Process for depolymerizing polyethylene terephthalate by glycolysis

Abstract

The present invention relates to a process for depolymerizing a material comprising polyethylene terephthalate (PET) by glycolysis with ethylene glycol (EG), comprising reacting the material comprising PET with EG in the presence of at least one catalyst so as to obtain a glycolized product containing bis (2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET) and/or oligomers thereof, wherein said catalyst comprises an acetate salt of a metal chosen from: calcium, magnesium, aluminium and mixtures thereof. The catalyst can be prepared in situ by a reaction between acetic acid and a compound containing the metal.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.