Recycling, Reusing and Resource Recovery from Polymers

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Circular and Green Polymer Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 August 2023) | Viewed by 4681

Special Issue Editors

National Research Council (CNR)-Institute of Sciences and Technologies for Sustainable Energy and Mobility (STEMS), Strada delle Cacce 73, 10135 Turin, Italy
Interests: polymer composites and nanocomposites; biopolymers; coatings; structure–property relationship; processing of polymers and biopolymers; polymer-based complex systems; food packaging; biomedical engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is well known that the demand for polymer recycling/reusing is vast. This is because the million tons of plastics entering our environment every year are impressive. Many economies have started to work towards achieving a “zero-waste economy” by means of plastic reuse and recycling. However, when compared with virgin materials, the lower properties and contamination issues of recycled ones impose new research efforts. In mechanical recycling, new processes are required to create materials that can compete on price with virgin polymers. New compatibilizers or compatibilization techniques that could enable the melt processing of mixed polymers to yield high-performance products are essential. Additionally, chemical and enzymatic recycling requires new processes with green solvents and enzymatic catalysts that can be recycled easily for many processing loops. Finally, in thermal recycling, due to their high calorific value when compared with other materials, polymers are a convenient energy and fuel source and can produce syngas and useful materials. However, all the produced products of thermal recycling should be transformed into value-added materials for ensuring the paradigm of zero waste. Finally, the reuse approach of polymer waste in other low structural material applications is an important framework that can be used to reduce overall waste.

For all the reported reasons, the goal of this Special Issue is to collect works on the reuse,
recycling, and responsible manufacture solutions of polymer-based materials for reducing emissions and ensuring efficient use of Earth resources.

There are no limits in terms of the application of recycled/reused polymers (i.e., in the automotive sector, energy recovery/alternative fuels, in decarbonizing technology, for improving agricultural soil quality, as smart fertilizers, as bitumen additives, flame retardants, etc.) or nature of the material (neat polymers, blends, composites, nanocomposites). Further, papers on waste characterization, impact, and economic analyses are welcome. Both original contributions and reviews are welcome.  

Dr. Mattia Bartoli
Dr. Donatella Duraccio
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • mechanical recycling
  • thermal recycling
  • enzymatic recycling
  • reuse
  • LCA
  • polymer-based materials

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 4361 KiB  
Article
Effect of Agricultural Biomass Residues on the Properties of Recycled Polypropylene/Polyethylene Composites
by Agnese Ābele, Remo Merijs-Meri, Madara Žiganova, Zanda Iesalniece and Ivan Bochkov
Polymers 2023, 15(12), 2672; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15122672 - 14 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 812
Abstract
The aim of the study was to assess the usefulness of agricultural biomass residues as reinforcement in recycled polymer matrices. In this study, recycled polypropylene and high-density polyethylene composites (rPPPE) filled with three types of biomass residues, sweet clover straws (SCS), buckwheat straws [...] Read more.
The aim of the study was to assess the usefulness of agricultural biomass residues as reinforcement in recycled polymer matrices. In this study, recycled polypropylene and high-density polyethylene composites (rPPPE) filled with three types of biomass residues, sweet clover straws (SCS), buckwheat straws (BS) and rapeseed straws (RS), are presented. The effects of the fiber type and the fibers content on the rheological behavior, mechanical properties (including tensile, flexural and impact strength), thermal stability and moisture absorbance were determined, in addition to morphological analysis. It was revealed that the addition of SCS, BS or RS increased the materials’ stiffness and strength. The reinforcement effect increased as the loading of the fibers was increased, especially for BS composites in the flexural test. After the moisture absorbance test, it was found that the reinforcement effect slightly increased for the composites with 10% fibers but decreases with 40% fibers. The results highlight that the selected fibers are a feasible reinforcement for recycled polyolefin blend matrices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recycling, Reusing and Resource Recovery from Polymers)
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16 pages, 3768 KiB  
Article
Development of Foam Fly Ash Geopolymer with Recycled High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Plastics
by Emmanuel M. Atienza, Richard M. De Jesus and Jason Maximino C. Ongpeng
Polymers 2023, 15(11), 2413; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15112413 - 23 May 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1751
Abstract
Adapting sustainable construction, which involves responsible consumption of natural resources and reducing carbon emissions, could be a unified action to address the intensifying effects of global warming and the increasing rate of waste pollution worldwide. Aiming to lessen the emission from the construction [...] Read more.
Adapting sustainable construction, which involves responsible consumption of natural resources and reducing carbon emissions, could be a unified action to address the intensifying effects of global warming and the increasing rate of waste pollution worldwide. Aiming to lessen the emission from the construction and waste sector and eliminate plastics in the open environment, a foam fly ash geopolymer with recycled High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) plastics was developed in this study. The effects of the increasing percentages of HDPE on the thermo-physicomechanical properties of foam geopolymer were investigated. The samples’ measured density, compressive strength, and thermal conductivity at 0.25% and 0.50% HDPE content was 1593.96 kg/m3 and 1479.06 kg/m3, 12.67 MPa and 7.89 MPa, and 0.352 W/mK and 0.373 W/mK, respectively. Obtained results are comparable to structural and insulating lightweight concretes with a density of less than 1600 kg/m3, compressive strength of greater than 3.5 MPa, and thermal conductivity of less than 0.75 W/mK. Thus, this research concluded that the developed foam geopolymers from recycled HDPE plastics could be a sustainable alternative material and be optimized in the building and construction industry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recycling, Reusing and Resource Recovery from Polymers)
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13 pages, 4291 KiB  
Article
Three-Dimensional Printing of Recycled Polypropylene and Activated Carbon Coatings for Harmful Gas Adsorption and Antibacterial Properties
by Jung Bin Park, Seok Hwan An, Jae Woong Jung and Jea Uk Lee
Polymers 2023, 15(5), 1173; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15051173 - 26 Feb 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1655
Abstract
In recent years, the utilization of three-dimensional (3D) printing has been expanding due to advances in technology and economic efficiency. One of the 3D printing technologies is fused deposition modeling, which can be used to create different kinds of products or prototypes from [...] Read more.
In recent years, the utilization of three-dimensional (3D) printing has been expanding due to advances in technology and economic efficiency. One of the 3D printing technologies is fused deposition modeling, which can be used to create different kinds of products or prototypes from various polymer filaments. In this study, the activated carbon (AC) coating was introduced to the 3D outputs printed using recycled polymer materials to impart multi-functions such as adsorption of harmful gas and antimicrobial activities. A filament of uniform diameter (1.75 μm) and a filter template in the form of a 3D fabric shape were prepared through the extrusion and 3D printing processes, respectively, of the recycled polymer. In the next process, the 3D filter was developed by coating the nanoporous AC, produced from the pyrolysis fuel oil and waste PET, on the 3D filter template through direct coating. The 3D filters coated with the nanoporous activated carbon showed the enhanced adsorption capacity of 1038.74 mg of SO2 gas and the antibacterial properties of 49% removal of E. coli bacteria. As a model system, a functional gas mask that has harmful gas adsorption abilities and antibacterial properties has been produced by a 3D printing process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recycling, Reusing and Resource Recovery from Polymers)
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