Glycolysis
of Poly(ethylene terephthalate) Catalyzed
by the Lewis Base Ionic Liquid [Bmim][OAc]
- Publication date
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Abstract
The glycolysis of poly(ethylene terephthalate)
(PET) was studied
using 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([Bmim][OAc]) as a catalyst.
The effects of temperature, time, ethylene glycol dosage, PET amount,
and [Bmim][OAc] dosage on the glycolysis reaction were examined. The
results revealed that [Bmim][OAc] has a PET conversion of 100% and
a bis(2-hydroxyethyl)terephthalate (BHET) yield of 58.2% under the
optimum conditions of 1.0 g of [Bmim][OAc] with 20 g of ethylene glycol
in the presence of 3.0 g of PET at 190 °C after 3 h of glycolysis.
The ionic liquid could be reused up to six times with no apparent
decrease in the conversion of PET or yield of BHET. The pH plays a
major role in explaining the proposed mechanism of glycolysis using
the Lewis base ionic liquid [Bmim][OAc]. The kinetics of the reaction
was first-order with an activation energy of 58.53 kJ/mol
