Zhao Huaiyuan, Ye Yingdan, Zhang Yibin, Yang Lei, Du Weichen, Wang Songlin, Hou Zhaoyin
Key Laboratory of Biomass Chemical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310028, China.
Zhejiang Hengyi Petrochemical Research Institute Co., Ltd, Hangzhou 311200, China.
Chem Commun (Camb). 2024 Nov 21;60(94):13832-13857. doi: 10.1039/d4cc04780j.
The rapidly increasing production and widespread application of plastics have brought convenience to our lives, but they have consumed a huge amount of nonrenewable fossil energy, leading to additional CO emissions and generation of an enormous amount of plastic waste (also called white pollution). Chemical recycling and upcycling of waste plastic products (also called waste plastic refineries) into recycled monomers and/or valuable chemicals can decrease the dependence on fossil energy and/or reduce the emission of CO, enabling the full utilization of carbon resources for the development of a circular economy. Polyesters, a vital class of plastics, are ideal feedstocks for chemical recycling due to the easily depolymerizable ester bonds compared to polyolefins. Among them, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is the most widely used product, making its chemical recycling to a circular carbon resource a hot topic with significant concerns. In this feature article, recent progress in depolymerization of waste polyesters (PET and/or PET-containing materials) and the subsequent upgrading of depolymerized monomers (or intermediates) to valuable chemicals was reviewed and prospected. Newly reported technologies, such as thermal catalysis, photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, and biocatalysis, were discussed. The achievements, challenges, and potential of industrial applications of chemical recycling of polyesters were addressed.
塑料产量的迅速增长及其广泛应用给我们的生活带来了便利，但它们消耗了大量不可再生的化石能源，导致额外的碳排放，并产生了大量的塑料废物（也称为白色污染）。将废塑料制品（也称为废塑料炼油厂）进行化学回收和升级再造为再生单体和/或有价值的化学品，可以减少对化石能源的依赖和/或减少二氧化碳排放，使碳资源得到充分利用，以发展循环经济。聚酯作为一类重要的塑料，由于其酯键比聚烯烃更容易解聚，是化学回收的理想原料。其中，聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯（PET）是使用最广泛的产品，因此将其化学回收为循环碳资源成为一个备受关注的热门话题。在这篇专题文章中，综述并展望了废聚酯（PET和/或含PET材料）解聚以及随后将解聚单体（或中间体）升级为有价值化学品的最新进展。讨论了新报道的技术，如热催化、光催化、电催化和生物催化。阐述了聚酯化学回收在工业应用方面的成果、挑战和潜力。
