Bottles, textile waste turned into valuable compounds with iron method

Researchers at Tokyo Metropolitan University, led by Professor Kotohiro Nomura, have developed a highly efficient and sustainable method to chemically recycle polyethylene terephthalate (PET) from bottles and textile waste. Their approach uses alcohols combined with an inexpensive and widely available iron catalyst, specifically iron(III) chloride (FeCl3), to selectively depolymerize PET into valuable terephthalic acid derivatives such as dimethyl terephthalate (DMT), diethyl terephthalate (DET), and bis(hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET) with yields between 99.7% and 99.9%. This process operates under relatively mild temperatures (120–180 ºC) and does not require harsh acids or bases, making it a greener, cost-effective alternative to traditional chemical recycling methods. The method also benefits from the addition of a small amount of amine, which enhances catalytic activity without compromising selectivity. Importantly, this iron-cataly