PET depolymerization: a novel process for plastic waste chemical recycling

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is one of the most widely used polymers all around the world. At the end of its life, it is mechanically recycled or landfilled/incinerated. PET wastes not mechanically reused can be depolymerized via chemical processes to recover the monomers than can be used to produce new “virgin” PET. Among the technologies of PET chemical recycling under development, DEMETO represents a new promising route to be further investigated and verified on a pilot industrial scale. This chapter will go through the description of the chemical recycling processes, highlighting the characteristics of DEMETO technology. Then, a macroscopic description of DEMETO is represented.