Development of Manufacturing Technologies to Increase Scrap Steel Recycling into New Tires

Development of Manufacturing Technologies to Increase Scrap Steel Recycling into New Tires

This project seeks to develop innovative processing technologies that can enable a greater rate of recycling of steel scrap into the manufacturing of new tires. The goal of this proposal is to increase the scrap recycling rate from 20% to 80%. During the cold drawing process, the fine wires are subjected to high levels of stresses that are known to generate wire breakage when impurity levels such as Cu or Sn are too high.

Upon completion, this project will develop thermal and chemical processing techniques to ameliorate the micro-structure to tolerate higher Cu contents. This project will reduce primary feedstock by 0.682 million metric tons (MMT) of steel, 10.7 PJ energy reduction, 1.19 MMCO2e. Assumptions based on U.S. tire production and increase in recycled steel use from 20 to 80%.

Project Team:
Arizona State University (ASU), Michelin North America, Inc.

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21-01-MM-5005

Development of Computational Tools for Predicting Seam Weld Integrity in Thick-Walled Hollow Aluminum Extrusions

Development of Computational Tools for Predicting Seam Weld Integrity in Thick-Walled Hollow Aluminum Extrusions

The primary goal of this project is to reduce scrap and consumption of primary aluminum during the manufacturing of thick-walled hollow extrusions by developing simulation tools for predicting the quality of seam and charge welds. Upon completion, this project will provide computational methods and acceptance criteria for simulating the extrusion process and using the tools to design process and die modifications that lead to a reduction in scrap.

Project Team:
Secat, Inc., Lehigh University, University of Kentucky, Taber Extrusions, LLC.

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21-01-MM-5006

Catalytic Upcycling of Polyolefins

Catalytic Upcycling of Polyolefins

This project's overall objective is to integrate catalysis, reaction engineering with process design, and technoeconomic analysis to allow waste polyolefins to be a viable feedstock to produce chemicals and monomers. Upon completion, this project will deliver a low-temperature catalytic process for upgrading pyrolysis oils from waste polyolefins to chemical intermediates. This project will reduce primary feedstock by 2.0 million metric tons (MMT) of polyolefins, 20 PJ energy reduction, 1.005 MMCO2e. Assumptions based on utilization of 10% of PP and LPDE in MSW.

Project Team:
University California Santa Barbara, BASF

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21-01-MM-5056

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.)

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20-01-MM-4044

Chemical Conversion and Process Control for Increased used of Polyethylene and Polypropylene Secondary Feedstocks

Chemical Conversion and Process Control for Increased use of Polyethylene and Polypropylene Secondary Feedstocks

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 Massachusetts Lowell (UM-L), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), SER North America LLC, iMFLUX Inc.

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20-01-MM-4130

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

Achieving 100% Recycling Aluminum in Die Casting Applications

Achieving 100% Recycling Aluminum in Die Casting Applications

The goal of this project is to achieve 100% use of recycled aluminum in die casting applications by realizing the following two objectives: 1) substitute 100% secondary materials for primary alloys in structural die castings with no degradation in properties; and 2) improve the mechanical properties of the current secondary alloys for non-structural applications.

Project Team:
The Ohio State University (OSU), Alcoa USA Corp., North American Die Casting Association (NADCA), CompuTherm LLC

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20-01-MM-4033

Increasing Melt Efficiency and Secondary Alloy Usage in Aluminum Die Casting

Increasing melt efficiency and secondary alloy usage in aluminum die casting

The aluminum casting industry uses limited quantities of secondary alloys because of their poor quality (i.e. high concentrations of residual contaminants such as iron). In this project thermodynamic and kinetic models coupled with experimental validation and testing will be used to develop holistic contaminant control techniques including alloy, flux and refractory chemistries to increase melt efficiencies with higher levels of secondary materials use.

Project Team:
The Ohio State University (OSU), Alcoa USA Corp., North American Die Casting Association (NADCA)

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18-01-MM-08

Biological & Bio-Mechanical Technologies for Recycled Fibers to Regain Fiber Quality and Increase Secondary Feedstock in High Value-Added Paper Grades

Biological & Bio-Mechanical Technologies for Recycled Fibers to Regain Fiber Quality and Increase Secondary Feedstock in High Value-Added Paper Grades

The goal of this project is to develop new technologies for removing contaminants from recycled paper to less than 0.5% and to develop technologies for regaining or fiber quality without using only mechanical refining. The new technologies developed will help paper recycling industry to produce much cleaner pulp and higher quality fibers so more recycled fibers can be used in place of virgin fibers in high grade paper. The new technologies developed based on new enzyme applications will also reduce the energy consumptions in both contamination removal and fiber refining process and increase the yield of the fiber recycling.

Project Team:
Western Michigan University, Idaho National Laboratory, Graphic Packaging International, WestRock Company

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19-01-MM-03

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)

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18-02-MM-03

Development of a Castable High Strength Secondary Aluminum Alloy from Recycled Wrought Aluminum Scrap

Development of a Castable High Strength Secondary Aluminum Alloy from Recycled Wrought Aluminum Scrap

This project lays out an approach to develop a new process for recycling aerospace (AA7075) aluminum scrap into a high strength castable aluminum alloy. The project will focus on developing approaches to overcome the technical challenges (such as hot tearing and macrosegregation) which limit industry’s ability to process and use up to 35,000 metric tons of aluminum scrap. The expected energy benefits are estimated at 6.5 PJ per year with an emissions reduction of about 370,000 metric tons per year.

Project Team:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Eck Industries Inc.

18-02-MM-09

CombiClean™: Facilitating Contaminant Removal in Recycled Plastics

CombiClean™: Facilitating Contaminant Removal in Recycled Plastics

The objective of the project is to develop a hyperspectral data base to enable more effective sorting and cleaning of secondary plastics feedstocks. The project will produce several tangible outcomes. An open source database, CombiClean™, will be developed, disseminated and archived in a publicly available repository. Hyperspectral characterization (combined FTIR, Raman, and LIBS) for model systems in virgin, contaminated, and cleaned conditions will be collected. Generated data will be used to train machine learning algorithms and demonstrate improved sorting. High throughput methods will be used to develop customized cleaning solutions based on specific contaminants incorporating enzymes. A process model will be populated by the cleaning data. Process economics and life-cycle impacts will be calculated to compare the new optimized processes against the present baseline of simple caustic/surfactants at high temperatures.

Project Team:
Michigan State University, Sealed Air

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19-01-MM-02