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Scale-up upcycling of waste polyethylene terephthalate plastics to biodegradable polyglycolic acid plastics
Summary
This study developed an electrochemical upcycling process to convert waste PET plastic into biodegradable polyglycolic acid using Pd-CoCr₂O₄ catalysts, achieving 93% glycolic acid selectivity at industrial-relevant current densities. A pilot plant test converted 20 kilograms of waste PET at 0.32 kilograms per hour yield, demonstrating the potential for scalable conversion of plastic waste into a biodegradable replacement polymer.
Electrochemical upcycling of waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) into biodegradable polyglycolic acid (PGA) is a promising solution to relieve plastic pollution. However, both the low current density and tedious separation process for target glycolic acid (GA) products in a flow electrolysis have hindered industrial-scale applications. Here, we show an interfacial acid-base microenvironment regulation strategy for the efficient oxidation of PET-derived ethylene glycol (EG) into GA using Pd-CoCr2O4 catalysts. Specifically, only a cell voltage of 1.25 V is needed to deliver a current density of ca. 290 mA cm-2. Moreover, a green separation method is developed to obtain high-purity GA (99%). 20 kg of waste PET is employed for the pilot plant test (stack electrolyzer: 324 cm2 × 5), which exhibits 93.0% GA selectivity at 280 mA cm-2 (current: 90.72 A) with a yield rate of 0.32 kg h-1. After polymerization, PGA yield can reach up to 87%, demonstrating the potential of this technique for large-scale PGA production from waste PET.