Solid State Alkaline Depolymerization of Polyester Elastane Textiles in a Laboratory Kneader
Leonard Both, Isabel Zerfuss, Mandy Paschetag, Stephan Scholl
TL;DR
This study explores recycling polyester-elastane textiles using alkaline depolymerization, showing minimal impact from elastane on monomer recovery.
Contribution
The study demonstrates effective PET depolymerization in PET/elastane blends using solid-state alkaline processing.
Findings
Terephthalic acid yields remained consistent (68–71%) across PET/elastane blends.
Elastane modification was observed through thermal transition changes in residues.
No aromatic diamines were detected in recovered terephthalic acid.
Abstract
Elastane is ubiquitous in polyester-based textiles and complicates depolymerization-based recycling because it can undergo thermal degradation and chemical bond cleavage, consuming reagents and forming low-molecular by-products that may compromise monomer quality. Here, we investigate alkaline PET depolymerization of PET/elastane blends under an intentional base-competition scenario in a laboratory kneader. Pure PET (100/0) and PET/EL blends (95/5 and 85/15, wt/wt) were processed under quasi-solid-state conditions at 140 °C for 5 min using solid NaOH dosed at 2.1 mol per mol PET repeat unit and pelletized feedstocks to ensure scale-relevant mixing and reproducible chamber filling. Torque and bulk-temperature profiles were similar across compositions, and isolated terephthalic acid yields remained in a narrow corridor (68–71%), indicating that PET depolymerization is not measurably…
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Taxonomy
TopicsPolymer crystallization and properties · Polymer composites and self-healing · Microplastics and Plastic Pollution