Attempts to Upcycle PET Wastes into Bio-based Long-lasting Insulating Materials

Following the green chemistry principles, three series of polyols with tailored chemical structures were obtained from PET wastes degradation via glycolysis and/or aminolysis and subsequent esterification-transesterification and/or amidation reactions, using an organic catalyst. As cleaving agents there were used various mixtures of renewable or potentially renewable reagents, selected from those that can be obtained from biomass by already applied or investigated and eventually patented biochemical and/or chemical processes. The polyols were characterized by physical-chemical methods, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and FT-IR Spectroscopy, and tested in the synthesis of rigid polyurethane foams, showing appropriate properties for spray foams formation and leading to materials with properties similar to conventional spray foams.