ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Kinetic basis of polycarbonate glycolysis under zinc chloride catalysis

Tatyana A. Kurneshova, Georgy V. Dzhabarov, Valentin N. Sapunov, Roman A. Kozlovskiy, Mikhail S. Voronov, Elena V. Varlamova, Mariya P. Sergeenkova, and Daniil N. Shafiev

D. Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia, Moscow, Russia

E-mail: tatyana.kurneshova.98@mail.ru

Received: 28 March 2023  Accepted: 17 November 2023

Abstract:

This research focuses on studying of the process of glycolysis of polycarbonate (PC) catalyzed by zinc chloride. The degradation of polyester into monomers (bisphenol A, or BPA, and ethylene carbonate, or EC), which may then interact with one another to generate the matching ethers, was discovered to be the process. As a result, the optimal conditions for the depolymerization of PC to obtain bisphenol A and ethylene carbonate with the highest yield were therefore identified as 190 °C, a molar ratio of 11 between EG and PC, and a mass concentration of 0.4% ZnCl₂. A scheme of PC glycolysis has been proposed, and a mathematical model adequately describing the experimental data has been developed.

Keywords: Polycarbonate; Waste utilization; Glycolysis; Lewis acid; Catalysis; Green chemistry

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-023-03225-0

Chemical Papers 78 (4) 2167–2176 (2024)