Obtenção do ácido tereftálico através da despolimerização do PET pós-consumo via hidrólise ácida.

Abstract

In contemporary life, we have increased the consumption of packages that facilitate our daily life. Among them is PET (polyethylene terephthalate), which is widely used in carbonated packaging and soft drinks, but a large part of PET is discarded in nature improperly, in dumps or in the environment, taking years to decompose. The objective of this work was the depolymerization of post-consumer PET from the chemical treatment through acid hydrolysis, in order to obtain terephthalic acid. The recycling of PET brings with it countless advantages, given that its main raw material is oil, a non-renewable resource. Moreover, this recycling represents a source of raw material for regeneration of this resin, because we obtain terephthalic acid with a high degree of purity. The methodology applied to obtain the TA followed a few steps, using sulfuric acid in different concentrations (7.5, 10.5 and 14mol / L). It was possible to obtain the terephthalic acid with similar properties to the commercial terephthalic acid, thus proving that it is possible to perform the depolymerization of the PET and to obtain good performance when a sulfuric acid concentration of 14 mol / L is used.