Transparent and Mechanically Robust Polyurethane from PET Waste via Glycolysis
발표자
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초록
내용
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a widely used semicrystalline thermoplastic polyester, has an annual production exceeding 70 million tons for a variety of applications. With the increasing production, however, environmental issues related to the plastic pollution have become more serious, and a sustainable PET waste management strategy is urgently needed. Glycolysis, one of the chemical recycling methods for PET, has gained prominence as an economical PET degradation process under mild chemical reaction condition with a small amount of depolymerization agent, producing low-volatile products such as ethylene glycol (EG) and bis(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET) with terminal hydroxyl groups. In this study, we successfully synthesized polyurethane (PU) based on BEHT from glycolysis of PET waste using the prepolymer method, achieving transparency and excellent mechanical properties. Our results offer the potential for upcycling PET waste through the development of transparent and robust polyurethane.