Colorant removal from polyester materials for recycling

A method for producing a purified polyester material, comprising:

• placing a polyester material in a chamber of a continuous flow extraction system for a duration of time, wherein the polyester material comprises one or more additive components;
• performing an extraction process over the duration of time using a continuous flow reaction system, wherein the reaction process comprises:
• contacting a condensed solvent solution comprising a solvent to the polyester material as positioned within the chamber, wherein the solvent is selected from the group consisting of:
• a ketone, an ether, an ester, an alcohol and/or a carbonate;
• removing at least some of the one or more additive components from the polyester material as a result of the performing, resulting in a transformation of the polyester material into the purified polyester material;
• and
• removing the purified polyester material from the chamber and removing residual solvent.

A method for removing a colorant from a polyester material comprising the colorant, comprising:

• placing a polyester material in a chamber of a continuous flow reaction system for a duration of time;
• performing an extraction process over the duration of time using the continuous flow reaction system, wherein the reaction process comprises:
• contacting a condensed solvent solution comprising a solvent to the polyester material as positioned within the chamber, wherein the solvent is selected from the group consisting of:
• a ketone, an ether, an ester, an alcohol and/or a carbonate;
• removing at least some of the colorant from the polyester material as a result of the performing, resulting in a transformation of the polyester material into a purified polyester material;
• and
• removing the purified polyester material from the chamber and removing residual solvent.

A method for producing a recycled polyester material, comprising:

• contacting a heated solution comprising a solvent to a polyester material as positioned within a vessel or chamber, wherein the polyester material comprises one or more additive components, and wherein the solvent is selected from the group consisting of:
• a ketone, an ether, an ester, an alcohol and/or a carbonate;
• removing at least some of the one or more additive components from the polyester material as a result of the contacting, resulting in a transformation of the polyester material into a purified polyester material;
• and
• transforming the purified polyester material into the recycled polyester material via a recycling process.