The glycolysis of poly(ethylene terephthalate)

✍ Scribed by Jong-Wu Chen; Leo-Wang Chen

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 129 KB
• Volume: 73
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0021-8995
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-4628(19990705)73:1<35::aid-app4>3.0.co;2-w

✦ Synopsis

The experiments were carried out in excess ethylene glycol (EG) and poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) oligomer in the presence of zinc acetate as catalyst at 190°C. It was found that during the glycolysis reaction, the monomer and dimer were contained in the liquid phase. After 2 h of the glycolysis reaction, an equilibrium state between the monomer and dimer was seen to approach. The equilibrium value of 0.51 between the monomer and dimer obtained at 190°C was in good agreement with previously published values. It was found that the catalyst concentration facilitated equilibrium and increased the glycolysis rate. A reduced amount of EG in the initial feed resulted in a decrease in the glycolysis rate.