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Recycling of PET by Dissolution-Purification-Recovery (DPR) Process Using Bioderived Solvent

Neyer, Hudson [National Laboratory of the Rockies, Golden, CO (United States)]·Lu, Taofeng [National Laboratory of the Rockies, Golden, CO (United States)]·Lee, Minjung [National Laboratory of the Rockies, Golden, CO (United States)]·DesVeaux, Jason [National Laboratory of the Rockies, Golden, CO (United States)] (ORCID:0000000179266327)·Allen, Robert [National Laboratory of the Rockies, Golden, CO (United States)]·Knauer, Katrina [National Laboratory of the Rockies, Golden, CO (United States)] (ORCID:0000000201257532)
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Abstract

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste continues to accumulate at staggering rates, with the majority still routed to landfills due to limitations in current recycling methods. While mechanical recycling is widely implemented, it struggles to effectively remove colorants, additives, and harmful contaminants - resulting in discolored, degraded materials with limited reuse potential. In this presentation, we demonstrate a scalable dissolution-purification-recovery (DPR) process designed to selectively reclaim high-purity PET from post-consumer bottle flake. The method utilizes a food grade bio-based solvent for targeted PET dissolution, followed by activated carbon treatment for impurity removal and antisolvent-induced precipitation for polymer recovery. The resulting recycled PET exhibits complete decolorization, significantly reduced metal contamination, and minimal loss in molecular weight. These performance metrics indicate strong suitability for remanufacturing into new bottles, offering a circular alternative to traditional mechanical recycling pathways.

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37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCESbio solventPETrecycling

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Neyer, Hudson [National Laboratory of the Rockies, Golden, CO (United States)], Lu, Taofeng [National Laboratory of the Rockies, Golden, CO (United States)], Lee, Minjung [National Laboratory of the Rockies, Golden, CO (United States)], DesVeaux, Jason [National Laboratory of the Rockies, Golden, CO (United States)] (ORCID:0000000179266327), Allen, Robert [National Laboratory of the Rockies, Golden, CO (United States)], Knauer, Katrina [National Laboratory of the Rockies, Golden, CO (United States)] (ORCID:0000000201257532). 2026-07-15. Recycling of PET by Dissolution-Purification-Recovery (DPR) Process Using Bioderived Solvent. https://doi.org/10.66816/pr4255247

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