Plasticizers Derived from Post-consumer Pet : Research Trends and Potential Applications

Plasticizers Derived from Postconsumer PET: Research Trends and Potential Applications presents a roadmap to the successful use of postconsumer PET to obtain plasticizers for later use, a proposal which presents both economic and sustainability advantages. Based on the results of the latest research into the development of chemical recycling techniques of PET waste, this book describes techniques where the plasticizer obtained can be utilized for value addition in PVC and other polymers.

In addition, the book provides basic introductory information on the role of plasticizers in the modification of polymers, basic quality requirements, and the latest trends in the synthesis and use of plasticizers in industry, also presenting the available methods of PET recycling, with particular emphasis on chemical recycling, analysis of the PET market, the availability of postconsumer PET, and its value as a raw material for other products.

Based on the authors’ research, the book discusses the use of postconsumer PET in the synthesis of monomeric and oligomeric plasticizers. Synthesis conditions are shown in detail, and the influence of the structure of synthesized softeners on their basic quality parameters are assessed and compared with selected commercially available products. In the final sections, the book covers the economic challenges and benefits of this process and its application to newly developed products.

• Presents a step-by-step introduction to the methods of recycling PET into usable plasticizers
• Provides a viable, actionable alternative to landfills for postconsumer PET, enabling the recycling of more waste polymer and reducing the carbon footprint of PET
• Analyzes the economic benefits and challenges of this process
• Compares the quality of the output to commercially available products

Ewa Langer gained her PhD in 2012 from Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice, Poland, specializing in Technology of Polymers. Since 2006 she has worked in the Institute for Engineering of Polymer Materials and Dyes, Paint and Plastic Department in Gliwice. She works on the synthesis of new plastic additives, study of properties of raw materials for paints and plastics, and organic coatings.

Krzysztof Bortel is the Director of the Institute For Engineering Of Polymer Materials and Dyes Paint and Plastics at the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice.

Marta Lenartowicz-Klik gained her Ph.D. at the Faculty of Chemistry, Silesian University of Technology (2006). She works at the Department of Physical Chemistry and Technology of Polymers of Silesian University of Technology.

Sylwia Waśkiewicz works in the Institute For Engineering Of Polymer Materials & Dyes Paint & Plastics at the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice, primarily in the areas of plastics modification and processing, particularly in poly(vinyl chloride).