Converting Polyethylene terephthalate) Waste into Carton Microspheres in a Supercritical CO_2 System

摘要

Well-shaped carbon spheres in micrometer dimensions were prepared by pyrolyzingpostconsumer polyethylene terephthalate) (PET) in supercritical carbon dioxide at 500-650 ℃ for 3 h. It was also found that the yield of carbon microspheres increased as the reaction temperature increased and the reaction time was prolonged. Carbon microspheres were obtained in 47.5% yield as the reaction occurred at 650 ℃ for 9 h. A high-pressure carbonization mechanism of aromatic hydrocarbons decomposed from PET waste was proposed according to gas chromatography combined with mass spectrometry analysis. One possible application of the carbon microspheres as a negative electrode material for lithium ion batteries was evaluated.