Effective closed-loop chemical recycling for a circular materials economy

We aim to develop effective closed-loop chemical recycling methodologies, for which the thermodynamics and/or kinetics of entropy-driven ring-opening polymerization is our toolbox – for a circular materials economy.

Within the four-year project we will exploit inter- and intramolecular transesterification for macrocycle formation and the interplay between the polymer system and the reaction conditions to define greener recycling methodologies, ascertained by green chemistry metrics.

We will (re)-polymerize the macrocyclic precursors utilizing highly active catalytic systems and confirm that the material properties match incumbent plastics or the original polymeric material. For a circular plastic economy, recycling methodologies that retain the feedstock and material value are pivotal.

In closed-loop chemical recycling, polymers are converted to low molar mass chemical products or precursors that without derivatization can be utilized in the reformation of the same polymer.

Yet, today chemical recycling is performed at a small scale and is associated with a rather high energy and cost penalty.

With the methodologies developed within this project, the aliphatic polyesters and polycarbonates can be highlighted as forerunners having valuable material properties and chemical recycling routes that comparably are energy and cost efficient concurrently being environmentally benign.