Professional Documents
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Polyethylene Terephthalate
Michelle Chong
Grace Kim
Cluster 8
COSMOS 2007
Our Subject
Courtesy of
http://www.akmarket.com
Primary
Mechanical
Chemical
Energy recovery
Courtesy of
//
Courtesy of http://www.cotton.org
Recyclable Plastics
Six classifications of
plastics, each assigned
a number:
1. Polyethylene
http://eng.amipak.by/i/photo/page/
production/peffilm/ttt-018-big.jpg
Terephthalate
2. High-density
Polyethylene
3. Polyvinyl Chloride
of
4. Low-density Courtesy
http://www.airseacontainers.com
Polyethylene
5. Polypropylene
6. Polystyrene
http://www.flamar.it/images/tondi3.jpg
Courtesy of http://www.bayouplastics.com
Courtesy of http://www.a-plasticbag.com
http://www.path.cam.ac.uk/images/recycling/poly-chippings.gif
Primary Recycling
(6)
Mechanical Recycling
Contamination removal
PET is sorted, ground into
flakes, and washed with
detergent or a solvent
Flakes are dried thoroughly
to prevent water from
ruining the product
Product
Flakes are melted and
extruded
Possibly cross-linked to
enhance properties
Courtesy http://www.made-in-china.com
Chemical Recycling
Hydrolysis
PET is depolymerized to
terephthalic acid (TPA) and
ethylene glycol (EG) by water in
an acid, alkaline, or neutral
environment
Requires high temperatures and
pressures and takes a long time;
costly
Methanolysis
(6)
(6)
Courtesy of Wikipedia
Plastic Factories
www.selectdirect.us
www.vancecounty.com
www.townsville.qld.gov.au
PET Recycling
167 million pounds of PET bottles were recycled last year.
But 271 million pounds still ended up going to waste.
In the United States alone, there are over 20,000 plastic
recycling programs; 10,000 of them are only for PET bottles.
In 1996, 130 million cubic yards was conserved from
landfills, and by 2005 it had increased to about 195 million
cubic yards.
www.rirrc.org
www.myairshoes.com
www.carpetandcanefurniture.co.ukhttp://www.ci.keene.nh.us/publicworks/recycle/wearasodabottle.html
www.keilautogroup.com
Biodegradable Plastics
Though biodegradable plastics have been
around for a long time, the high expense
has never made it appealing.
The reasoning behind non-degradable
plastics is because their long polymer
molecules are too large and too tightly
bonded together to be broken
apart and assimilated by
decomposer organisms.
Gauss View
Polyethylene Terephthalate
Courtesy of:
news.softpedia.com
commons.wikimedia.org
Credits
Acknowledgements
Professor Patten
Professor Tantillo
TA Eric
Professor Allen
Mr. Raymond
TA Mike
TA Slava
Courtesy of Sanrio
AND OF COURSE.