Issue 38, 2014

Depolymerization of polycarbonate with catalyst in hot compressed water in fused silica capillary and autoclave reactors

Abstract

Depolymerization of polycarbonate (PC) with the catalyst manganese acetate (Mn(Ac)2) was studied in hot compressed water (HCW) using a stainless steel batch autoclave reactor and a fused silica capillary reactor (FSCR). The phase behavior of PC in water with or without Mn(Ac)2 during the heating, reaction and cooling processes was observed. The phase behavior indicated that the dissolution time of PC in HCW to form a homogeneous liquid solution was effectively reduced by adding Mn(Ac)2 as a catalyst. For the reaction in the autoclave reactor, the main liquid products were bisphenol A (BPA) and phenol. The effects of operating parameters such as catalyst concentration (ratio of Mn(Ac)2 to PC) (0–2.5%), temperature (250–280 °C) and reaction time (5–60 min) on depolymerization of PC were investigated in the autoclave reactor. The optimal experimental conditions were found to be a temperature of 280 °C, reaction time of 20 min with the ratio of Mn(Ac)2/PC of 2.0%, giving yields of BPA and phenol of 55.25% and 18.63%, respectively. The main gaseous product CO2 in the FSCR was qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed by Raman spectroscopy. A reaction pathway for catalytic depolymerization of PC in HCW was proposed based on the experimental results.

Graphical abstract: Depolymerization of polycarbonate with catalyst in hot compressed water in fused silica capillary and autoclave reactors

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
23 Jan 2014
Accepted
14 Apr 2014
First published
16 Apr 2014

RSC Adv., 2014,4, 19992-19998

Author version available

Depolymerization of polycarbonate with catalyst in hot compressed water in fused silica capillary and autoclave reactors

Z. Pan, Z. Hu, Y. Shi, Y. Shen, J. Wang and I. Chou, RSC Adv., 2014, 4, 19992 DOI: 10.1039/C4RA00680A

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