Reactions of polymers in supercritical fluids for chemical recycling of waste plastics

Sub- or supercritical fluids have been focused as reaction media for environmental applications from a view point of green chemistry. Chemical recycling of waste plastics is important issue. We have applied reaction in water or organic solvent in sub- or supercritical condition to convert polymers into its monomers. Condensed polymers such as polyethylene terephthalate or nylon 6 were depolymerized to its monomers by hydrolysis of alcoholysis in supercritical water or alcohol. The other polymers such as phenol resin and fiber reinforced plastics (FRP) were also decomposed to small molecules by solvolysis. In this paper, the degradation of polymers studied in our group was reviewed. C 2006 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc.