Glycolysis-Mediated Depolymerization of Plastic Waste to Terephthalic Acid: Mechanisms and Technological Benchmarks
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This review systematically evaluates glycolysis-mediated depolymerization configurations to establish kinetic benchmarks for terephthalic acid (TPA) recovery, comparing conventional thermal heating against microwave-assisted routes utilizing Deep Eutectic Solvents (DES). Adhering to PRISMA guidelines, we analyze the operating parameters, degradation mechanisms, monomer yields, and carbon emission profiles to map the thermodynamic and mass transport boundaries of both pathways. The synthesized data reveals that microwave-assisted configurations achieve intense kinetic acceleration, enabling 100% polymer conversion within a highly compressed duration of 3.5 to 10 minutes by delivering uniform volumetric heating that bypasses traditional conductive resistance. Furthermore, integrating DES systems utilizing thiourea-based hydrogen bond donors optimizes charge density and coordination, pushing peak TPA yields up to 80.66%, which significantly outperforms conventional urea-based alternatives. However, from an environmental standpoint, the microwave-assisted system generates a higher carbon footprint of 0.364 tons of CO? per year compared to the 0.269 tons of CO? per year produced by simpler thermal techniques. While microwave-assisted DES glycolysis offers an expedited pathway for circular resource recovery, its practical industrial scale-up remains constrained by severe technical trade-offs, localized electrical arcing risks, thermal tracking lags, and elevated carbon loads.
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