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4142331 
Journal Article 
Recycling of poly(ethylene terephthalate) - A review focusing on chemical methods 
Geyer, B; Lorenz, G; Kandelbauer, A 
2016 
Yes 
Express Polymer Letters
ISSN: 1788-618X 
10 
7 
559-586 
WOS:000377450400005 
Recycling of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is of crucial importance, since worldwide amounts of PET-waste increase rapidly due to its widespread applications. Hence, several methods have been developed, like energetic, material, thermo-mechanical and chemical recycling of PET. Most frequently, PET-waste is incinerated for energy recovery, used as additive in concrete composites or glycolysed to yield mixtures of monomers and undefined oligomers. While energetic and thermo-mechanical recycling entail downcycling of the material, chemical recycling requires considerable amounts of chemicals and demanding processing steps entailing toxic and ecological issues. This review provides a thorough survey of PET-recycling including energetic, material, thermo-mechanical and chemical methods. It focuses on chemical methods describing important reaction parameters and yields of obtained reaction products. While most methods yield monomers, only a few yield undefined low molecular weight oligomers for impaired applications (dispersants or plasticizers). Further, the present work presents an alternative chemical recycling method of PET in comparison to existing chemical methods. 
recycling; poly(ethylene terephthalate); degradation; monomers; oligomers