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REYMOND F TAYONE, 2MARIZA S SILAGAN, 3ENGR. ROSE MAY B IGDON, 4ENGR. EDWIN
RICHARD R ORTIZ, 5KISMET PATRICK ONG
1,2,3,4,5
Abstract Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics are commonly used as water and soft drink bottles. Since these
materials have poor biodegradability and high resistance to the atmosphere, it is not appropriate to dispose them by landfilling. Furthermore, these bottles contribute to the substantial plastic waste generation. Hence, this study aims to reduce the
accumulation of waste PET bottles through chemical recycling, as well as find a waste alternative raw material for the
production of rigid thermal insulating polyurethane (PU) foams. Post-consumer PET bottles were collected, dried and sizereduced. The PET flakes were subjected to microwave-assisted glycolysis in a modified microwave set-up with glycerine as
depolymerizing agent to produce the glycolyzed product (GP). Glycolysis reaction time of 15 minutes yielded the highest
percent conversion. The GP was then transesterified with castor oil to convert into polyester polyol. The derived polyester
polyol was mixed with diisocyanate to produce rigid polyurethane. The GP, polyester polyol and PU foams were
characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to verify the presence of the expected functional
groups. The final product was then analyzed by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) to determine its thermal stability as
compared to that of commercial foam. The experimental foams were found to be more thermally stable compared to
commercial polyurethane foams.
Keywords Post-Consumer Pet Bottles; Rigid Polyurethane Foams; Glycolysis; Microwave-Assisted Depolymerization;
Transesterification; Oligoester; Polyester Polyol; Diisocyanate; Thermal Stability
I. INTRODUCTION
Plastics play an important role in almost every aspect
of our daily lives. They are used to manufacture
everyday products such as food and beverage
containers, furniture, and lightweight alternatives for
glass and metal. The widespread use of plastics entails
a rapid accumulation of plastic wastes that demands
effective recycling. This has been given much
attention for years in efforts to improve solid waste
management.
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics are
commonly manufactured as water and soft drink
bottles. Post-consumer PET bottles contribute to
substantial plastic waste generation. Since PET
materials have poor biodegradability and high
resistance to the atmosphere, it is not appropriate to
dispose of PET wastes by land-filling (Sadeghi and
Sayaf, 2012). Chemical process of recycling is found
to be the best method to address the environmental
concern.
Rigid polyurethane (PU) foams are common material
used for thermal insulation and can significantly
enhance the energy efficiency of residential and
commercial buildings. In addition to save energy in
the heating and cooling of buildings, PU can help
make structures more durable, lessening the burden of
using raw material resources to maintain or upgrade
them. However, these PU foams are based on
petrochemical raw materials and are no longer applied
in construction industry on a large scale due to its
II. EXPERIMENTAL
2.1 Materials
The post-consumer PET bottles procured from Xavier
University campus, after removing the labels and
caps, were washed with water, dried, and cut into
approximately 1mm x 1mm-sized flakes. Glycerin
was kindly supplied by Pilipinas Kao, Inc. while
sodium bicarbonate was obtained from XU Chemistry
Department. The castor oil used in the
transesterification was purchased from the local
market while the potassium hydroxide catalyst was
provided by the XU Unit Operations Laboratory.
Diphenylmethane diisocyanate was purchased from
Polymer Products Philippines.
2.2 Data Collection Procedures
II.2.1. Microwave-assisted Depolymerization of PET
Proceedings of Academics World 28th International Conference, Tokyo, Japan, 28th March 2016, ISBN: 978-93-85973-72-7
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Microwave-Assisted Depolymerization of Post-Consumer Pet Bottles For the Production of Rigid Thermal Insulating Polyurethane Foams
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Proceedings of Academics World 28th International Conference, Tokyo, Japan, 28th March 2016, ISBN: 978-93-85973-72-7
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Microwave-Assisted Depolymerization of Post-Consumer Pet Bottles For the Production of Rigid Thermal Insulating Polyurethane Foams
Proceedings of Academics World 28th International Conference, Tokyo, Japan, 28th March 2016, ISBN: 978-93-85973-72-7
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Microwave-Assisted Depolymerization of Post-Consumer Pet Bottles For the Production of Rigid Thermal Insulating Polyurethane Foams
Proceedings of Academics World 28th International Conference, Tokyo, Japan, 28th March 2016, ISBN: 978-93-85973-72-7
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Microwave-Assisted Depolymerization of Post-Consumer Pet Bottles For the Production of Rigid Thermal Insulating Polyurethane Foams
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