Porous carbons from pet waste: structure–property relationships and catalytic performance in esterification reactions

The exponential growth in plastic consumption results in unwanted accumulation on the streets of most cities due to inadequate plastic disposal, landfills overloading, and pollution of the soil, atmosphere, and oceans. This work aims to investigate the use of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) waste to produce solid acid catalysts. The catalysts were synthesized via chemical activation with ZnCl 2 or K 2 CO 3 , followed by carbonization in an inert atmosphere and sulfonation. Catalytic tests were carried out on the esterification reaction of oleic acid and methanol. The best result was obtained using zinc chloride as an activating agent, functionalized at 80 °C for 2 h. Carbonaceous materials were obtained with S BET , V t , V mic , and V mes of 272 m 2 g -1 , 0.36 cm 3 g -1 , 0.14 cm 3 g -1 , and 0.22 cm 3 g -1 , respectively. An 88% conversion to methyl oleate was observed. The synthesis of a heterogeneous acid catalyst is a sustainable and promising alternative for reusing PET waste.