Polymer degradation

Improved method of degrading a polymer being a homo or copolymer into oligomers, trimers, dimers and/or monomers, comprising the steps of

• providing the polymer in a suitable solvent in a reactor, the polymer being in solid form,
• providing a reusable catalyst complex being capable of degrading the polymer into oligomers and/or monomers,
• pre-treating the polymer wherein the polymer is homogenized in the ethylene glycol solvent, and wherein the polymer, solvent and catalyst complex are mixed to form a heated dispersion, said heated dispersion being at a temperature in the range of 150-250° C. and
• degrading the polymer over a period sufficient to degrade a significant portion thereof, wherein the solvent is a reactant, the reactant being capable of reacting with the polymer being degraded, and
• recovering the catalyst complex,
• characterized in that
• the polymer is supplied in the form of a product with an average volume of 10−7-50 cm3,
• wherein a polymer concentration in the dispersion is from 1-30 wt. %,
• wherein an average residence time of the polymer in the reactor is from 30 sec.-3 hours,
• wherein the catalyst complex comprises a catalyst entity, a magnetic nanoparticle, and a bridging moiety solely between the catalyst entity and the magnetic nanoparticle, the catalyst complex being capable of degrading a polymer into oligomers, trimers, dimers and/or monomers,
• wherein the catalyst entity comprises an aromatic heterocycle moiety having a positive charge and a moiety having a negative charge,
• wherein the catalyst entity and bridging moiety are attached such as by a chemical covalent bond, and wherein the bridging moiety and nanoparticle are attached, such as by a covalent bond,
• wherein the magnetic particles have an average diameter of 2 nm-500 nm, and
• wherein the bridging moiety is present in an amount of 5*10−6-0.1 Mole bridging moiety/gr magnetic particle, and
• wherein the reactor is selected from a (semi)continuous type, such as a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR), and a tube-like reactor, such as a loop reactor, a plug flow reactor, an oscillatory flow reactor, an N-unit loop reactor system and a batch type, and combinations thereof.