High-efficiency acetaldehyde removal during solid-state polycondensation of poly(ethylene terephthalate) assisted by supercritical carbon dioxide

doi:10.1016/j.cjche.2018.03.007

Chin.J.Chem.Eng. ›› 2018, Vol. 26 ›› Issue (6): 1285-1291.DOI: 10.1016/j.cjche.2018.03.007

• Catalysis • Previous Articles Next Articles

High-efficiency acetaldehyde removal during solid-state polycondensation of poly(ethylene terephthalate) assisted by supercritical carbon dioxide

Zhenhao Xi, Tian Liu, Wei Si, Fenglei Bi, Zhimei Xu, Ling Zhao

State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China

Received:2017-11-24 Revised:2018-03-14 Online:2018-08-03 Published:2018-06-28
Contact: Zhimei Xu,E-mail address:zhmxu@ecust.edu.cn
Supported by:
Supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFB0302702), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21676083), the Shanghai Rising-Star Program (16QB140130) and the 111 Project (B08021).

High-efficiency acetaldehyde removal during solid-state polycondensation of poly(ethylene terephthalate) assisted by supercritical carbon dioxide

Zhenhao Xi, Tian Liu, Wei Si, Fenglei Bi, Zhimei Xu, Ling Zhao

State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China

通讯作者: Zhimei Xu,E-mail address:zhmxu@ecust.edu.cn
基金资助:
Supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFB0302702), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21676083), the Shanghai Rising-Star Program (16QB140130) and the 111 Project (B08021).

Abstract

Abstract: The concentration of acetaldehyde (AA) is the main quality index of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) used in food and drink packaging. A new method for AA removal has been developed by using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) during the solid-state polycondensation of PET. The influence factors of AA removal including the temperature, pressure, reaction time and the size of pre-polymer particles are systematically studied in this work. The results indicate that it is a highly efficient way to obtain high molecular weight PET with relative low concentration of AA. Correspondingly, the polymerization degree of PET could increase from 27.9 to 85.6 while the concentration of AA reduces from 0.229×10^-6 to 0.055×10^-6 under the optimal operation conditions of 230℃, 8 MPa and size of 0.30-0.45 mm. Thermodynamic performance tests show the increasing extent of PET crystallinity due to the fact that the plasticization of scCO₂ is not obvious with extended reaction time, therefore the increasing crystallinity has no significant influence on AA removal. SEM observations reveal that the effects of scCO₂-induced plasticization and swelling on PET increase significantly with the decrease of prepolymer size, and the surface of PET becomes more loose and porous in favor of the AA removal.

Key words: Supercritical CO₂, Solid-state polycondensation, Poly (ethylene terephthalate), Removal of acetaldehyde

摘要： The concentration of acetaldehyde (AA) is the main quality index of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) used in food and drink packaging. A new method for AA removal has been developed by using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) during the solid-state polycondensation of PET. The influence factors of AA removal including the temperature, pressure, reaction time and the size of pre-polymer particles are systematically studied in this work. The results indicate that it is a highly efficient way to obtain high molecular weight PET with relative low concentration of AA. Correspondingly, the polymerization degree of PET could increase from 27.9 to 85.6 while the concentration of AA reduces from 0.229×10^-6 to 0.055×10^-6 under the optimal operation conditions of 230℃, 8 MPa and size of 0.30-0.45 mm. Thermodynamic performance tests show the increasing extent of PET crystallinity due to the fact that the plasticization of scCO₂ is not obvious with extended reaction time, therefore the increasing crystallinity has no significant influence on AA removal. SEM observations reveal that the effects of scCO₂-induced plasticization and swelling on PET increase significantly with the decrease of prepolymer size, and the surface of PET becomes more loose and porous in favor of the AA removal.

关键词: Supercritical CO₂, Solid-state polycondensation, Poly (ethylene terephthalate), Removal of acetaldehyde

Zhenhao Xi, Tian Liu, Wei Si, Fenglei Bi, Zhimei Xu, Ling Zhao. High-efficiency acetaldehyde removal during solid-state polycondensation of poly(ethylene terephthalate) assisted by supercritical carbon dioxide[J]. Chin.J.Chem.Eng., 2018, 26(6): 1285-1291.

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High-efficiency acetaldehyde removal during solid-state polycondensation of poly(ethylene terephthalate) assisted by supercritical carbon dioxide

High-efficiency acetaldehyde removal during solid-state polycondensation of poly(ethylene terephthalate) assisted by supercritical carbon dioxide

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