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<p>Electrochemical upcycling of waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) into biodegradable polyglycolic acid (PGA) is a promising solution to relieve plastic pollution. However, both the low current density and tedious separation process for target glycolic acid (GA) products in a flow electrolysis have hindered industrial-scale applications. Here, we show an interfacial acid-base microenvironment regulation strategy for the efficient oxidation of PET-derived ethylene glycol (EG) into GA using Pd-CoCr<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub> catalysts. Specifically, only a cell voltage of 1.25 V is needed to deliver a current density of <i>ca</i>. 290 mA cm<sup>–2</sup>. Moreover, a green separation method is developed to obtain high-purity GA (99%). 20 kg of waste PET is employed for the pilot plant test (stack electrolyzer: 324 cm<sup>2 </sup>× 5), which exhibits 93.0% GA selectivity at 280 mA cm<sup>–2</sup> (current: 90.72 A) with a yield rate of 0.32 kg h<sup>–1</sup>. After polymerization, PGA yield can reach up to 87%, demonstrating the potential of this technique for large-scale PGA production from waste PET.</p>

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Scale-up upcycling of waste polyethylene terephthalate plastics to biodegradable polyglycolic acid plastics

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2025年5月13日

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  • Yuxiang Wang,
  • Fulai Liu,
  • Jiu Chen,
  • Edmund C. M. Tse,
  • Rui Shi,
  • Yong Chen

摘要

Electrochemical upcycling of waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) into biodegradable polyglycolic acid (PGA) is a promising solution to relieve plastic pollution. However, both the low current density and tedious separation process for target glycolic acid (GA) products in a flow electrolysis have hindered industrial-scale applications. Here, we show an interfacial acid-base microenvironment regulation strategy for the efficient oxidation of PET-derived ethylene glycol (EG) into GA using Pd-CoCr2O4 catalysts. Specifically, only a cell voltage of 1.25 V is needed to deliver a current density of ca. 290 mA cm–2. Moreover, a green separation method is developed to obtain high-purity GA (99%). 20 kg of waste PET is employed for the pilot plant test (stack electrolyzer: 324 cm2 × 5), which exhibits 93.0% GA selectivity at 280 mA cm–2 (current: 90.72 A) with a yield rate of 0.32 kg h–1. After polymerization, PGA yield can reach up to 87%, demonstrating the potential of this technique for large-scale PGA production from waste PET.