Hydrolytic Degradation and Monomer Recovery of Poly(butylene succinate) and Poly(butylene succinate/adipate) in the Melt

Abstract Aliphatic dicarboxylic acid/aliphatic diol‐derived polyesters, poly(butylene succinate) and poly(butylene succinate/adipate), have been hydrolytically degraded in the melt in high‐temperature and high‐pressure water over a wide temperature range of 180–300 °C for periods of up to 30 min. The formation/decomposition of succinic acid (SA), adipic acid (AA), and butane‐1,4‐diol (BD), plus the molecular weight change of PBS and PBSA were then investigated. SA and AA were recovered at maximum yields of 65–80%, whereas BD was recovered at a maximum yield of only 30%, probably because of its decomposition. The obtained results were compared with those reported for aliphatic hydroxycarboxylic acid‐derived polyesters and aromatic dicarboxylic acid/aliphatic diol‐derived polyesters. magnified image