Recycling of PET soft drink bottles involves heating with methanol and an acid catalyst to liberate ethylene glycol and dimethylterphthalate (methyl ester of pthalic acid). These can then be used as monomers to make new PET products. Write an equation for this recycling reaction.

To write the equation for the recycling reaction of PET soft drink bottles, we need to understand the chemical changes that occur in the process.

1. The first step involves heating PET (polyethylene terephthalate) with methanol (CH3OH) and an acid catalyst. This process is called depolymerization.

The equation for depolymerization can be represented as follows:

PET + CH3OH + Acid catalyst → Ethylene Glycol + Dimethylterphthalate

However, to make it more accurate, we can break down the components of PET and methanol.

PET can be broken down into ethylene terephthalate units:

PET → Ethylene Terephthalate

Then, upon heating with methanol and an acid catalyst, the ethylene terephthalate units can be further broken down into ethylene glycol (EG) and dimethylterphthalate (DMT) as monomers:

Ethylene Terephthalate + CH3OH + Acid catalyst → Ethylene Glycol + Dimethylterphthalate

The final equation for the recycling reaction is:

PET + CH3OH + Acid catalyst → Ethylene Glycol + Dimethylterphthalate

This equation shows the conversion of PET into its monomers, ethylene glycol and dimethylterphthalate, through the depolymerization process. These monomers can then be used to create new PET products.