The ubiquity of nonbiodegradable
polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
materials has led to significant waste management challenges. Although
PET plastics can be recycled, blended materials, such as PET/cotton
fabrics, complicate the recycling process due to the labile glycosidic
bonds in cotton. In this study, we present a practical and scalable
approach for recycling of PET and PET/cotton interwoven fabrics via
catalytic glycolysis with ammonium bicarbonate (NH4HCO3), which decomposed to ammonia, carbon dioxide, and water.
This catalytic approach outperformed conventional acid/base and metal
catalysis in selectively recovering and upcycling cotton-based materials.
We demonstrated the large-scale recovery of textile from blended fabrics
(up to 213 g), showcasing the advantages of traceless catalysis using
ammonia and CO2 from ammonium bicarbonate. Owing to our
metal-free reaction conditions, high-purity bis(hydroxyethyl)terephthalate
(BHET) was obtained which was thermally repolymerized to PET. Through
thermal analysis, kinetics, and control experiments, we show that
ammonia and CO2 are crucial for achieving optimal glycolysis
via transesterification. Our method offered a traceless, environmentally
friendly, and practical approach for polyester recycling and cotton
recovery, representing a significant step toward sustainable, closed-loop
production of plastics and textiles.
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