Abstract
ε-caprolactam is a monomer of high value. Therefore, the chemical reutilization of polyamide 6 containing carpets for ε-caprolactam recovery offers some economic benefit and is performed on a technical scale with the help of the Zimmer-process. By this process polyamide 6 is depolymerized with steam and phosphoric acid. An alternative to this process is the thermal depolymerization - catalyzed or non-catalyzed. To investigate this alternative in more detail, the formal kinetic parameters of (i) the thermal depolymerization of polyamide 6, (ii) the thermal depolymerization in presence of sodium/potassium hydoxide, and (iii) the thermal depolymerization in presence of phosphoric acid are determined in this work. Based on the kinetics of the catalyzed or non-catalyzed depolymerization a stepwise pyrolysis procedure is designed by which the formation of ε-caprolactam from polyamide 6 can be separated from the formation of other pyrolysis products.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 79-94 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis |
Volume | 58-59 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Apr 2001 |
Keywords
- polymide 6
- nylon 6
- thermal degradation
- catalysis
- stepwise pyrolysis