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Abstract

A process for recycling polyester/cotton blends by reducing the polyester to a lower dialkyl ester of terephthalic acid and reducing the cotton to cellulose acetate. The novel process to recycle the polyester/cotton blends includes the steps of (a) providing a blend of polyester and cotton fibers; (b) subjecting the polyester/cotton blend to a first alcoholysis in a bath containing an alcohol and an effective catalyst at a suitable temperature until the polyester is depolymerized to a lower molecular weight polyester oligomer; (c) remove the cotton fibers from the alcoholic solution of oligomers and process the recovered cotton fibers by pulping and acetylyzing processes to recover the cellulose acetate; and (d) alcoholyze the low molecular weight polyester oligomers to produce the lower dialkyl ester of terephthalic acid.

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First Claim