Chemical recycling of rigid-PVC by oxygen oxidation in NaOH solutions at elevated temperatures

Oxidative degradation of rigid-PVC pellets (R-PVC) with oxygen was carried out in 1-25 mol/kg-H2O (m) NaOH solutions, at 150-260 degrees C and Po-2 of 1-10 MPa in order to investigate the chemical recycling of PVC materials. The apparent rate of oxidative degradation of R-PVC progressed as a zero or der reaction, and the apparent activation energy was 38.5 kJ mol(-1). The m ajor products were oxalic acid, a mixture of benzenecarboxylic acids, and C O2. The tin in R-PVC was extracted completely. This paper reports the possi bility of converting PVC materials into raw materials such as carboxylic ac ids by chemical recycling. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserv ed.