Curable resins based on recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) for coating applications

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) waste was depolymerised in the presence of diethylene- or tetraethylene glycol and manganese acetate as a catalyst. An epoxy resin was then prepared by the reaction of these oligomers with epichlorohydrin in presence of NaOH as a catalyst. The produced oligomers were condensed with maleic anhydride and ethylene glycol to produce unsaturated polyester. The chemical structures of the resulting epoxy and unsaturated polyester resins were confirmed by ¹HNMR. The vinyl ester resins were used as cross-linking agents for unsaturated polyester resin diluted with styrene, using free radical initiator and accelerator. The 2-amino ethyl piprazine was used as hardener for epoxy resins. The curing behaviour of the unsaturated polyester resin, vinyl ester resins and styrene was evaluated at different temperatures ranged from 25 to 55 °C to calculate the curing activation energy of the system. The cured epoxy and unsaturated polyester resins were evaluated in coating application of steel.