Recycling of enamelled copper wire from end-of-life electric motor via room temperature methanolysis
Polyester enamelled copper wire plays an important role in the manufacturing of electric motors. In line with the electrification of transport, the demand for electric motors and the future waste generated from their end-of-life cannot be ignored. The waste from the polyester enamelled copper wire i...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Resources, Environment and Sustainability |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666916123000361 |
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| author | Samuel D. Widijatmoko Zhehao (John) Cui Hassan Agalit Yongliang Li Gary A. Leeke |
| author_facet | Samuel D. Widijatmoko Zhehao (John) Cui Hassan Agalit Yongliang Li Gary A. Leeke |
| author_sort | Samuel D. Widijatmoko |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Polyester enamelled copper wire plays an important role in the manufacturing of electric motors. In line with the electrification of transport, the demand for electric motors and the future waste generated from their end-of-life cannot be ignored. The waste from the polyester enamelled copper wire is expected to increase steadily. Methods proposed by researchers are mainly focused on thermal treatment to either pyrolyse or burn off the polyester enamel. However, thermal treatments fail to consider the potential risk of air pollution and to recover the polyester enamel.In this manuscript, we propose two-stage processes comprised of methanol washing and room temperature methanolysis with dichloromethane as co-solvent and K2CO3 as catalyst to delaminate multilayered type enamelled copper wire. The methanol washing recovers polyvinyl butyral as it is, via dissolution. Whereas the methanolysis products are dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) and dimethyl isophthalate (DMI) which are precursors to the polyester and could be used to make new polyester. At room temperature, the parameters of solid to liquid, DCM to methanol, and K2CO3 to Cuwireratio, of 500 g/L, 1.00 mol/mol, and 0.10 wt%, respectively, allow complete removal of polyester enamel in 24 h. The methanolysis parameters described manage to give a modest DMT and DMI yield of 86.0% and 92.2%, respectively. The reaction time can be sped up by increasing the temperature by 10 °C, leading to complete depolymerisation in 4 h. Compared to thermal treatment, the proposed method requires 80.7% lower energy with the products contained within the solution. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T19:00:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-892919d54f3e433b95785efee3c400a4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2666-9161 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T11:37:25Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Resources, Environment and Sustainability |
| spelling | doaj.art-892919d54f3e433b95785efee3c400a42024-04-10T04:29:33ZengElsevierResources, Environment and Sustainability2666-91612024-03-0115100143Recycling of enamelled copper wire from end-of-life electric motor via room temperature methanolysisSamuel D. Widijatmoko0Zhehao (John) Cui1Hassan Agalit2Yongliang Li3Gary A. Leeke4School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom; Corresponding author.Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics (LSE), 32 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3PH, United KingdomSchool of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, United KingdomSchool of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, United KingdomSchool of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, United KingdomPolyester enamelled copper wire plays an important role in the manufacturing of electric motors. In line with the electrification of transport, the demand for electric motors and the future waste generated from their end-of-life cannot be ignored. The waste from the polyester enamelled copper wire is expected to increase steadily. Methods proposed by researchers are mainly focused on thermal treatment to either pyrolyse or burn off the polyester enamel. However, thermal treatments fail to consider the potential risk of air pollution and to recover the polyester enamel.In this manuscript, we propose two-stage processes comprised of methanol washing and room temperature methanolysis with dichloromethane as co-solvent and K2CO3 as catalyst to delaminate multilayered type enamelled copper wire. The methanol washing recovers polyvinyl butyral as it is, via dissolution. Whereas the methanolysis products are dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) and dimethyl isophthalate (DMI) which are precursors to the polyester and could be used to make new polyester. At room temperature, the parameters of solid to liquid, DCM to methanol, and K2CO3 to Cuwireratio, of 500 g/L, 1.00 mol/mol, and 0.10 wt%, respectively, allow complete removal of polyester enamel in 24 h. The methanolysis parameters described manage to give a modest DMT and DMI yield of 86.0% and 92.2%, respectively. The reaction time can be sped up by increasing the temperature by 10 °C, leading to complete depolymerisation in 4 h. Compared to thermal treatment, the proposed method requires 80.7% lower energy with the products contained within the solution.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666916123000361EnamelRecyclingCopperWirePolymerWaste |
| spellingShingle | Samuel D. Widijatmoko Zhehao (John) Cui Hassan Agalit Yongliang Li Gary A. Leeke Recycling of enamelled copper wire from end-of-life electric motor via room temperature methanolysis Resources, Environment and Sustainability Enamel Recycling Copper Wire Polymer Waste |
| title | Recycling of enamelled copper wire from end-of-life electric motor via room temperature methanolysis |
| title_full | Recycling of enamelled copper wire from end-of-life electric motor via room temperature methanolysis |
| title_fullStr | Recycling of enamelled copper wire from end-of-life electric motor via room temperature methanolysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Recycling of enamelled copper wire from end-of-life electric motor via room temperature methanolysis |
| title_short | Recycling of enamelled copper wire from end-of-life electric motor via room temperature methanolysis |
| title_sort | recycling of enamelled copper wire from end of life electric motor via room temperature methanolysis |
| topic | Enamel Recycling Copper Wire Polymer Waste |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666916123000361 |
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