Deconstruction

The BOTTLE^™ Deconstruction Task aims to develop selective and scalable catalytic technologies to break down today's plastics to processable intermediates for use in the Building Blocks and Redesign tasks. Below are exemplary projects for each of our primary focus areas.

Reductive Deconstruction of Polyolefins With Heterogeneous Catalysts

• Bifunctional hydrocracking using metal/zeolite systems
• Reactor design for continuous reductive processing and separations
• Reductive depolymerization of mixed and contaminated feedstocks.

Oxidative Catalysis for Mixed Plastics Waste Depolymerization

• Deconstruction of multi-layer films, e-waste, polyvinyl chloride (PVC)-rich waste, rubber materials, and other materials of direct industrial relevance
• Reaction engineering for continuous processes
• Understanding catalyst-substrate interactions at reaction conditions.
  

Homogeneous Catalysis for Depolymerization of C–O and C–N-Linked Polymers

• Depolymerization of real-world polyesters, polyurethanes, polyamides, and polycarbonates in single and mixed systems
• Recycling of epoxy-amine resins in thermoset materials
• Development of new catalysts that are readily recoverable and highly selective
• Development of separations processes for recovery of polymer building blocks.

Development of Recycling Methods for Emerging Circular Polymers

• Development of catalytic and biocatalytic methods to recycle polyhydroxyalkanoates and other emerging polyesters
• Testing of non-thermal separations processes to recover high-purity monomers for repolymerization as well as polymer additives for reuse.

The Deconstruction Task employs substrates composed of both model and pristine plastics, as well as realistic post-consumer plastic waste, to determine the feasibility of the methods we are developing. Please contact us with questions about specific substrates of interest.

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