycarbonate as a fertilizer source

Abstract

A polymer is used as a source of fertilizer. To demonstrate the viability of this concept, the chemical recycling of poly(isosorbide carbonate) (PIC) is presented as a model for the next generation of plastic-recycling systems.

Chemical recycling to monomers: Industrial Bisphenol‐A‐Polycarbonates to novel aliphatic polycarbonate materials

“…Under the optimal reaction conditions (90°C, initial NH 3 /PIC ratio = 30), PIC was completely degraded to isosorbide and urea through a facile heating process using an environmentally‐benign solvent (water) without the aid of any catalyst (Scheme 3). The degradation products can be used as a fertilizer without any further purification because isosorbide is a non‐toxic and sugar‐based compound; therefore, it does not pose any negative impact on plant growth 38 …”

Integration of upcycling and closed-loop recycling through alternative cyclization–depolymerization

“…[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] Upcycling that converts end-of-life plastics to a product of higher quality or value than the original will be more acceptable by a market-oriented economy, hence improving the recycling ratio of waste plastics. [15][16][17][18][19][20] However, after the service period, the upcycled product will again face the end-oflife problem and may bring secondary pollution, leading to weak sustainability of the upcycling mode. Comparably, closed-loop recycling, which regenerates the same product with equal quality and value to the original polymer through a depolymerization-separation/purification-repolymerization process, is highly sustainable.…”

Multi-step polymer degradation kinetics using activation energy-dependent cataluminescence

“…Polymer-related pollution is mainly caused by two aspects. [3][4][5] Firstly, invalidation and accidents are caused by the poor persistency of polymers. These polymers are not only a source of secondary contamination but also cause low economic efficiency.…”