Comparative reactivity of glycols in PET glycolysis

The reactivity order of different glycols varies according to the conditions of temperature and catalysis. Schematically, the global reactivity does depend not only on the chemical reactivity of the glycol but also on its physico-chemical properties: ability to solvate the solid polyesters and polarity of the reaction mixture. Attempts to find synergic effects failed for almost all mixtures, except the mixture DPG + Gly in which the PET is digested more quickly than in pure DPG or Gly.