SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & INTEGRATION

DESIGN FOR RE-X

MANUFACTURING MATERIALS OPTIMIZATION

REMANUFACTURING & EOL REUSE

RECYCLING AND RECOVERY

Recycling & Recovery

** NEW ** Demonstration of Solvent-Based Plastic Recycling to Extract Pure PP from PCR - Michigan Technological University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Braskem NA

The overall goal of the solvent-based (STRAP) technology in this project is to economically produce high-quality food-grade resins from plastic waste with low GHG emissions. The specific objective of this project is to extract high-purity polypropylene (PP) from post-consumer recycled (PCR) waste.

Upon completion, this project aims to reduce primary feedstock by 0.3 million metric tons (MMT) of PP, reduce energy consumption by 11.76 PJ, and decrease emissions by 0.38 MMCO2e. ​

** NEW ** Remaking of Recyclable Multilayer Film Barrier Films - U Mass-Lowell, Braskem, Dow Chemical, AquaPak, Coperion

The goal of this project is to advance manufacturing techniques for sustainably producing and recycling multilayer plastic films with outstanding properties for challenging applications. Specifically, the team seeks to (1) demonstrate a multilayer flexible film with extremely low water/oxygen permeation and (2) demonstrate layer separation and polymer purification via water dissolution and reextrusion.

Once completed, this project seeks to reduce primary feedstock by 0.73 million metric tons (MMT) of LDPE, reduce energy consumption by 19.1 PJ, and reduce emissions by 0.67 MMCO2e.

** NEW ** Prototype Performance Demonstration on End-User Duty Cycles for Tires Built with Large Reincorporation of Recycled Materials - Michelin North America, Argonne National Laboratory

Building off the success of their previous REMADE project, this project aims to increase the TRL for the reincorporation of (1) fine MRP into tire treads and sidewalls (TRL 4 to 7), and (2) fine MRP and rCB in the internal tire constituents (TRL 4 to 6). The selected TRLs represent the next validation step in the path to commercialization and the highest level of validation to date of these recycling technologies for polymeric materials.

Upon completion, this project aspires to reduce primary feedstock by 0.15 million metric tons (MMT) of rubber, reduce energy consumption by 13.5 PJ, and decrease emissions by 0.3 MMCO2e.

** NEW ** Dynamic Crosslinking to Produce Secondary Feedstock from Recycled EVA as a Sustainable Solution for Footwear - Braskem, Adidas, Allbirds, MIT

The proposed work seeks to demonstrate the variability in processing window and material properties of foams produced from recycled EVA. Furthermore, this project aims to determine the technical and commercial feasibility of using dynamic crosslinking to recycle EVA foams from shoe midsoles as secondary feedstock.

The goal of this project is to reduce primary feedstock by 0.508 million metric tons (MMT) of primary EVA, reduce energy consumption by 26.6 PJ, and decrease emissions by 0.39 MMCO2e.

** NEW ** In-plant Testing of the Novel Methods of Separating Water-based Inks and Stickies from Spent Paper Fibers - Virginia Tech, Thiele Kaolin

The objective of this project is to synthesize collectors (clay particles) that can remove water- and oil-based ink particles and synthesize collectors (clay particles) that can remove stickies from used paper fibers to increase U.S. paper recycling rates. The project seeks to conduct laboratory tests at Thiele Kaolin to establish the optimal conditions for removing water-based inks and stickies and in-plant testing of the process being developed as a stepping-stone to commercialization.

Once completed, this project expects to reduce primary feedstock by 3.6 million metric tons (MMT) of paper, reduce energy consumption by 77.8 PJ, and decrease emissions by 3.6 MMCO2e.

** NEW ** Design for Recycling: All-Polyolefins Multilayer Flexible Packaging - Michigan State University, Amcor Global

The overarching goal of this work is to ensure that MLPs can be efficiently recycled and have two EoL options, namely mechanical recycling and water-based separation. This project also aspires to create novel adhesives that match the performance of commercial adhesives, and validate EoL options for PE/adhesive/EVOH/adhesive/PE MLPs incorporating the new adhesive and conduct a TEA to validate the cost and feasibility of “all-olefin MLPs.”

Upon completion, the proposed work seeks to reduce primary feedstock by 0.38 million metric tons (MMT) of PE, reduce energy consumption by 18.4 PJ, and decrease emissions by 1.33 MMCO2e.

** NEW ** Advancing the Sorting of Textiles for Recycling - SUNY Buffalo, Brian Iezzi (Consultant), Accelerating Circularity, AMP Robotics

The goal of this project is to mature adaptive sorting technologies that incorporate advances in machine learning (ML) to sort post-consumer and post-industrial textiles into numerous market grades (resale, rag, fiber reclaim, and chemical recovery) based on the textile composition and contaminants present.

Upon completion, this project seeks to reduce primary feedstock by 0.136 million metric tons (MMT), reduce energy consumption by 5.71 PJ, and decrease emissions by 0.2 MMCO2e.

** NEW ** Novel, Transient, Thermal Barcode System for Highly Accurate, High-Speed, Automated Plastics Sorting - SUNY Buffalo

The overarching goal of this project is to develop a novel and transformative sorting technology, Transient Thermal Barcode (TTB) technology, that can rapidly and efficiently sort all 7 types of plastics cost-effectively. The TTB technology is based on molecular fingerprinting integrated with machine learning, AI, and robotics and can identify polymer/plastics-based textiles and apparel not presently recycled.

This project seeks to reduce primary feedstock by 1.46 million metric tons (MMT) of PP and LDPE, reduce energy consumption by 48.5 PJ energy reduction, and decrease emissions by 1.6 MMTCO2e.

** NEW ** Pilot Plant Demonstration of Plastic Upcycling for the Production of Sustainable Petrochemical Alternatives - Aeternal Upcycling, Argonne National Laboratory, and Inter-Rail Systems

This project aims to bring catalytic hydrogenolysis up from TRL4 to TRL6/7 through waste stream development, site development, catalytic hydrogenolysis scale-up and optimization, and product testing to easily demonstrate relevant quantities of plastic-derived waxes and lubricant base oils are achievable by interfacing with local waste streams and producing safe, sustainable petrochemical alternatives.

Assuming that the recycling rate for recyclable polyefins doubles from 17% to 34%, and the recycling rate for non-recyclable polymers rises from 0.6% to 10%, the TPM impacts are anticipated to be a 13.2 MMT increase in secondary feedstock, embodied energy savings of 77.7 MMT, and emissions reductions of 5.87 MMT CO2e.

** NEW ** Low Resource Autonomous Waste Sorting System to Optimize Sustainable Collection - rStream Recycling Inc., D&K Engineering

The primary goal of this project is to design and develop a compact, autonomous, high-speed, robust, and cost-effective mechanical sorting system suitable for non-industrial customer bases such as universities, stadiums, museums, airport, theme parks, and cruise lines.

Once completed, this project aims to reduce primary feedstock by 540 metric tons of waste and decrease emissions by 1.5 MTCO2e.

Enhanced Processing of Aluminum Scrap at End-of-life via Artificial Intelligence & Smart Sensing – Solvus Global, Energy Research Company (ERCo), Eck Industries, Mercury Marine, Novelis, Schnitzer Steel Industries

This project aims to deliver value-based intelligent melt control (VALI-MELT), a process control software tool with advanced sensing and processing capabilities, which enables closed loop quality control and optimal blending of scrap material.  VALI-MELT incorporates a scrap quality assessment tool (SQA), control software and in melt LIBS analyzer to enable close loop control for the utilization of post-consumer scrap.

Upon completion, this project will deliver a commercially viable software and sensing control tool that will enable optimal blending of scrap and real time processing adjustments based on feedstock composition and quality. This project will reduce primary feedstock by 0.462 million metric tons (MMT) of aluminum, 85 PJ energy reduction, 4.57 MMCO2e. Assumptions are based on demand projection for aluminum in 2030.

Low-Cost, High-Value Aromatics from Upcycling of Polyolefins Through Microwave Catalytic Processing – West Virginia University (WVU), Braskem America, Inc.

In this project, a simple one-step microwave catalytic process is proposed for upcycling single-use plastics into high-value BTX (benzene, toluene, xylene). This project will deliver optimized catalyst and processes to allow lower operating temperatures and higher BTX yield, the goal is to further increase the BTX yield up to 80% and reduce the reaction temperature from 300 ◦C to 200 ◦C and develop designs for quartz fluidized reactor and H-field microwave cavity for continuous large-scale single-use plastics microwave upcycling treatment. The TPMs of this project are estimated at 2MMT of secondary materials use, 73PJ of energy savings and 1.923MMT of CO2 reduction. Assumptions based on utilization of 10% of 20MMT of polyolefins that are recoverable.

Recovery of Plastics and Natural Fibers from Non-Recyclable Municipal Solid Waste for Composites Production – University of Massachusetts-Lowell (UM-L), Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Auburn University, Washington State University, Remacol Inc., CPM Extrusion Group, DTG Recycle Group

This project aims to recover secondary feedstocks of plastics and fibers from mixed flexible plastics (MFP) stream of nonrecyclable waste and develop advanced compounding and manufacturing processes to convert these recyclates to fiber-reinforced polymer composites.

Upon completion, this project will develop an integrated fractionation method that combines novel wet separation and fractionation approaches with air classification and NIR-based separation to decontaminate and obtain four plastic fractions and one natural fiber fraction from waste streams, processable material formulations out of these recyclates, and an advanced compounding procedure based on Ring Extrusion technology that produces high quality feedstocks. This project will reduce primary feedstock by 1.12 million metric tons (MMT) of flexible plastics, 96.7 PJ energy reduction, 1.52MMCO2e. Assumptions based on utilization of 20% of 5.62MMT of flex plastics available for recovery. 

Recycling Technologies for Silicon Solar Modules – Arizona State University (ASU), First Solar Inc., TG Companies LLC

The objective of this project is to develop a ready-to-commercialize recycling process to recover materials from silicon modules: solar-grade silicon, lead, silver, tin, solar-quality glass cullet, aluminum, and copper. The focus is on a new chemical recycling process to recover solar-grade silicon, lead, silver, tin, and copper from silicon cells.

Upon completion, this project will deliver an optimized chemical recycling process for silicon solar cells extracted from modules. The optimized process will be the basis for designing and constructing a pilot plant for silicon module recycling at 100,000 modules/year in the U.S. which recovers solar-grade silicon, lead, silver, solar-quality glass cullet, aluminum, copper, and tin from silicon modules. This project will increase secondary materials recovery by about 0.2MMT, embodied energy savings of 22PJ, and GHG emissions reduction of 1.106MMT. Assumptions based on recycling 20% of the expected EOL solar panels in the U.S. in 2030.

Recycling and Refining of Aluminum Foils and other Difficult Scraps – Oculatus Consulting, Phinix LLC, Eck Industries, GPRL R&E LLLC

The goal of this project is to produce a cost-competitive secondary feedstock for the aluminum industry using under-utilized foil materials as a source of material. Upon completion, this project will deliver a new processing technology that can continuously process thin gauge materials with a high level of organic contamination with high recovery yields, and design and demonstration of a novel prototype multi-chamber kiln for processing aluminum foils for recycling. This project will reduce primary feedstock by 0.326 million metric tons (MMT) of scrap aluminum, 55.6 PJ energy reduction, 2.71 MMTCO2e. Assumptions based on recovery of 360,000 short tons of scrap aluminum foil. 

Development of an Automated Method for Disassembly and Separation of Apparel for Recycling – Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Nike, Inc.

The overarching goal of this project is to develop a system that can rapidly and accurately characterize, then dismantle (detach), disposed garment materials by composition, thereby allowing for final separation into high purity, and therefore higher value, secondary material streams. 

The technology solution to be delivered at the end of the project will be a proof-of-concept system that implements; multi-spectral imaging, garment structural characterization, cutting pattern and path planning, and high- speed cutting, all of these elements will be integrated into a garment conveyance system having appropriate controls and safety features. This project will increase secondary feedstock by 0.66MMT, 27.7 PJ energy reduction, 1.07 MMCO2e. Assumptions based on increasing the recycle if apparel from 13% to 19.5%. 

Education and Workforce Development on Chemical Recycling of Plastics – University at Buffalo (UB), Resource Recycling Systems (RRS)

This project seeks to develop practitioner & expert level training in chemical recycling of plastics to educate, train, & develop the incumbent workforce for careers in Re-X, content will be prepared for both in-person and online delivery. The learning objectives include; to understand the state-of-the-art of various chemical recycling technologies, understand the product output for each type of chemical recycling process, understand the post-processing requirements needed to recover and separate products from a product state and to purify, modify and/or upgrade products to meet market requirements, understand the primary mechanisms for integrating the chemical recycling technologies into the supply chain for the products and co-products generated by the process, and understand the critical factors that affect the technical performance and costs of alternative chemical recycling process technologies.

The target audience for practitioner level training is intended for incumbent workers that currently work with Re-X technologies or in adjacent technology domains who wish to broaden their knowledge. Expert level training is intended to provide in-depth coverage of advanced Re-X concepts or technology and is targeted toward engineers or scientists trying to deepen their expertise.

Selective Recovery of Elements from Molten Aluminum Alloys – Phinix, LLC, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Kingston Process Metallurgy, Smelter Service Corporation, Certified Flux Solutions, LLC

This project seeks to develop, validate, and commercialize several processes to selectively remove iron, copper, silicon, manganese, and zinc from molten-scrap–based secondary aluminum melts to improve the recyclability of scrap aluminum.

Dynamic Crosslinking to Enable EVA Recycling – Braskem America, Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), Allbirds, Inc.

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

Diverting Mixed Polyolefins from Municipal Solid Waste to Feedstocks for Automotive and Building Applications – Michigan State University (MSU), National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), PADNOS

This project seeks to develop effective processing strategies to control the melt flow properties of mixed polyolefins to enable the reuse of mixed polyolefin waste plastics for new upcycling applications.

Chemical Recycling of Mixed PET/Polyolefin Streams Through Sequential Pyrolysis and Catalytic Upgrading – The Pennsylvania State University (PSU), Northwestern University, Shaw Group Industries, Inc., Process Systems Enterprise, Inc. - A Siemens Business

This project seeks to convert mixed plastics waste to re-usable products through the development of catalysts to convert polymer pyrolysis products to BTX and olefins. The feedstock for the proposed two-stage process (pyrolysis followed by catalytic upgrading of the pyrolysis products to BTX and olefins) is a mix of PET and PP waste plastics.

Smart Additive Manufacturing Towards Use of Recycled Paper Fibers for Producing High-quality Fiber-Reinforced Plastic (FRP) Composites – University of Iowa, Impossible Objects, Inc.

This project seeks to enable a reliable and high-throughput conversion of recycled paper and paperboard products with contaminants into lightweight, high-strength FRP composites for reuse in industries such as transportation vehicles, furniture, construction, production tooling, etc. The objective of this project is to establish a smart additive manufacturing technology that can reliably produce recycled paper fibers for use in composites with uncompromised performance.

Identification of Mixed Plastics and Valuable Electronics at the Source – University of Miami, Lid Vizion, LLC

This project seeks to develop vision sensing software that will enable consumers to determine how materials should be sorted for recycling, based on local recycling requirements.

Recycling of PET in Sustainable Food Packaging Systems – 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)

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

Reprocessing and Upcycling of Mixed Polyurethane Waste Streams – Northwestern University, BASF

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.

Efficient Purification and Reuse of Carbon Black Recovered from End-of-Life Tires – University of Utah, Idaho National Laboratory (INL), OTR Wheel Engineering/Green Carbon

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

Delamination as Key Enabler for the Recycling of Polymer-based Multilayer Packaging – The Research Foundation for SUNY - University of Buffalo, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Modern Corporation)

This project seeks to develop a solvent-based process that can recover polyolefins from multi-layer packaging. The process target is a recovery of 75% of the polyethylene present in the feedstock to the process.

Low-Cost, High-Value Metal Recovery from Electronic Waste to Increase Recycling and Reduce Environmental Impact – University of Utah, Sunnking, Inc.

This project seeks to adapt relatively low-cost and low-energy leaching technologies to directly recover copper and precious metals from e-waste.  This approach will enable the recovery of these metals from the mixed metals and plastics streams from e-waste and also enable recovery of the plastics. This technology could replace energy-intensive pyrometallurgical processes such as high-temperature smelting that might otherwise be used to recover metals, but due to the high-temperature the plastics are consumed. 

Utilizing these less energy-intensive and lower-cost technologies will provide the economic incentive to dramatically increase e-waste recycling by as much as 20%. The potential energy and emissions reduction are estimated at 21PJ per year and 1.2 million MT of CO2eq per year.

New Approaches to Improve Deinking Flotation to Increase the Availability of High-Quality, Low-Cost Recycle Paper Fibers – Virginia Polytechnic Institute

This project addresses paper fiber recycling needs. The paper industry in the U.S. replaces more than half of its fiber needs with secondary resources recovered from post-consumer paper and paper products. This project will help the industry to further increase their economically competitive recycling rates to those achieved in Europe by developing more efficient separation technologies that can produce higher brightness fibers by removing impurities more efficiently from spent wood fibers. The project could enable the use of an additional 1.3 million metric tons per year of secondary fiber.

Material Characterizations and Sorting Specifications That Can Allow the Development of Advanced Tire Constructions with High Incorporation of Recovered Rubber Materials – Michelin, Northwestern University, Nike

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.

Reinforced Recycled Polymer Composites – Oklahoma State University, Niagara Bottling LLC, Shaw Industries

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.

Chemical Recycling of Mixed Plastics and Valuable Metals in the Electronic Waste Using Solvent-Based Processing – University of Massachusetts-Lowell (UM-L), Sunnking, Inc., Institute of Scrap Recycling (ISRI)

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.

Development of New Cost-Effective Methods for Removing Trace Contaminants in Recycled Metals – The Ohio State University (OSU), Alcoa, Computherm

Cost-effective technologies for the in-melt removal and/or neutralization of trace contaminants in metals is critical for secondary feedstocks to achieve cost parity with primary feedstocks. This exploratory project will experimentally evaluate the addition of “scoping” elements in molten aluminum to neutralize trace contaminants that would otherwise constrain the recycling of aluminum.

Pushing the State of the Art in Steel Recycling through Innovation in Scrap Sorting and Impurity Removal – Colorado School of Mines

Increasing the utility of steel scrap through innovation in sorting and impurity removal will increase the use of secondary feedstock and achieve cost parity for secondary materials for steel products. This study will investigate: 1) physical methods such as optical sorting to upgrade scrap steel and 2) chemical or metallurgical treatment methods to remove or neutralize the effect of impurities in molten steel.

Determining Material, Environmental and Economic Efficiency of Sorting and Recycling Mixed Flexible Packaging and Plastic Wrap – American Chemistry Council (ACC), Resource Recycling Systems (RRS), Idaho National Laboratory (INL)

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.

Evaluation of Logistics Systems for the Collection, Preprocessing, and Production of Secondary Feedstocks from E-waste – Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Sunnking, Inc.

The objective of this project is to develop an e-waste logistics model that integrates transportation, manufacturing processes, and markets to enable optimal recovery and recycling of e-waste. The model will enable identification of least cost options for increasing e-waste collection and recycling.

Demineralization of Carbon Black Derived from End-of-Life Tires – University of Utah, OTR Wheel Engineering/Green Carbon Inc., and Idaho National Laboratory (INL)

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.

Scalable High Shear Catalyzed Depolymerization of Multilayer Plastic Packaging – University of Massachusetts-Lowell (U-ML), Michigan State, Unilever, American Chemistry Council (ACC), National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

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.

Assessment of the Impact of Single Stream Recycling on Paper Contamination in Recovery Facilities and Paper Mills  – University of Miami
This project aims to evaluate the impact of single stream recycling (SSR) on paper contamination in recovery operations and explore emerging recovery processes for minimizing fiber contamination.

Rapid Sorting of Scrap Metals with Solid State Device – University of Utah

This project focuses on improving the separation of non-ferrous scrap metals from other non-ferrous metals using electrodynamic sorting (EDX) at high throughput and with greater purity and yield.

Low-Concentration Metal Recovery from Complex Streams Using Gas-Assisted Microflow Solvent Extraction (GAME) – Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Phinix, LLC

The objective of this project is to develop GAME for efficient and cost- effective extraction and purification of low-concentration, high-value metals from complex streams. The successful development of this technology will contribute to the production of high-purity precious metals from end-of-life PCBs of various sources. GAME uses three phases (aqueous, organic, and gas) to achieve an efficient separation in a confined microchannel.

Development and Validation of Metal Separation Technology for Complex Metal Systems – The Pennsylvania State University (PSU), CHZ Technologies LLC

The goal of the proposed work is to develop, design, and demonstrate novel bench scale processes for efficient, low-cost, and environmentally benign elemental separation from low concentration solutions obtained from leaching of electronic waste (e-waste) processing streams.  These are key processes for the recovery of valuable materials from e-waste and will provide a pathway to profitable recycling processes for high-value metals. Separation of multiple elements from complex metal-bearing waste streams (with low concentration) through traditional metal separation processes, such as solvent extraction (SX), ion exchange (IX), and precipitation, is economically and environmentally challenging. The objective of this proposal is to evaluate two innovative processes/technology, viz., electrosterically stabilized nanocrystalline cellulose (ENCC), and Continuous Ion Exchange and Ion Chromatography (CIX-CIC) with modified zeolite and polymers, for the separation of Al, Cu, Au, Ag, and Pd from e-waste streams (i.e., printed wiring boards).

Advanced Education and Workforce Training in Fibers Recycling – Western Michigan University, Graphic Packaging International, Recourse Recovery Systems (RRS)

The goal of this project is to develop curriculum and coursework for training modules in advanced fibers recycling for the REMADE Education and Workforce Development Tiered Certificate Pathway program. The specific objectives of the project are to develop course content that fills the knowledge gap including (1) developing course materials to cover all the major recycled fibers and all major paper grades; (2) developing course materials to cover the entire fiber recycling process; (3) develop course materials to address specific challenges in the paper recycling process; (4) develop course materials to cover fiber identification, testing, and quality control, and sensor technologies in sorting; (5) develop a coursework structure that is in line with REMADE Tiered Certificate Pathway framework and that can be delivered through traditional teaching methods, online and distance learning, and hands-on experience in-person short course format.

Design for Recovery, Reuse, Remanufacturing & Recycling (Re-X)

Design for RE-Solar – University of Pittsburgh, University of California-Irvine (UCI), National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), First Solar, Alfred University, Yale University, Sunnking, Inc., Aluminum Association, Electronic Recyclers International (ERI)

This traditional research and development REMADE proposal is to create a framework that addresses the knowledge gaps of RE-SOLAR design. The proposed framework will offer impact projections for future PV panel waste streams (globally and for the US) based on predictions of global PV growth, provide LCA of various PV designs, and demonstrate new concepts and innovation for the design of an industrial scale PV recycling plant. The proposal is a continuation of Project 18-01-DE-07.

Upon completion, this project will deliver PV in a circular economy (PV ICE) version 1.0.0 software tool with the capability to analyze embodied energy and equivalent carbon dioxide emissions given changes in Si PV technologies, new PV technologies such as tandem cells and perovskites, and effects of changing raw material sourcing or increasing recycled material in manufacturing; The tool will also be used to analyze reduced material consumption and the effect of open-loop versus closed-loop recycling on future CO2 emissions, energy, waste streams, and material economic value. This project will reduce primary feedstock by 1.08 million metric tons (MMT), 26.6 PJ energy reduction, 1.34 MMCO2e. Assumptions based on preliminary results of the exploratory project.

Development of a Novel Design for Remanufacturing Software Plugin for CAD – Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Caterpillar, Inc. BorgWarner (Delphi), Trane Technologies, ZF Group (WABCO), Remanufacturing Industries Council (RIC), Autodesk

This project is a continuation of exploratory project 18-02-DE-04. The goal of this project seeks to develop a practical, implementable software tool that enables DfRem considerations in the product design process and is seamlessly integrated with existing CAD software packages commonly used in industry.  Upon completion, this projects deliverables include an integrated software tool with RIE and DRC modules and CAD plugins for Autodesk and Creo. This project will Increase in secondary material use by 0.280MMT, energy savings of 23.7 PJ, and emissions reduction of 1.48 MMT, based on preliminary data from project 18-02-DE-0.

Data-Driven Design Decision Support for Remanufacturing of High-Value Components in Industrial and Agricultural Equipment – Iowa State University (ISU), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), Mississippi State University, John Deere, Automotive Parts Remanufacturers Association (APRA)

This project aims to develop and validate a new tool package (D4Reman) for design decision analysis to improve the reuse rates of high-value components at end-of-life. The project is a continuation of exploratory project 18-02-DE-06. Upon completion, this project will create a software tool package (D4Reman) for data-driven design decision support consisting of a cloud-based software application along with an Excel plugin. It will utilize field reliability data and reman reuse data to identify design improvement decisions and quantitatively assess their influences on the initial cost, life-cycle warranty cost (LCWC), and energy and emissions. This project will reduce primary feedstock by 0.55 million metric tons (MMT) of steel and aluminum, 7 PJ energy reduction, 0.42 MMCO2e. Assumptions based on preliminary results of exploratory project.

Material and Vehicle Design for High-Value Recycling of Aluminum and Steel Automotive Sheet – University of Michigan, Ford Motor Company, Novelis, Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), The Aluminum Association, Light Metal Consultants

This project seeks to increase automotive sheet metal EOL (post‐consumer) recycled content; thus, reducing vehicle embodied energy and primary feedstock consumption. The objectives are to produce a new analytical design for recycling tool tailored for automotive metal sheets, and to generate new knowledge on how EOL sheet recycling is affected by vehicle design (e.g., alloy specification), recycling system infrastructure (e.g., deployment of emerging separation processes), and sheet manufacturing process decisions (e.g., temperature profiles informed by new Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) tools).

Analysis and Design for Sustainable Circularity of Barrier Film in Sheet Molding Composites – The Ohio State University (OSU), Kohler Co., National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Arizona State University (ASU)

This project seeks to develop 1) data and models about alternatives for recycling, reusing, or replacing the current nylon-based SMC barrier film, and 2) an approach, database, and software for the design of sustainable and circular networks of this barrier film.

Building Re-X (BREX): Data, Methodology, and Design Integration – National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Building Transparency, Skidmore Owings & Merrill

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.

Data-Driven Design Decision Support for Re-X of High-Value Components in Industrial and Agricultural Equipment – Iowa State University (ISU), John Deere

This project will create a tool to evaluate and recommend the optimal designs of components in industrial and agricultural equipment. By designing components with optimum material utilization and end-of-life in mind, there is a 60% reduction in carbon emissions.

The novelty of this tool lies in its ability to incorporate real-world load/component health data that has been acquired by condition monitoring systems in the field into early-stage design assessment using random variable models. This approach enables data-informed design for Re-X.

Design for Remanufacturing – Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Caterpillar Inc., Remanufacturing Industries Council (RIC)

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 the 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.  

Development of an Industrially Relevant RE-SOLAR Design Framework – University of Pittsburgh, University of California-Irvine, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), First Solar.

Solar modules are creating a major surge in e-waste because inadequate attention is focused on designing for recycling or reuse. This project provides a design framework of high-efficiency modules that can be economically recycled, recovered, remanufactured, and/or reused.

Quantification of Financial and Environmental Benefits Tradeoffs in Multi-Generational Product Family Development Considering Re-X Performances – University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), Iowa State University (ISU), Deere and Company, Green Electronics Council

The objectives are to develop fundamental models and new design tools with capabilities of generating and comparing design for Re-X alternatives considering economic profitability and environmental impact savings. The specifics of the research objectives are to (1) identify design for reliability processes factors that are interdependent with Re-X options, thus establish models for the interdependencies, (2) integrate these interdependence models with existing reliability analysis tools so that new analysis tools could take into account Re-X options in design for reliability, (3) create a decision support system for the optimization of product family design considering reliability and Re-X options concurrently, and (4) take into account the uncertainties resulted from post design activities so that robust design tradeoff decisions can be made. 

Design Iteration Tool to Sustain Remanufacturability – Iowa State University (ISU), Danfoss

The overall goal of this project is the development and application of a software plug-in to enable the design of components that will satisfy both EPA standards-driven light weighting efforts and parametric feature designs that enable remanufacturability (e.g., remove material where feasible for light-weighting and, at the same time, add material where needed to sustain remanufacturability). To achieve this goal, the first objective of this project is to establish a best practice approach to modify a typical design process for DfReman. The second objective is the creation of a software plugin for mainstream CAD software to enable design for remanufacturing consideration of high-value components. This tool will use realistic life estimates to automatically generate design alternatives for sustained remanufacturability, thereby reducing energy, emissions, material consumption, and cost. This tool development will focus on engine cylinder heads and industrial pump components and will facilitate the generation of designs that will make components more readily available for remanufacturing processes, such as, re-machining of critical wear features for return to service, complete with estimates of cost/benefit of analysis for multiple lifecycles.  The third and final objective disseminate the results of this project by developing training videos on the application of DfReman rules and the software plugin and creating a website to disseminate the plugin and training materials. 

Systems Analysis

A Technical Evaluation Framework for Recycling Technologies – University of Michigan, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), The Plastics Industry Association, The Aluminum Association, Steel Manufacturers Association

This 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. 

Modeling reverse flows of selected recycled materials, their associated energy use and their GHG emissions: An application to California and a blueprint for the US – University of California-Irvine (UCI), TruckPay.com

Course on Systems Thinking for Material Management: Benefit and Tools – Georgia Institute of Technology, Yale University, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), GreenBlue, The Aluminum Association

The objective of this project is to develop awareness, practitioner, and expert level training focused on benefits and tools of systems thinking for material management, content will be prepared for both in-person and online delivery.

Upon completion, awareness level training will provide an overview of systems analysis tools and applications, namely MFA, LCA, and life cycle cost analysis. Practitioner level training will give students a sound understanding of systems analysis tools available, an overview of references and experts to contact for follow-up questions, and the ability to conduct basic material flow, life cycle, and cost analysis. Students will use some software products and web-based tools as part of this course. Expert level training will include an introduction to LCA tools and methods, criticality assessments, the NREL material flows in industry tool, and combined systems analysis. This expert level training will build upon the awareness and practitioner training and case studies. Students will be instructed on conducting MFAs and LCAs independently.

The target audience for this project include workforce engineers, technicians, managers and executives throughout the supply chain for metals, polymers, fibers, and electronics. This project will coordinate outreach with partners, including Green Blue, to disseminate training.

Dynamic Systems Analysis of PET and Olefin Polymers in a Circular Economy – Michigan Technological University (MTU), Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Resource Recycling Systems (RRS), Yale University, Chemstations

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.

A Dynamic Techno-economic Systems Modeling Framework for U.S. Fiber Recycling – Northwestern University, Yale University, Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI)

This project will model and test the U.S. fiber recycling industry – specifically for paper and paperboard – to improve its long-term profitability and increase its environmental benefits. 

The project will provide a virtual testbed that will explore resilience to volatility in scrap quantities, quality, markets, and prices, and consider changes to current and future recycling capacities and technologies in order to increase domestic fiber recycling by 15% or more.

Identifying strategies to maximize benefit of fiber recovery through systems quantification – Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), WestRock, Graphic Packaging

This project will analyze the system‐wide economic and environmental implications of changes in the recovery of fibers. The project will use a dynamic modeling framework that integrates material flow analysis, life cycle inventories, and technical cost modeling to inform potential ideas for cost‐effective fiber recovery approaches.

A goal of this project is for REMADE members to more accurately determine the energy and emissions benefits associated with paper and paperboard recovery.  

Systems Analysis for PET and Olefin Polymers in a Global Circular Economy – Michigan Technological University, American Chemistry Council (ACC), Idaho National Laboratory (INL)

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 recycling of polymers including polyolefins and PET.

Mapping the Materials Base for REMADE – Yale University, Unilever, Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Sunnking, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

This project will develop a materials flow baseline for REMADE materials (metals, fibers, polymers, and e-waste) to support the 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.