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Obtaining and characterization of terephthalic acid via acid and basic hydrolysis of recycled poly (ethylene terephthalate)
Summary
Acid and basic hydrolysis of recycled PET plastic bottles both successfully produced terephthalic acid (TPA) with average yields of 70.77% and 66.7% respectively, with no statistically significant difference between methods, confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy. This chemical recycling pathway is significant for microplastic pollution research because converting PET waste into valuable monomers like TPA prevents plastic fragmentation into microplastics and advances closed-loop plastic circularity.
Acid-base hydrolysis is a methodology that can be used for the chemical treatment of plastic waste. This research aims to apply the mentioned methodology in poly (ethylene terephthalate) PET from reused plastic bottles to obtain terephthalic acid (TPA) under acid and basic hydrolysis conditions. Subsequently, the performance of both methodologies was compared. On average, performance percentages of 70.77% and 66.7% respectively were obtained. These data were statistically analyzed using the sign test, finding that there are no significant differences between the medians of the data sets studied. The analysis by FTIR spectroscopy of the products obtained, specifically through the appearance of the characteristic band for –OH corresponding to carboxylic acid above 3000 cm-1 and the shift of the carbonyl group band from approximately 1700 cm-1 (type ester) up to approximately 1600 cm-1 (acid) allowed us to verify the obtaining of TPA.