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Recent Innovations in Chemical Recycling of Polyethylene Terephthalate Waste: A Circular Economy Approach Toward Sustainability

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Handbook of Solid Waste Management

Abstract

This chapter introduces the recent innovative trends in the sustainable and green chemical recycling of post-consumer-discarded polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste and their pertinence to substantiate and understand the conception of circular economy. This chapter also includes a comprehensive worldwide view on linear economy of plastics, especially PET, and its shift onto circular economy. PET is a multipurpose and highly recyclable polymer resin. It is a thermoplastic polyester synthesized through the polymerization reaction between ethylene glycol (EG) and terephthalic acid, initially prepared in 1940 by DuPont chemists in North America. PET is a comparatively inexpensive, resealable, burst-resistant, light in weight, and recyclable in nature. Due to thermostability, transparency, and optimum strength, the PET became a first pick for packaging material. The PET is a nonbiodegradable in nature; therefore post-consumer-discarded PET (called PET waste) needs to be recycled for further use inclining the sustainability aspect. The PET resin and package productions being used nowadays are progressively streamlined and consume energy in less amount; thus PET bottles are subjected for recycling and depolymerized back into monomers and/or oligomers through various chemical methods such as hydrolysis, methanolysis, glycolysis, etc. after serving the primary application. The waste management is a transition step toward a circular economy. From the synthesis of PET for primary end use to its chemical depolymerization assignment, various dependent aspects of circular economy such as local economy, global trade, and short- and long-term business associations play a vital role. The policy makers must ensure that each bit of the waste disposal practices has an accordance with circular economy, human health, as well as the environment ecosystem. It is a high time for the India to ameliorate the availability and accessibility of policy-related information for common man to make them aware about the importance and the need of plastic recycling in order to conserve the nonrenewable sources. As per the PET Resin Association (PETRA, USA) report, in 2012, the PET recycling rate was ~31% in the USA, where 52% in European Union. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, USA), the municipal solid waste in the USA contains ~1% (w/w) PET waste materials.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Polymer Science and Technology, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India

    Amandeep Singh, S. L. Banerjee & P. P. Kundu

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, S.L.I.E.T, Longowal, India

    K. Kumari

  3. Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, India

    P. P. Kundu

Authors
  1. Amandeep Singh
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  2. S. L. Banerjee
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  3. K. Kumari
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  4. P. P. Kundu
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Research and Development Center, Teerthanker Mahaveer University, Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Chinnappan Baskar

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Center for Nanofibers and Nanotechnology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Seeram Ramakrishna

  3. Chemistry and Bioprospecting Division, Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India

    Shikha Baskar

  4. Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, New Delhi, Delhi, India

    Rashmi Sharma

  5. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Center for Nanofibers and Nanotechnology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Amutha Chinnappan

  6. Department of Basic Science, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Rashmi Sehrawat

Section Editor information

  1. Research and Development Center, Teerthanker Mahaveer University, Moradabad, India

    Chinnappan Baskar

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Singh, A., Banerjee, S.L., Kumari, K., Kundu, P.P. (2022). Recent Innovations in Chemical Recycling of Polyethylene Terephthalate Waste: A Circular Economy Approach Toward Sustainability. In: Baskar, C., Ramakrishna, S., Baskar, S., Sharma, R., Chinnappan, A., Sehrawat, R. (eds) Handbook of Solid Waste Management. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-4230-2_53

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