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Polymers
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Chemical Recycling of Polymers, 2nd Edition
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Chemical Recycling of Polymers, 2nd Edition

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Circular and Green Sustainable Polymer Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 2661

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Luis Roman

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Division of Chemical and Energy Engineering, London South Bank University, 103 Borough Road, London SE1 0AA, UK
Interests: lithium-ion batteries; renewable energy; green and sustainable chemistry and engineering; chemical recycling; polymers; applied thermodynamics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Simoní Da Ros

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
Interests: sustainability assessments; polymer science; polymer degradation; chemical recycling; chemical reactors modeling; heterogeneous catalysis; parameter estimation and optimal design of experiments
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Paul McKeown

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
The Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre (CCDC), 12 Union Road, Cambridge CB2 1EZ, UK
Interests: metal catalysis; polymerisation; bio-based plastics; plastics chemical recycling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue continues the exploration of recent research advances in the chemical recycling of polymers, following the success of the first volume of the Special Issue, which published 10 regular papers. Further details can be found below: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/polymers/special_issues/Chem_Recycl_Polym.

The plastic economy requires a shift towards a more circular approach, in which the value of the material is recovered rather than lost at the end of its useful life. While mechanical recycling options are available, these are generally associated with some loss of material properties and down-cycling. Compostable and biodegradable plastics are also becoming more common, but these represent processes involving a complete loss of chemical and energetic value. Therefore, the development of chemical or tertiary recycling technologies is expected to play a key role in the transition to a circular approach of plastic use and waste management. This Special Issue will focus on methods of chemical recycling of plastics which aim to produce monomers, for the production of new plastics, or value-added chemicals. Papers concerning chemical recycling methods, including, but not limited to, hydrolysis, alcoholysis, and pyrolysis, are welcome.

Dr. Luis Roman
Dr. Simoní Da Ros
Dr. Paul McKeown
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • chemical recycling
  • degradation
  • depolymerisation
  • hydrolysis
  • alcoholysis
  • pyrolysis
  • circular economy

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 4347 KB  
Article
Microwave-Assisted Bio-Based Chemical Recycling of Fiber-Reinforced Composites from Construction and Demolition Waste
by Gonzalo Murillo-Ciordia and Cecilia Chaine
Polymers 2026, 18(3), 362; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym18030362 - 29 Jan 2026
Viewed by 765
Abstract
Fiber-reinforced polymer composites (FRPCs) are increasingly used in construction due to their high performance and low environmental footprint. However, their widespread adoption has raised concerns over end-of-life management, particularly under European regulations mandating high recycling rates for construction and demolition waste (CDW). This [...] Read more.
Fiber-reinforced polymer composites (FRPCs) are increasingly used in construction due to their high performance and low environmental footprint. However, their widespread adoption has raised concerns over end-of-life management, particularly under European regulations mandating high recycling rates for construction and demolition waste (CDW). This study evaluates different systems for the chemical recycling of FRPCs through microwave (MW)-assisted solvolysis using green solvents, including deep eutectic solvents (DESs) and biobased acetic acid. The process targets thermoset resin depolymerization while preserving fiber integrity, operating at reduced temperatures (≤230 °C) and lower energy demand than conventional techniques, such as pyrolysis. A systematic experimental design was applied to CDW-derived polyester composites and extended to industrial epoxy and vinyl ester composites. Among the tested solvents, glacial acetic acid + ZnCl2 (5 wt.%), achieved the highest degradation efficiency, exceeding 94% in small-scale trials and maintaining over 78% upon upscaling. Recovered fibers showed moderate property retention, with tensile strength and elongation losses of ~30% and ~45% for infusion-based epoxy composites, while those from pultrusion-based epoxy composites exhibited 16–19% and retained similar properties to the virgin material, respectively. The method facilitates fiber recovery with limited degradation and aligns with circular economy principles through solvent reuse and minimizing environmental impact. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemical Recycling of Polymers, 2nd Edition)
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13 pages, 1111 KB  
Article
Adsorptive Decolorization of a Disodium Terephthalate Solution from Monomer Recycling of Polyester
by Charlotte Lücking, Mandy Paschetag and Stephan Scholl
Polymers 2026, 18(3), 345; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym18030345 - 28 Jan 2026
Viewed by 629
Abstract
The global economy is increasingly faced with the challenge of accepting its responsibility for recycling polyester textile waste. With back-to-monomer recycling technologies, PET can be recycled to its monomers, terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol. The recycling of polyester-containing textiles requires the complete separation [...] Read more.
The global economy is increasingly faced with the challenge of accepting its responsibility for recycling polyester textile waste. With back-to-monomer recycling technologies, PET can be recycled to its monomers, terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol. The recycling of polyester-containing textiles requires the complete separation of all contaminating materials, dyes, and additives, which can only be achieved by depolymerization technologies. This article presents the adsorptive decolorization of a disodium terephthalate solution from the alkaline hydrolysis of polyester textile waste. The influence of different adsorbents, temperature (30–80 °C), and pH value (7–12) on the adsorptive decolorization process is investigated. As a result, activated carbons for decolorization have been identified. It was found that the adsorption process is favorable at neutral pH and a temperature of 80 °C. The findings show that a color value within the industrial specification can be obtained for recycled terephthalic acid using activated carbon adsorption. This adds a key step for high-quality textile-to-textile recycling and thus contributes to a circular economy for polyester. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemical Recycling of Polymers, 2nd Edition)
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27 pages, 4967 KB  
Article
Optimization of Composite Formulation Using Recycled Polyethylene for Rotational Molding
by Vitaliy Tyukanko, Roman Tarunin, Alexandr Demyanenko, Vladislav Semenyuk, Antonina Dyuryagina, Yerik Merkibayev, Abdigali Bakibaev, Rustam Alpyssov and Dmitriy Alyoshin
Polymers 2025, 17(24), 3290; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17243290 - 11 Dec 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 820
Abstract
In this work, we optimized three key factors for rotational molding composites: the recycled polyethylene (rPE) content, the pigment (Cp) content, and the process parameter-peak internal air temperature (PIAT). We studied the influence of rPE, Cp, and PIAT on various composite properties. These [...] Read more.
In this work, we optimized three key factors for rotational molding composites: the recycled polyethylene (rPE) content, the pigment (Cp) content, and the process parameter-peak internal air temperature (PIAT). We studied the influence of rPE, Cp, and PIAT on various composite properties. These included mechanical properties (e.g., elastic modulus E), impact strength (MFEsp), surface characteristics (wettability measured by contact angle θ and IR spectroscopy), thermal stability (by DTA–TG analysis), environmental stress cracking resistance (ESCR in hours), and the amplitude of the third harmonic β of the ultrasonic back-wall signal. The IR spectroscopy and contact angle results indicate that adding rPE and pigment slightly increases the composite’s surface hydrophilicity. The results show that PIAT strongly influences all the characteristics of the composites studied. Depending on its percentage, the introduction of rPE can either improve or worsen these composite properties. A correlation was found between β, ESCR, MFEsp, and E, demonstrating that β can serve as a quantitative indicator of internal stress (IS) in rotomolded parts. The recommended optimal composition is rPE 30%, Cp 0.5%, and PIAT 195 °C. Under these conditions, the composite exhibits minimal internal stress and optimal performance, which in turn extends the service life of rotomolded products. Four nomograms were developed: rPE = f(MFEsp, Cp, PIAT) and rPE = f(β, Cp, PIAT), which make it possible to quickly determine MFEsp and β of a product based on the actual PIAT, taking into account rPE and pigment content in the composite (they also allow selecting the rPE and pigment content in the composition depending on the required MFEsp). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemical Recycling of Polymers, 2nd Edition)
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