Depolymerization apparatus for recycling polyesters
AssigneeEastman Chemical Company
InventorsMichael Paul Ekart, Thomas Michael Pell, Jr., David Dunlap Cornell, Damon Bryan Shackelford
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Abstract
An apparatus for depolymerizing recycled polyester into its component ester monomers and half esters includes a first reactor for depolymerizing the recycled polyester, a separator for separating ester monomeric components and half-esters from secondary materials produced in the first reactor, and a second reactor for producing a low molecular weight polyester from liquefied separator products.
Claims6
An apparatus for depolymerizing a recycled polyester in accordance with the process of depolymerizing said polyester into a product having ester monomers, glycols and half-esters by contacting said recycled polyester with a lower alkyl alcohol selected from the group consisting of methanol, ethanol, propanol and mixtures thereof;
- separating said ester monomers, glycols and half-esters from secondary materials in said depolymerized product by rectifying said product but otherwise said ester monomers, glycols and half-esters are substantially free of subsequent purification and separation of said glycols from said ester monomers and half-esters;
- and mixing said product ester monomers, glycols and half-esters with one or more monomers under transesterification conditions to produce a low molecular weight polyester, wherein said apparatus comprises:
- a) a first reactor adapted for receiving said recycled polyester and operated under depolymerizing conditions;
- b) a separator receiving depolymerization ester monomers and half-esters products produced from said first reactor and separating said products from secondary materials;
- and
- c) a second reactor receiving said products from said separator and being operated under transesterification conditions to produce a low molecular weight polyester.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.