Depolymerization of polyurethanes for circular economy plastics
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsLuis M. Campos, Dino Wu, James L. Hedrick, Nathaniel H. Park
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Abstract
Introduce into a reactor a polyurethane having a benzylic linkage. In one aspect, induce a chemical reduction through a reducing agent and a catalyst to depolymerize the polyurethane having the benzylic linkage. In another aspect, introduce hydrogen bromide into the reactor, and react the polyurethane with the hydrogen bromide to recover constituents of the polyurethane via acid-catalyzed bromine-substitution to cleave the benzylic linkage of the polyurethane.
Claims34
A method for depolymerizing polyurethanes, comprising:
- introducing into a reactor a polyurethane having a benzylic linkage;
- and
- inducing a chemical reduction through a reducing agent and a catalyst to depolymerize the polyurethane having the benzylic linkage.
A method for depolymerizing polyurethanes, comprising:
- introducing into a reactor a polyurethane having a benzylic linkage;
- introducing hydrogen bromide into the reactor;
- and
- reacting the polyurethane with the hydrogen bromide to recover constituents of the polyurethane via acid-catalyzed bromine-substitution to cleave the benzylic linkage of the polyurethane.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.