Contamination tolerant poly(ethylene terephthalate) composites from recycled feedstocks and cellulosic waste
- 1Department of Plastics Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Abstract
Poly(ethylene terephthalate) is one of the most recycled plastics, but recycling is often limited by material degradation and the cost of removing contaminants from mixed waste streams. Cellulose-rich materials are frequently co-generated with poly(ethylene terephthalate) waste and are commonly treated as impurities, reducing recycling efficiency. Here, we show that cellulose-rich waste materials can be incorporated into recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) to produce composites with useful mechanical properties when degradation during processing is controlled. Three recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) feedstocks were processed with ten weight percent cellulose-rich waste materials with and without removal of degradation by-products. Cellulosic materials degrade rapidly at processing temperatures, while the removal of degradation by-products improves material quality. A feedstock containing titanium dioxide exhibits the least degradation, fewer internal defects, and superior mechanical property retention. These results show that minimizing cellulose degradation is critical for contamination-tolerant recycling and can enable utilization of heterogeneous, hard-to-separate waste streams while reducing reliance on extensive feedstock purification.
Related
- Upcycling Secondary Cellulosic Fibres and Post-Industrial Recycled Polypropylene from Household Appliance Manufacturing into Circular Composites with Enhanced Dimensional Stability
- Cellulosic fibers coated in mineral sheaths for flame-retardant nonwovens
- Analytical Evidence for Assessing Plastic Pyrolysis Oils as Steam Cracker Feedstocks
- From scrap to prime: Designing high-performance alloys from dirty feedstocks with machine learning
- Selective Upcycling of Waste PET into Di(2-ethylhexyl) Terephthalate via a Hybrid Organometallic Catalytic Strategy for PVC Plasticizer Applications
BibTeX
@article{masembe2026contamination,
title = {{Contamination tolerant poly(ethylene terephthalate) composites from recycled feedstocks and cellulosic waste}},
author = {Patrick Masembe and Nicholas Bowen and Emmanuel Akubueze and Niyi G. Olaiya and Davide Masato and Amir Ameli and Margaret J. Sobkowicz},
journal = {Communications Sustainability},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1038/s44458-026-00173-0},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s44458-026-00173-0},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Contamination tolerant poly(ethylene terephthalate) composites from recycled feedstocks and cellulosic waste
AU - Patrick Masembe
AU - Nicholas Bowen
AU - Emmanuel Akubueze
AU - Niyi G. Olaiya
AU - Davide Masato
AU - Amir Ameli
AU - Margaret J. Sobkowicz
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/25
JO - Communications Sustainability
DO - 10.1038/s44458-026-00173-0
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s44458-026-00173-0
AB - Poly(ethylene terephthalate) is one of the most recycled plastics, but recycling is often limited by material degradation and the cost of removing contaminants from mixed waste streams. Cellulose-rich materials are frequently co-generated with poly(ethylene terephthalate) waste and are commonly treated as impurities, reducing recycling efficiency. Here, we show that cellulose-rich waste materials can be incorporated into recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) to produce composites with useful mechanical properties when degradation during processing is controlled. Three recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) feedstocks were processed with ten weight percent cellulose-rich waste materials with and without removal of degradation by-products. Cellulosic materials degrade rapidly at processing temperatures, while the removal of degradation by-products improves material quality. A feedstock containing titanium dioxide exhibits the least degradation, fewer internal defects, and superior mechanical property retention. These results show that minimizing cellulose degradation is critical for contamination-tolerant recycling and can enable utilization of heterogeneous, hard-to-separate waste streams while reducing reliance on extensive feedstock purification.
SN - 3059-4308
ER -