A facile alternative strategy of upcycling mixed plastic waste into vitrimers
Abstract Chemical depolymerization has been identified as a promising approach towards recycling of plastic waste. However, complete depolymerization may be energy intensive with complications in purification. In this work, we have demonstrated upcycling of mixed plastic waste comprising a mixture o...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Communications Chemistry |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42004-023-00949-8 |
| _version_ | 1827890528265437184 |
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| author | Kok Wei Joseph Ng Jacob Song Kiat Lim Nupur Gupta Bing Xue Dong Chun-Po Hu Jingdan Hu Xiao Matthew Hu |
| author_facet | Kok Wei Joseph Ng Jacob Song Kiat Lim Nupur Gupta Bing Xue Dong Chun-Po Hu Jingdan Hu Xiao Matthew Hu |
| author_sort | Kok Wei Joseph Ng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Chemical depolymerization has been identified as a promising approach towards recycling of plastic waste. However, complete depolymerization may be energy intensive with complications in purification. In this work, we have demonstrated upcycling of mixed plastic waste comprising a mixture of polyester, polyamide, and polyurethane through a reprocessable vitrimer of the depolymerized oligomers. Using poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) as a model polymer, we first demonstrated partial controlled depolymerization, using glycerol as a cleaving agent, to obtain branched PET oligomers. Recovered PET (RPET) oligomer was then used as a feedstock to produce a crosslinked yet reprocessable vitrimer (vRPET) despite having a wide molecular weight distribution using a solventless melt processing approach. Crosslinking and dynamic interactions were observed through rheology and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). Tensile mechanical studies showed no noticeable decrease in mechanical strength over multiple repeated melt processing cycles. Consequently, we have clearly demonstrated the applicability of the above method to upcycle mixed plastic wastes into vitrimers and reprocessable composites. This work also afforded insights into a potentially viable alternative route for utilization of depolymerized plastic/mixed plastic waste into crosslinked vitrimer resins manifesting excellent mechanical strength, while remaining reprocessable/ recyclable for cyclical lifetime use. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T21:11:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-75db9ee22d9e4a2fa688ceca29f4eede |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2399-3669 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T21:11:01Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Chemistry |
| spelling | doaj.art-75db9ee22d9e4a2fa688ceca29f4eede2023-07-30T11:09:38ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Chemistry2399-36692023-07-016111210.1038/s42004-023-00949-8A facile alternative strategy of upcycling mixed plastic waste into vitrimersKok Wei Joseph Ng0Jacob Song Kiat Lim1Nupur Gupta2Bing Xue Dong3Chun-Po Hu4Jingdan Hu5Xiao Matthew Hu6School of Material Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological UniversityTemasek Laboratories, Nanyang Technological UniversitySchool of Material Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological UniversitySchool of Material Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological UniversityNanyang Environment and Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological UniversitySchool of Material Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological UniversitySchool of Material Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological UniversityAbstract Chemical depolymerization has been identified as a promising approach towards recycling of plastic waste. However, complete depolymerization may be energy intensive with complications in purification. In this work, we have demonstrated upcycling of mixed plastic waste comprising a mixture of polyester, polyamide, and polyurethane through a reprocessable vitrimer of the depolymerized oligomers. Using poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) as a model polymer, we first demonstrated partial controlled depolymerization, using glycerol as a cleaving agent, to obtain branched PET oligomers. Recovered PET (RPET) oligomer was then used as a feedstock to produce a crosslinked yet reprocessable vitrimer (vRPET) despite having a wide molecular weight distribution using a solventless melt processing approach. Crosslinking and dynamic interactions were observed through rheology and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). Tensile mechanical studies showed no noticeable decrease in mechanical strength over multiple repeated melt processing cycles. Consequently, we have clearly demonstrated the applicability of the above method to upcycle mixed plastic wastes into vitrimers and reprocessable composites. This work also afforded insights into a potentially viable alternative route for utilization of depolymerized plastic/mixed plastic waste into crosslinked vitrimer resins manifesting excellent mechanical strength, while remaining reprocessable/ recyclable for cyclical lifetime use.https://doi.org/10.1038/s42004-023-00949-8 |
| spellingShingle | Kok Wei Joseph Ng Jacob Song Kiat Lim Nupur Gupta Bing Xue Dong Chun-Po Hu Jingdan Hu Xiao Matthew Hu A facile alternative strategy of upcycling mixed plastic waste into vitrimers Communications Chemistry |
| title | A facile alternative strategy of upcycling mixed plastic waste into vitrimers |
| title_full | A facile alternative strategy of upcycling mixed plastic waste into vitrimers |
| title_fullStr | A facile alternative strategy of upcycling mixed plastic waste into vitrimers |
| title_full_unstemmed | A facile alternative strategy of upcycling mixed plastic waste into vitrimers |
| title_short | A facile alternative strategy of upcycling mixed plastic waste into vitrimers |
| title_sort | facile alternative strategy of upcycling mixed plastic waste into vitrimers |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42004-023-00949-8 |
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