In this work, a new analytical methodology has been developed for the chemical recycling of post-consumption bottle-grade poly(ethylene terephthalate), PETpc through depolymerization reaction in alkaline solution (NaOH solution of 7.5 mol L-1 at 100 ºC), using the surfactant cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB, 1 × 10-2 mol L-1) as catalyst. The presence of CTAB increased the reaction performance by ca. 85%, while the reaction time was decreased from 6 to 2 h when the mixture NaOH/CTAB was used in a proportion of 4:1 (% v/v) with 2 g of PETpc. The final product, the monomer terephthalic acid (TPA), was characterized by thermogravimetry analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The results were compared with those for the raw material, PETpc. Furthermore, the catalyst CTAB remained in the alkaline environment (aqueous phase), without interfering with the TPA purification process.
Cetil trimethyl ammonium bromide; chemical recycling; CTAB; poly(ethylene terephthalate); PET; terepthalic acid
