A Rapid, economical, and Eco-friendly method to recycle terephthalic acid from waste poly (ethylene terphthalate) bottles

Abstract

A method has been proposed to rapidly degrade waste PET (polyethylene terphthalate) bottles and recover terephthalic acid (TPA) in good yield. The method involves fusion of PET bottle chips with caustic soda in a china-clay crucible placed on the silicon carbide (SiC) slab by exposure to microwaves in a domestic oven. The PET waste was converted to water-soluble sodium salt of TPA in just 4 minutes. Afterwards, the solution was acidified with HCl to recover TPA in high yield. The method can be used to design environmentally benign and fast industrial prototypes to recycle terephthalic acid from waste PET bottles. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.