Glycolysis of poly(ethylene terephthalate)

Abstract

The experiments were carried out in excess ethylene glycol (EG) and poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) oligomer in the presence of zinc acetate as catalyst at 190 °C. It was found that during the glycolysis reaction, the monomer and dimer were contained in the liquid phase. After 2 h of the glycolysis reaction, an equilibrium state between the monomer and dimer was seen to approach. The equilibrium value of 0.51 between the monomer and dimer obtained at 190 °C was in good agreement with previously published values. It was found that the catalyst concentration facilitated equilibrium and increased the glycolysis rate. A reduced amount of EG in the initial feed resulted in a decrease in the glycolysis rate.