Chemical recycling of compact discs (CDs) with high temperature high pressure waterIrgolič, Mihael (Avtor) Čolnik, Maja (Avtor) Škerget, Mojca (Avtor) compact discspolycarbonatechemical recyclinghydrothermal degradationsubcritical and supercritiacal waterbisfenol AThe increasing accumulation of plastic-based electronic waste, such as compact discs (CDs), poses a major challenge to the environment due to their longevity and limited recyclability. This study investigates the hydrothermal degradation of end-of-life CDs – which are mainly composed of polycarbonate – under subcritical and supercritical water conditions as a sustainable approach for waste recycling. The hydrothermal treatments were carried out at temperatures ranging from 250 C to 450 ◦ C for reaction times of 5 to 60 min. The resulting product phases, i.e. water- soluble, diethyl ether (DEE)-soluble and solid gaseous, were quantified. The composition of the DEE-soluble phase was characterised by gas chromatography. The results showed a strong dependence of the product distribution on temperature and residence time. The yield of the DEE- soluble phase peaked at 450 ◦ C after 5 min (96.9 ± 1.0 %) and decreased at longer reaction times due to secondary decomposition into gas phase products. The major organic compounds in the DEE phase included bisphenol A, phenol and 4-isopropylphenol, while the concentration of other phenol derivatives such as 4-ethylphenol, 4-methylphenol (p-cresol) and 4-isopropenylphenol was generally low and below 5 %. These results show that hydrothermal treatment effectively converts waste CDs into valuable liquid and gaseous products, thereby reducing the amount of solid waste. The process offers a promising strategy for the recovery of resources from waste CDs.Elsevier Ltd.20262026-07-22 09:24:05Članek v reviji98969UDK: 54-139COBISS_ID: 285639939DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2026.e45225ISSN pri članku: 2405-8440sl© 2026 The Authors