The chemical depolymerization of poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT) in 1,3- propanediol (1,3-PDO) was investigated in this study. After depolymerization, the bis-(3-hydroxypropyl terephthalate) (BHPT) was recovered, which can be directly utilized as monomer in the synthesis of PTT. Zinc acetate (Zn(OAc)<inf>2</inf>) was found to be the most suitable catalyst in the depolymerization of PTT in 1,3-PDO since a high monomer yield was achieved and no side reactions were triggered during the depolymerization process. The reaction parameters for depolymerization in the presence of Zn(OAc)<inf>2</inf> catalyst was optimized. Under the optimized depolymerization conditions: reaction temperature of 220 °C, catalyst concentration of 0.2 wt% and a ratio of 1,3-PDO to PTT of 8:1, the recovered BHPT monomer yield was 83 mol% within 45 min. Then, the recovered BHPT monomer was directly regenerated into PTT though a single polycondensation process. Comparing with PTT synthesized from virgin dimethyl terephthalate (DMT), the regenerated PTT shows a better quality in terms of color.

Fully bio-based spirocyclic monomers with high reactivity and thermal stability in polycondensations, combined with a scalable production from low-cost reactants, are attractive alternatives to replace fossil-based terephthalate monomers. To this end, we carefully design and synthesize a dicarboxylate ester monomer with a spiroacetal structure from bio-based pentaerythritol and glyoxylic acid. Polycondensations of the spiro-monomer with various potentially bio-based diols yield a family of fully amorphous and transparent film- and fiber-forming polyesters with M<inf>n</inf> = 15–23 kg mol−1 and glass transition temperatures between 27 and 127 °C. These materials exhibit several attractive characteristics. For instance, a 1,6-hexanediol-derived polyester film demonstrates significantly enhanced oxygen barrier performance compared with commercial polyester materials. The ester bonds in the polyesters can be selectively cleaved under mildly acidic, or even neutral, catalyst-free methanolysis at 50 °C, while keeping the spiroacetal groups intact. We demonstrate that it is possible to conveniently and selectively depolymerize the polyesters by methanolysis, even in the presence of mixed plastic waste, followed by recovery and re-polymerization of the monomers to obtain chemically recycled polyesters with properties comparable to the original materials. Moreover, biochemical oxygen demand measurements show 59 % degradation of a selected polyester after 90 days at 50 °C in a composting environment, nearly 20 % higher than a PBAT control sample

The development of recyclable crosslinked thermosetting fibres is a challenging research topic. In the present work, we have designed and synthesized polyurethane fibres from fructose-derived 5-chloromethylfurfural (CMF) and lignin-derived monomeric phenols. The greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of CMF showed comparable results to that of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), a high potential sugar-based platform molecule. The wet-spun biobased polyurethane fibres produced could be conveniently crosslinked using Diels–Alder chemistry to effectively enhance the glass transition temperature and mechanical properties. At a mildly elevated temperature (140 °C), the chemically crosslinked fibres could be effectively de-crosslinked, which enabled complete separation from a mixture with poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and cotton fibres. These results outline a potential strategy to design and fabricate new biobased fibres with reversible crosslinking, which may enable fibre-to-fibre recycling. © 2024 The Authors. ChemSusChem published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.

Sustainable low melting temperature bicomponent polyester fibers that can be circularly recycled were developed. The potentially biobased poly(hexamethylene terephthalate) (PHT), acting as the low melting temperature sheath material in the designed bicomponent fibers, was synthesized in a pilot scale. The obtained PHT with an intrinsic viscosity of 0.47 dL/g showed suitable processability when it was processed together with a poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) core in a melt-spinning process of bicomponent fibers. Compared with the commercial low melting temperature terephthalate-isophthalate copolyester LMP-160, PHT showed superior mechanical properties according to DMA analysis. The low melting temperature bicomponent fibers with a ratio of the PBT core and PHT sheath at 70:30 were produced smoothly at 290 °C in a pilot melt-spinning line. Preliminary chemical recycling investigations by methanolysis revealed that PHT/PBT bicomponent fibers were completely depolymerized within 2 h at 200 °C, yielding pure terephthalate, which could be conveniently separated and recycled. This indicated the feasibility of circular recycling, which will greatly improve the sustainability of nonwovens thermally bonded by these new bicomponent fibers. © 2021 The Authors. 

Magnetic Mg-Al-O@Fe3O4 micro particles were synthesized by coating nanosized Mg-Al double oxides onto Fe3O4 micro particles. The formed hierarchical structure gave Mg-Al-O@Fe3O4 micro particles a high active surface area, which enabled these micro particles to work efficiently as a catalyst in the glycolysis of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET). The bis(hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET) yield reached above 80 mol% in the presence of 0.5 wt% of Mg-Al-O@Fe3O4 micro catalyst in the reaction system within 90 min at 240 °C. After the reaction, Mg-Al-O@Fe3O4 micro catalyst was easily retrieved by a magnetic decantation and can be repetitively used for two times with a high catalytic efficiency. After that, the deactivated Mg-Al-O@Fe3O4 micro catalyst can be regenerated by heat treatment. The regenerated Mg-Al-O@Fe3O4 micro catalyst displays a comparable catalytic performance as that of the virgin catalyst. In addition, the Mg-Al double oxides and Fe3O4 micro particles are low-cost and environmentally benign. Therefore, the Mg-Al-O@Fe3O4 micro catalyst may contribute to an economically and environmentally improved large-scale circular recycling of PET fiber waste. © 2021 The Author(s)

A rigid diol with a cyclic acetal structure was synthesized by facile acetalation of fructose-based 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) and partly bio-based di-trimethylolpropane (di-TMP). This diol (Monomer T) was copolymerized with potentially bio-based flexible polytetrahydrofuran and diisocyanates to prepare thermoplastic poly(cycloacetal-urethane)s. A modified one-step solution polymerization protocol resulted in relatively high molecular weights (Mn ∼ 41.5-98.9 kDa). All the obtained poly(cycloacetal-urethane)s were amorphous with tuneable glass transition temperatures up to 104 °C. Thermogravimetric analysis indicated that these polymers were thermally stable up to 253 °C and had a relatively high pyrolysis char residue, which may indicate potential inherent flame resistance. Melt rheology measurements were performed to determine a suitable processing window between 165-186 °C, after which the polymer was successfully melt-spun into ∼150 meters of homogeneous fibres at 185 °C. The resulting fibres could be readily hydrolysed under acidic conditions, resulting in partial recovery of the original chemical building blocks.

We demonstrate that the catalyst Perkalite F100 efficiently works as a nanocatalyst in the depolymerization of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET). After depolymerization of PET in the presence of ethylene glycol and the Perkalite nanocatalyst, the main product obtained was bis(2-hydroxylethyl) terephthalate (BHET) with high purity, as confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and NMR. The BHET monomers could serve directly as starting materials in a further polymerization into PET with a virgin quality and contribute to a solution for the disposal of PET polymers. Compared with the direct glycolysis of PET, the addition of a predegradation step was shown to reduce the reaction time needed to reach the depolymerization equilibrium. The addition of the predegradation step also allowed lower reaction temperatures. Therefore, the strategy to include a predegradation step before depolymerization is suitable for increasing the efficiency of the glycolysis reaction of PET into BHET monomers.

Huvudsyftet med arbetet var att främja ökad återvinning av textilt spill utan ökad spridning av giftiga ämnen eller minskad kvalitet. Arbetet har till stor del utförts genom fallstudier men även genom myndighetsdialoger, underlag till myndigheter och företag samt initiering av nya relevanta forskningsstudier.Målet i arbetspaket 3 Textil var att ta fram ett kvalificerat underlag för ökad användning av giftfri återvunnen textilråvara genom att studera och beskriva kunskapsläget samt ta fram ny kunskap och driva en aktiv dialog med relevanta aktörer inom fyra fokusområden:1. Spårbarhet2. Minskning av spill3. Teknikutveckling för återvinning av textil4. Återvinning på den svenska marknadenMålet har väl uppfyllts och projektet har bidragit till ökad kunskap om möjligheter för ökad användning av giftfri återvunnen textilråvara. Framförallt har fallstudier genererat detaljerad förståelse för vilka specifika utmaningar som är kopplade till olika textila material och fiberslag.Arbetet har utförts i tät samverkan och dialog med parter från textilbranchen: Boob, Filippa K, Gudrun Sjöden, Fjällräven och WRSD, Swegmarks, Ragnsells, Re:Newcell, samt några av deras leverantörer och flera medlemmar i Kemikaliegruppen på Swerea IVF.Projektet visar att materialspecifik kunskap och teknik är det viktigaste steget mot ökad återvinning av industriella restprodukter. Detta är således en förutsättning för att den sekundära råvaran ska ha ett tillräckligt värde och ändamålsenlig kvalitet. Dessa specifika aspekter kommer att studeras vidare inom efterföljand

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) fibers with a high amount of β phase crystal structure were prepared by melt spinning. With this technique, the cold drawing process is critical and efficient when aiming for a high amount of β phase. During the cold drawing process, more than 80% of the originally formed α phase crystal structure was converted into the β phase structure. In addition, the incorporation of 0.01 wt % of amino-modified double wall carbon nanotube (NH2-DWCNT) could further enhance the β phase content in the PVDF fibers. FTIR and DSC studies showed that the addition of NH2-DWCNT to PVDF fibers could increase both the total crystallinity and β phase fraction in PVDF. The addition of nanoclay was found to be less efficient in this respect.

Melt spinning of nanoclay (NA)/polypropylene (PP) composites into textile fibers is studied. The synthetic NA Perkalite F100 is prone to be exfoliated in PP matrix. With the help of a maleic anhydride-grafted low-molecular-weight PP as compatibilizer (Epolene E43), a highly exfoliated PP/NA composite was successfully prepared. However, the prepared PP/NA composite shows a poor spinnability because of the phase separation between Epolene E43 and PP matrix. The combination of two different groups of compatibilizers, which are Polybond 1001 (acrylic acid-grafted PP) for the dispersion of NA and Epolene G3216 (maleic anhydride-grafted PP-based copolymer) for the exfoliation of NA, can solve this problem. The PP/NA composite prepared by these two compatibilizers can be smoothly spun into fiber at the NA concentration below 1.9 wt%, which is found to be the percolation concentration of formation of NA network structure in PP matrix.