Chemical Upcycling of Ester Resins via Catalyst Fragmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for recycling resins with ester bonds, such as epoxy resin and unsaturated polyester, often result in downcycling due to degraded properties and high recycling costs, and new recyclable materials with reversible bonds are costly and lack performance, making large-scale implementation difficult.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a network fragmentation strategy using a catalyst-solvent system to generate non-crosslinked polymer fragments, which are then reconfigured into reconfigurable strong resins and photocurable resins with repeated recyclability, using mild recycling conditions and existing manufacturing facilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If chemical recycling via glycolysis, aminolysis, or hydrolysis is used to decompose resins into monomers, then the resins can be recycled or upcycled, but harsh chemical conditions (high temperature and long reaction time) are required
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the chemical parameters by introducing a catalyst system that enables ester bond cleavage under milder conditions. The catalyst modifies the reaction pathway, allowing decomposition at lower temperatures and shorter times while maintaining effective recycling capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a catalyst as an intermediary substance that facilitates the decomposition reaction without being consumed. This catalyst mediates between the resin and the recycling process, enabling the reaction to proceed under milder conditions while achieving complete network disintegration.
2Reliability
If chemical recycling via glycolysis, aminolysis, or hydrolysis is used to decompose the resins, then the resins can be recycled or upcycled, but long reaction time is required
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the kinetic parameters of the reaction by introducing a catalyst that accelerates the decomposition process. This allows the reaction to reach completion in shorter time while maintaining the same recycling effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The catalyst acts as a time-saving intermediary that provides an alternative reaction pathway with lower activation energy, enabling faster decomposition without compromising the completeness of the recycling process.
3Adaptability or versatility
If new recyclable materials with reversible bonds are developed, then materials with solid plasticity can be obtained, but they have high cost and inferior performance
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of developing new materials with reversible bonds, the invention recovers the original high-performance resin properties by completely disintegrating the crosslinked network and then re-synthesizing or reprocessing the monomers/oligomers. This approach recovers the original material performance rather than creating new materials with compromised properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention inverts the conventional approach by not trying to maintain the crosslinked network structure while adding plasticity, but rather by completely breaking down the network and creating new materials from the decomposed monomers, thereby recovering original performance characteristics.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach achieves high-performance, economically valuable regenerated products with low energy consumption and cost, enabling easy integration into existing production processes and allowing for repeated recycling without altering existing facilities.
Implementation Method 1
Chemical recycling via glycolysis, aminolysis, or hydrolysis can decompose the resins into monomers, oligomers or other chemicals
Implementation Method 2
The resins dissolved into a catalyst-solvent system via a network fragmentation strategy to generate non-crosslinked polymer fragment mixture with functional groups
Data Source
AI summary
A method for chemical upcycling of the resins containing ester bonds is described herein. The method comprises two steps: (1) The resins dissolved into a catalyst-solvent system via a network fragmentation strategy to generate non-crosslinked polymer fragment mixture with functional groups. (2) After introducing additives and reacting for predetermined time, a reconfigurable strong resin and a photocurable resin with repeated recyclability are obtained. The low energy consumption and cost, the high performance and economical value added of the regenerated productions, and the ease implement without changing the commodity products and manufacturing facilities make it attractive and suitable for the recycling of the resin wastes.