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The Chemical Educator
ISSN: 1430-4171 (electronic version)
Abstract Volume 19
(2014) pp 061-063
Microwave Assisted Depolymerization of Post Consumer PET Waste Using Phase Transfer Catalysts
T. Jaba Priya, Subramee Sarkar , G. Shamili and R.Wilfred Sugumar*
Department of Chemistry, Madras Christian College, Chennai 600 059, India, wilfmcc@gmail.com
Received January 16, 2014. Accepted February 17, 2014.
Published: 14 March 2014
Abstract. A simple laboratory method of treating Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste is described in this work. Phase transfer catalysts were used to depolymerize PET under microwave irradiation in open vessel equipment. Alkaline hydrolysis of PET waste to terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol was carried out using Benzalkonium chloride in 10% NaOH under the influence of microwave irradiation. The work could be completed in three hours and would serve as an interesting undergraduate experiment.
Key Words: Laboratories and Demonstrations; organic chemistry
(*) Corresponding author. (E-mail: wilfmcc@gmail.com )
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