Recovery of monomer from polyurethane materials by depolymerization
AssigneeRegents of the University of Minnesota
InventorsMarc Andrew Hillmyer, Tessie Rose Panthani, Marie Elizabeth Vanderlaan, Deborah Kay Schneiderman, Alexander Michael Rauch Mannion, Derek Charles Batiste, Christopher Ward Macosko, Jay Z. Wang, Frank S. Bates
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Abstract
Methods for recovering monomers from polymers, such as polyurethanes (including thermoset polyurethanes) include heating the polymer to depolymerize the polymer and release the monomer. The monomer may be directly recovered. The polymer may include a poly(β-methyl-δ-valerolactone) (PMVL) block and the monomer recovered may be β-methyl-δ-valerolactone (MVL).
Claims7
A method for recovering a lactone monomer from a polymer comprising polyester derived from lactone monomer, wherein the lactone has a bulk ceiling temperature of 600° C. or less, the method comprising:
- heating the polymer to cause depolymerization and release of the lactone monomer from the polyester;
- and
- recovering the released lactone monomer, wherein the polyester has a glass transition temperature of 20° C. or less.
A method for recovering a monomer from a polymer comprising homopolymer block, wherein the homopolymer block has a bulk ceiling temperature of 600° C. or less, the method comprising:
- heating the polymer to cause depolymerization and release of the monomer;
- and
- recovering the released monomer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.