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Within the recycling research line, we distinguish three focus areas
- High-quality sorting
Completely closing the plastics loop requires a mix of recycling methods. Its success depends on the quality and uniformity of the waste stream in question. Therefore, high-quality separation and sorting is crucial. The professorship deploys hyperspectral imaging to detect and sort different types of plastics.
- Functional application of recyclate
In the case of a pure waste stream, mechanical recycling is preferable due to lower (environmental) costs. In this technology, plastic is remelted into a new granulate, also known as recyclate. Research focuses on the application of recyclate in new products, and its impact on the material's properties.
- Molecular recycling
For contaminated or complexly composed waste streams, such as textiles, chemical recycling offers a solution. During this process, polymer chains in plastics are broken down into smaller building blocks. The advantage of this technology is that re-polymerisation of the purified building blocks leads to clean, high-quality polymers.