Selective chemical recycling of polyesters and polycarbonates using metal catalysts and polyols
Catalytic depolymerization technology that selectively breaks down polyesters and polycarbonates—including high-ceiling-temperature polymers—back to their constituent monomers. Designed to process mixed plastic waste streams, with potential applications in recycling multilayered packaging materials that are difficult to handle via conventional mechanical methods.
Overview
This research develops a selective chemical recycling process for polyesters and polycarbonates. The approach combines metal catalysts with polyols under reactive distillation conditions to depolymerize these polymers back into their constituent monomers. A key differentiator is the ability to selectively target polyesters and polycarbonates—even those with high ceiling temperatures above 200°C—even when they are present alongside other polymer classes. This selectivity is particularly valuable for processing complex, multilayered packaging materials that are difficult to recycle through conventional mechanical methods.
Technical specifications
Key features:
- Uses metal catalysts combined with polyols under reactive distillation conditions
- Selectively depolymerizes polyesters and polycarbonates, including high-ceiling-temperature polymers (Tc > 200°C)
- Demonstrated on gram-scale experiments with polycaprolactone and poly(L-lactide), yielding substantial product retrieval
- Applicable to mixed polymer waste streams, including combinations of polylactide, polyhydroxyalkanoate, poly(ethylene terephthalate), polypropylene, and polyethylene
- Potential integration with membrane-based monomer separation to reduce energy costs compared to traditional distillation
Technology readiness level
The technology is at an early-to-mid stage of development. Preliminary gram-scale experiments have demonstrated proof of concept with specific polymers, showing promising selectivity and product recovery. Next steps include validating the system on mixed polymer combinations, testing with representative samples, optimizing catalyst ratios and reaction conditions for improved yield and selectivity, and exploring membrane-based monomer separation as a lower-energy alternative to distillation. The projected validation timeline is 6 to 12 months.
About University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private institution that brings together the power of 140 institutes and centers including an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, a microbiome focused center, two U.S. Department of Energy National Labs (Argonne National Laboratory and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory) and the Marine Biological Laboratory, making it a truly powerful research and development enterprise of over 15,000 faculty and research staff. UChicago is home to the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, launched in 2011 as the first and only engineering school in the U.S. focused entirely on molecular engineering with one of the major focused areas in immunoengineering, and a core partner of the Chan Zuckerberg (CZ) Biohub - Chicago. Researchers at UChicago have pioneered breakthroughs including discovering the link between cancer and genetics, establishing revolutionary theories of economics, and developing tools to enhance urban schooling. UChicago researchers are at the forefront of fields ranging from quantum computing, data science and artificial intelligence, to the modeling and synthesis of advanced materials, to oncology and neuroscience.
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