Recycling process for the recovery of cotton from polyester-cotton fabrics and/or fibers

A method comprising:

• reacting a fabric and/or fibers comprising polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and cotton with triethyleamine (TEA) and/or a carboxylic salt of same and ethylene glycol (EG);
• and
• recovering (i) PET-free cotton as a solid inert by-product of the reaction, (ii) the TEA and/or carboxylic acid salt of same for reuse, (iii) bis(2-hydroxyethyl)terephthalate (BHET), and (iv) unreacted EG.

A method comprising:

• reacting a fabric and/or fibers comprising polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and cotton with triethylamine (TEA) and ethylene glycol (EG) in a continuous flow process, wherein the TEA and EG depolymerize the PET in the fabric and/or fibers;
• and
• recovering (i) polyester-free cotton as a solid inert by-product of the reaction, (ii) bis(2-hydroxyethyl)terephthalate (BHET), (iii) the triethylamine (TEA), and (iv) unreacted EG, wherein the TEA and/or the unreacted EG are reused in the continuous flow process for continued depolymerization of newly introduced fabrics and/or fibers.