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Polymers

A Technical Evaluation Framework for Recycling Technologies

A Technical Evaluation Framework for Recycling Technologies

his project seeks to develop a framework for determining a temporal hierarchy of technical recycling constraints and corresponding recycling parameters (recycling rates, recycled contents, and environmental benefits), develop a consistent quantitative methodology for defining the performance of recycling technologies, and collect sufficient material flow, composition, and recycling technology data to demonstrate the framework by evaluating the merits of emerging metal and polymer recycling technologies for select scrap streams.

Upon completion, this project aims to validate the Python‐based Recycling Constraint Evaluation Framework (RCEF) model containing the metal and polymer case study results that can be easily adapted to any material stream, an excel‐based Recycling Technology Performance (RTP) model (input to the RCEF model) containing a quantitative description of >11 emerging recycling technology processes and that can be easily adapted to add new technology definitions, and a published report on A New Framework for Evaluating Recycling Constraints and the Efficacy of Emerging Recycling technologies. Systems Analysis and Integration projects do not directly impact TPMs. 

Project Team:
University of Michigan, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), The Plastics Industry Association, The Aluminum Association, Steel Manufacturers Association

21-01-SA-5034

Enabling Cross-industry Reuse of Comingled Waste Plastics as Quality Asphalt Modifier for Sustainable Pavement

Enabling Cross-industry Reuse of Comingled Waste Plastics as Quality Asphalt Modifier for Sustainable Pavement

This project seeks to evaluate reactive feedstock pre-treatment and to develop real-time process measurements to increase post-consumer and post-industrial polyolefin film waste utilization.

Project Team:
University of Tennessee - Knoxville, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Paragon Technical Services Inc. (a subsidiary of Ergon Asphalt and Emulsions, Inc.)

20-01-MM-4044

Efficient Purification and Reuse of Carbon Black Recovered from End-of-Life Tires

Efficient Purification and Reuse of Carbon Black Recovered from End-of-Life Tires

This project seeks to develop process technology to recover a low-ash content high-quality carbon black from end-of-life tire rubber.

Project Team:
University of Utah, Idaho National Laboratory (INL), OTR Wheel Engineering/Green Carbon

20-01-RR-4087

Reprocessing and Upcycling of Mixed Polyurethane Waste Streams

Reprocessing and Upcycling of Mixed Polyurethane Waste Streams

This project seeks to increase post-consumer polyurethane foam recycling and circularity through an innovative reprocessing strategy which incorporates a catalyst into the post-consumer materials to enable these materials to be reprocessed by extrusion or injection molding at elevated temperatures to useful products.

Project Team:
Northwestern University, BASF

20-01-RR-4071

Development of Instruments and Techniques That Can Assess Tire Life and Increase Re-Manufacturing of Commercial Vehicle Tires

Development of Instruments and Techniques That Can Assess Tire Life and Increase Re-Manufacturing of Commercial Vehicle Tires

This project seeks to increase the average number of times commercial vehicle tires are re-manufactured (retreaded) through the development of instruments and techniques that can assess the remaining useful life of tires in operation and optimize tire remanufacture.

Project Team:
Michelin North America, Northwestern University

20-01-RM-4006

Supramolecular Interfacial Reinforcement for Manufacture Utilizing Mixed Secondary Plastic Feedstock

Supramolecular Interfacial Reinforcement for Manufacture Utilizing Mixed Secondary Plastic Feedstock

This project seeks to develop a compatibilizer for MPO (mixed polymeric olefins, i.e., PE and PP) which are difficult to separate from each other and are incompatible. The compatibilized MPO will compete with virgin PE and virgin PP.

Project Team:
The University of Akron, Braskem

20-01-MM-4026

Building Re-X (BREX): Data, Methodology, and Design Integration

Building Re-X (BREX): Data, Methodology, and Design Integration

This project seeks to bring the concept of Design for Building Re-X (BREX) to the building construction materials. The project will develop a set of open access EOL databases for construction materials and create open-access BREX process models to enable EOL constraints to be incorporated into building design and materials selection.

Project Team:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Building Transparency, Skidmore Owings & Merrill

20-01-DE-4108

Recycling of PET in Sustainable Food Packaging Systems

Recycling of PET in Sustainable Food Packaging Systems

The primary objective of this project is to replace conventionally produced milk cartons, aseptic bricks, and food trays with 100% recycled PET.

Project Team:
MuCell Extrusion LLC, Plastilene SAS a Plastilene Group Company, Wingate Packaging, Sugar Creek Packaging Co., Center for Innovative Food Technology (CIFT), The Ohio State University (OSU)

20-01-RR-4065

Dynamic Systems Analysis of PET and Olefin Polymers in a Circular Economy

Dynamic Systems Analysis of PET and Olefin Polymers in a Circular Economy

This project seeks to continue the development of a Systems Analysis model including materials flow analysis, techno-economic assessment, and life-cycle assessment for PET and Olefins materials flow in the U.S. economy.

Project Team:
Michigan Technological University (MTU), Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Resource Recycling Systems (RRS), Yale University, Chemstations

20-01-SA-4014

Dynamic Crosslinking to Enable EVA Recycling

Dynamic Crosslinking to Enable EVA Recycling

This project seeks to convert cross-linked EVA footwear industrial scrap that can then be re-incorporated into the manufacturing process.

Project Team:
Braskem America, Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), Allbirds, Inc.

20-01-RR-4029

Chemical Recycling of Mixed Plastics and Valuable Metals in the Electronic Waste Using Solvent-Based Processing

Chemical Recycling of Mixed Plastics and Valuable Metals in the Electronic Waste Using Solvent-Based Processing

This project seeks to demonstrate the potential of solvent-based extraction process to recover plastics mixed metals and plastics electronic waste (e‐waste) for cross-industry reuse. Following extraction of the plastics, the mixed-stream would be primarily metals. The plastics would be recovered from the process solvent using an anti-solvent. If successful, this project will significantly increase the recycling rates of e-waste, and the recovery of plastics and metals from this source material. The potential energy savings and emission reduction from this project are estimated at 16PJ per year and 334,000 MT of CO2eq. per year.

Project Team:
University of Massachusetts-Lowell, Sunnking, Inc., Institute of Scrap Recycling

18-02-RR-17

Scalable High Shear Catalyzed Depolymerization of Multilayer Plastic Packaging

Scalable High Shear Catalyzed Depolymerization of Multilayer Plastic Packaging

Industry is increasingly combining layers of different polymer materials to construct highly functional, lightweight packaging (e.g. to extend food life). These multilayer films are unfortunately less recyclable than single layer films. This project will investigate catalytic depolymerization as a cost-effective approach to process these films into higher value products suitable for use in a variety of applications.

Project Team:
University of Massachusetts-Lowell, Michigan State University, Unilever, American Chemistry Council, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

18-01-RR-20

Demineralization of Carbon Black Derived from End-of-Life Tires

Demineralization of Carbon Black Derived from End-of-Life Tires

Alternative process technologies will be experimentally evaluated to upgrade carbon black recovered from end-of-life tires to meet carbon black market quality specifications. Approximately 3.87 Mt of waste tires accrue every year in the United States. If all these tires were processed to recover the carbon black, about 1.1 Mt of carbon black could be recovered to use as a secondary feedstock.

Project Team:
University of Utah, OTR Wheel Engineering/Green Carbon Inc., Idaho National Laboratory

18-01-RR-19

Reinforced Recycled Polymer Composites

Reinforced Recycled Polymer Composites

This project seeks to increase recycling of bottles and carpeting materials by combining both materials into desirable composite materials (such as repairable plastic pallets and acoustic panels) of a combined value significantly greater than each separately. Increasing the value of the recycled materials will motivate collection, recovery and recycle rates.

The project also provides the opportunity and motivation for the recyclers to introduce new technologies for recycling, including and especially that for the secondary material streams such as PET and carpet, making recycled plastic more economically attractive.

Project Team:
Oklahoma State University, Niagara Bottling LLC, Shaw Industries

18-02-RR-13

Material Characterizations and Sorting Specifications That Can Allow the Development of Advanced Tire Constructions with High Incorporation of Recovered Rubber Materials

Material Characterizations and Sorting Specifications That Can Allow the Development of Advanced Tire Constructions with High Incorporation of Recovered Rubber Materials

This project seeks to improve the recycling efficiency of recovered rubber materials from used tires back into new tires, by increasing the addition of micronized rubber powder (MRP) from used tires in the production of composite polymer materials (CPM) which is used in the production of new tires. CPM is a blend of MRP and virgin rubber. Increasing the use of MRP for new tires significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions versus other tire recycling processes such as tire burning in cement kilns, crumb or reclaimed rubber manufacturing. While MRP is an attractive cost-effective option for recycling of tires, its incorporation into new tire compounds is limited to ensure that those compounds have properties equivalent to virgin polymers.

This project will develop an understanding of the properties of MRP as a function of the MRP feedstock (used tires) and processing conditions for the production of MRP. This would enable the development of specifications for sorting of used tires and grinding of the tires MRP, together with the associated formulations and tire constructions that will allow higher incorporation of MRP back into new tires without degradation in tire performance, including reliability, durability and rolling resistance. The estimated energy savings for this project are 21PJ per year.

Project Team:
Michelin, Northwestern University, Nike

18-02-RR-02

Determining Material, Environmental and Economic Efficiency of Sorting and Recycling Mixed Flexible Packaging and Plastic Wrap

Determining Material, Environmental and Economic Efficiency of Sorting and Recycling Mixed Flexible Packaging and Plastic Wrap

This project will further develop technology to recover flexible plastic film from a material recovery facility (MRF). Market opportunities for the recovered film will be examined and the resulting economic and environmental impacts will be evaluated. The technology to be developed in the project, if implemented broadly, has the potential of capturing almost 11 billion pounds of flexible plastic packaging and plastic wrap that is currently landfilled each year.

Project Team:
American Chemistry Council , Resource Recycling Systems, Idaho National Laboratory

18-01-RR-17

Systems Analysis for PET and Olefin Polymers in a Global Circular Economy

Systems Analysis for PET and Olefin Polymers in a Global Circular Economy

This exploratory project will develop a framework for systems analysis of PET and polyolefins in the context of a circular economy. These polymeric materials are currently recycled at low rates in the U.S., but are among the largest volumes of polymeric materials that are recyclable. The objective of this project is to develop a framework that will enable analyses of factors such as new recovery technologies that might enhance the recovery and recycle of polymers including polyolefins and PET.

Project Team:
Michigan Technological University, American Chemistry Council, Idaho National Laboratory

18-01-SA-04

Mapping the Material Base for REMADE

Mapping the Material Base for REMADE

This project will develop a materials flow baseline for REMADE materials (metals, fibers, polymers, and e-waste) to support measurement of the impact of future technology improvements through REMADE projects. A harmonized and validated set of data for metals, fibers, polymers and e-waste will be developed within a consistent framework that allows comparisons of material efficiencies across REMADE materials at all life-cycle stages.

Project Team:
Yale University, Unilever, International Zinc Association, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

18-01-SA-05

Design for Remanufacturing

Design for Remanufacturing

This project is focused on working directly with remanufacturing industry leaders to create a set of pragmatic “design for remanufacturing” rules that would allow design engineers to integrate remanufacturing considerations in their component and part designs and pave the way for integration of these design rules across various engineering tools and CAD platforms currently in use to enable improvement in component and part manufacturability.

These design rules will be verified on existing parts and CAD file(s) provided by the industrial partner to identify potential changes to improve the part manufacturability.  Integration of manufacturability into the design paradigm is expected to enable an increase in remanufacturing contributing to an annual energy saving of about 50 PJ and an annual emission reduction of 3.6 million MT of CO2-eq.  

Project Team:
Rochester Institute of Technology, Caterpillar Inc., Remanufacturing Industries Council

18-02-DE-04

Cross-Industry Utilization of Ground Tire Rubber for Energy Efficient Pavements

Cross-Industry Utilization of Ground Tire Rubber for Energy Efficient Pavements

This project will examine ways to better utilize ground tire rubber from recycled tires and use the particles in asphalt pavement. Ground tire rubber is currently being used as an asphalt modifier, however because of the difference in density with asphalt it suffers from inadequate storage stability, rendering it an un-preferred material in asphalt paving.

Iowa State University has developed a technology that matches ground rubber tire density with asphalt (and enables the substitution of SBS elastomers that are otherwise used in asphalt) with simple compounding techniques, producing a asphalt product that meets storage stability specifications that would be more acceptable to the paving industry.  The energy savings opportunity from this technology is estimated at 4.2 PJ per year.

Project Team:
Iowa State University, Michelin, Lehigh Technologies (Subsidiary of Michelin)

18-02-MM-03

 

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