Greener routes for recycling of polyethylene terephthalate

The article reviews the different routes for recycling of polyethylene terephthalate. Chemical recycling processes are divided into six groups: methanolysis, glycolysis, hydrolysis, ammonolysis, aminolysis, and other methods. In a large collection of researches for the chemical recycling of PET, the primary objective is to increase the monomer yield while reducing the reaction time and/or carrying out the reaction under mild conditions. This article also presents the impact of the new recyclable catalysts such as ionic liquids on the future developments in the chemical recycling of PET