Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ABSolEU (Paving the way for an ABS recycling revOLution in the EU)
Période du rapport: 2022-06-01 au 2023-11-30
ABSolEU aims to pave the way to circularity for the ubiquitous plastic ABS, found in durable products from toys and other consumer goods to automotive components. Despite the potential of this material, at least 85% of end-of-life ABS ends up in landfills or incineration due to the presence of additives and fillers that hamper its proper recycling. ABSolEU will develop and mature to TRL 6 a technology for the physical recycling of waste ABS, providing a clean and safe recyclate that is free of additives and contaminants and ready to be reintroduced into the value chain for value added, high performance products. In parallel, ABSolEU will develop new analytical methods for safety and quality assurance; these will allow project partners to establish a thorough understanding of the composition of ABS waste streams, including the presence of additives and the degree of degradation, as well as monitor these throughout recycling and compounding processes. In addition, ABSolEU aims to provide the scaffolding to support adoption of physical recycling for ABS and support the uptake of ABS recyclates by industry and consumers. This is achieved through circular value chain labs and explorative citizen labs, investigation of new traceability systems for ABS materials and products, and standardisation of processes for recycling, analysis and traceability. ABSolEU's research outputs are communicated, disseminated and synthesised into best practices, methodologies, and policy recommendations for ABS recycling to contribute to a resource efficient industry. The project is implemented by a strong consortium that spans the entire ABS value chain. It is led by UCA and involves 10 additional partners: 3 global brand owners, 2 RTOs, an ABS-producing company, a recycler, a traceability solutions company, a standardisation institute and a company specialised in stakeholder engagement. With ABSolEU, the consortium is seeking to lay the first bricks of a sustainable future for ABS plastics.
SO1: To ensure the practical engagement of the different stakeholders, a mapping was established by Prospex Institute (PI) - in collaboration with all ABSolEU partners - resulting in a detailed definition and description of each category in the “Report on Stakeholder Mapping” (D1.1). The first Value Chain Lab took place on 27-28 February 2023 with 15 participants. The list of objectives for the first citizens' Labs was defined and described.
SO2: Regarding ABS physical recycling, a screening of solvents (for Styrene Acrylonitrile – SAN dissolution) was performed based on the approach of Hansen solubility parameters (employing different tools to monitor the dissolution such as dynamic light scattering, calorimetry, FTIR spectrometry, rheometry, etc.) and from thermodynamic predictions using computer simulations. These investigations led to a short list of best suited solvents. In addition, a proof of concept for the recovery of SAN in the Möbius process has been established with ethylacetate as solvent to set a benchmark for future up-scaled experiments on alternative solvents. It was carried out using virgin SAN, virgin ABS (to assess for separation of polybutadiene rubber – PBR particles) and waste ABS samples.
SO3: Different virgin and waste ABS samples were selected, exchanged between partners and comprehensively characterized. A unique sampling code was established for internal tracing. A Round Robin investigation was done to compare the impact of the small-scale to large scale processing (injection molding). It was based on tensile properties. In addition, various other analytical methods were set and optimized to get robust protocols for assessing the thermal ageing, UV ageing, impact properties, thermal degradation, chemical safety (presence of elements of concern in wastes or volatile organic compounds).
SO4: A state-of-the-art overview (literature study) was made to highlight how to identify and trace ABS using different labeling technologies. In addition, a preliminary list of required and desirable material data to be traced has been established (see D2.1 report) and will be updated along with the ABSolEU project. Initial mapping has been done on how the data to be traced (D2.1) can be translated into the existing ISO standard 10303. Components with laser marked QR codes have been received by RISE from Volvo Cars, and tests in different environments realistic for the component`s use have started. TNO has started creating a unique fingerprint model for ABS. The distinction between eABS and mABS is essential for the Möbius process. Then, a list of analysis was prepared to be used in the model.
SO5: A literature review was done on models of innovation diffusion. Then more than 500 simulations were run to model the process of diffusion. In case of competitive diffusion with diverse rABS technological options, it was concluded that small differences in prices lead to significant differences in diffusion size share. Interestingly, a high number of initial adopters for the novelty is not necessarily advantageous. When potential adopters have trade-offs, then the interplay between tipping points and trade-offs gives place to non-monotonic diffusion (i.e. percolation process is experienced twice). A discrete choice experiment has been chosen to investigate consumer acceptance with framing effect. The experimental design of this incentivized choice experiment (200 participants) has been developed and the demand to conduct this experiment was validated by the Ethics and Research Committee of UCA. Regarding consumer acceptance of reuse of ABS automotive components, collection of driver-side-sill mouldings was performed and were assembled in consumer lease car (Volvo Cars).
SO6: The system boundaries of the life cycle assessment (LCA) were defined for the vABS and rABS value chains (D6.1 report). The first collection of initial from the partners to quantify the environmental impact has started. All the analytical data collected on the different ABS samples in different WPs (and in particular WP1 and WP5) will pave the way for the Recymeter Quality model of future recycled ABS. The quality requirements were inventoried (i.e. properties needed per application, relative importance, ideal range for each property) after exchanges between partners and in particular brand owners. Initial relevant information about standardization working groups (related to ABS recycling and physical recycling technology) were exchanged by SIS.
SO2: Regarding ABS physical recycling, a screening of solvents (for Styrene Acrylonitrile – SAN dissolution) was performed based on the approach of Hansen solubility parameters (employing different tools to monitor the dissolution such as dynamic light scattering, calorimetry, FTIR spectrometry, rheometry, etc.) and from thermodynamic predictions using computer simulations. These investigations led to a short list of best suited solvents. In addition, a proof of concept for the recovery of SAN in the Möbius process has been established with ethylacetate as solvent to set a benchmark for future up-scaled experiments on alternative solvents. It was carried out using virgin SAN, virgin ABS (to assess for separation of polybutadiene rubber – PBR particles) and waste ABS samples.
SO3: Different virgin and waste ABS samples were selected, exchanged between partners and comprehensively characterized. A unique sampling code was established for internal tracing. A Round Robin investigation was done to compare the impact of the small-scale to large scale processing (injection molding). It was based on tensile properties. In addition, various other analytical methods were set and optimized to get robust protocols for assessing the thermal ageing, UV ageing, impact properties, thermal degradation, chemical safety (presence of elements of concern in wastes or volatile organic compounds).
SO4: A state-of-the-art overview (literature study) was made to highlight how to identify and trace ABS using different labeling technologies. In addition, a preliminary list of required and desirable material data to be traced has been established (see D2.1 report) and will be updated along with the ABSolEU project. Initial mapping has been done on how the data to be traced (D2.1) can be translated into the existing ISO standard 10303. Components with laser marked QR codes have been received by RISE from Volvo Cars, and tests in different environments realistic for the component`s use have started. TNO has started creating a unique fingerprint model for ABS. The distinction between eABS and mABS is essential for the Möbius process. Then, a list of analysis was prepared to be used in the model.
SO5: A literature review was done on models of innovation diffusion. Then more than 500 simulations were run to model the process of diffusion. In case of competitive diffusion with diverse rABS technological options, it was concluded that small differences in prices lead to significant differences in diffusion size share. Interestingly, a high number of initial adopters for the novelty is not necessarily advantageous. When potential adopters have trade-offs, then the interplay between tipping points and trade-offs gives place to non-monotonic diffusion (i.e. percolation process is experienced twice). A discrete choice experiment has been chosen to investigate consumer acceptance with framing effect. The experimental design of this incentivized choice experiment (200 participants) has been developed and the demand to conduct this experiment was validated by the Ethics and Research Committee of UCA. Regarding consumer acceptance of reuse of ABS automotive components, collection of driver-side-sill mouldings was performed and were assembled in consumer lease car (Volvo Cars).
SO6: The system boundaries of the life cycle assessment (LCA) were defined for the vABS and rABS value chains (D6.1 report). The first collection of initial from the partners to quantify the environmental impact has started. All the analytical data collected on the different ABS samples in different WPs (and in particular WP1 and WP5) will pave the way for the Recymeter Quality model of future recycled ABS. The quality requirements were inventoried (i.e. properties needed per application, relative importance, ideal range for each property) after exchanges between partners and in particular brand owners. Initial relevant information about standardization working groups (related to ABS recycling and physical recycling technology) were exchanged by SIS.
These results are developed in the Technical Report Part B, in the Explanation of the work carried per WP.