A conception of a toolbox for quality control along the value chain of rigid PO recycling

Description

After the European Commission’s action plan (2015) and strategy (2018) for a circular economy (CE) for plastics, the target recycling rates of plastic waste have increased significantly. This imposed ample pressure on the plastics industry in multiple member states to enhance the recyclability of their products and improve the recycling technologies. With their unique versatility and high capacity for innovation, plastics play a crucial role in the transition to a sustainable CE. Moreover, data collection through standardized methods is one of the key factors to improve the circularity of plastics and reintroduce them into new applications. However, there is still no consensus on the necessary information to be collected alongside the standard characterization methods for recycled plastics. This can lead to a shortage of accurate data on material properties and their behavior during or after certain process steps. Hence, it can hinder the improvement of the entire recycling process and limit the possibilities of the recycled materials, thus deem them to be used in inferior applications. Proper quality control (QC) is essential to generate datasets with high precision. These datasets are used to optimize processing parameters and process steps to produce high-quality recyclates that meet the targeted quality characteristics of specific products and substitute virgin materials. The aim of this research is to develop a conception of a toolbox that includes the possible off-/at-line characterization and testing methods for various polyolefin (PO) feedstocks. In addition, it prioritizes the essential methods for gaining a fundamental understanding of the quality profile of a waste stream. The development of this toolbox is based on several experimental studies and extensive research on the common standards and material specifications in Europe. Its purpose is to support and improve the material data acquisition throughout the value chain of rigid PO recycling.

Period	06 Sept 2022
Event title	2nd International Symposium on Plastics Technology
Event type	Conference
Location	GermanyShow on map