Effect of Flake Pigmentation on the Microwave-Assisted Alkaline Solvolysis of Postconsumer Polyethylene Terephthalate in Primary C1 – C3 Aliphatic Alcohols

This study was carried out to examine the alkaline solvolysis of pigmented postconsumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in solutions of C1 – C3 primary alcohols via microwave heating. The effect of various process parameters such as flake pigmentation, time and sodium hydroxide concentration on the degree of PET degradation and product yield were studied for each alcohol. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used for predicting the optimal conditions for alkaline solvolysis of PET scrap, with Central Composite Design (CCD) for the two parameters chosen as the experimental design. The data obtained from measurement of properties were fitted as second-order equations. The findings of this study showed that the yield is independent of the pigmentation and that microwave-assisted alkaline solvolysis of pigmented postconsumer PET resulted in higher conversion within a shorter processing time, compared to conventional heating methods with identical products obtained in each case.