Methods of plastic recycling using highly efficient organocatalysts

Abstract

A method of deconstructing polymer waste into at least one useful breakdown product, wherein the polymer waste contains at least one condensation polymer, the method comprising contacting the polymer waste with a catalyst comprising an organic nitrogen-containing base and a carboxylic acid or ester thereof, in the presence of a protic molecule selected from alcohols, diols, polyols, and amines, at an elevated temperature effective for inducing alcoholysis or aminolysis of the condensation polymer, wherein the useful breakdown products comprise monomer species capable of being polymerized, and the organic nitrogen-containing base has the following structure: wherein: R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, and R6 are independently selected from hydrogen atom, electron pair, and alkyl groups containing one to three carbon atoms, and wherein any adjacent two of R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, and R6 may optionally interconnect to form a five, six, or seven-membered ring.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.