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Operating conditions, products and sustainable recycling routes of aminolysis of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) – a review

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Abstract

Chemical recycling of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) has gotten great attention today. Aminolysis, one of the chemical recycling methods, is the degradation of polyesters using primary amines that attack its functional group. It is not much explored as a commercial recycling technique among the chemical recycling methods. This review aims to explain the aminolysis method of PET degradation in terms of reaction operating conditions such as PET to solvent ratio, temperature, degradation time, and catalyst dosage. The primary product of aminolysis of PET is also discussed and their most common application in the preparation of secondary products is presented. Thus, PET-derived primary products can be used to synthesize polymers such as polyurethane and develop enhanced products like paints and coatings. Additionally, nonconventional procedures of PET aminolysis techniques: such as microwave radiation, ultrasound, UV radiation, and sunlight were assessed by comparison.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to extend our appreciation to the participants who willingly contributed their time and effort to be part of this study. We want to thank the journal reviewers and editors for their constructive feedback and suggestions, which have significantly enhanced the quality of this review article.

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  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Bahir Dar Institute of Technology, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

    Desalegn Abera Mersha, Tesfa Nega Gesese, Zenamarkos Bantie Sendekie & Asmare Tezera Admase

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Bahir Dar Institute of Technology, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

    Atrsaw Jejaw Bezie

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D.A drafted and wrote the paper, Z.B editing the revision, T.N wrote the paper, A.T prepared tables and figures, A.J wrote the paper.

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Mersha, D.A., Gesese, T.N., Sendekie, Z.B. et al. Operating conditions, products and sustainable recycling routes of aminolysis of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) – a review. Polym. Bull. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-024-05259-0

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