Project description
Enhancing plastic recycling methods
The EU’s Green Deal has set a goal for 55 % of plastic packaging waste to be recycled by 2030. Currently, only about one-third is recycled. One of the challenges of plastic recycling is that it usually results in low-quality secondary products due to crystallisation that occurs during cooling. Furthermore, most plastic waste contains additives, making it difficult to determine the correct temperature gradient to avoid crystallisation. Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, the CPW project aims to investigate the crystallisation process using infrared thermal imaging to capture the temperature profile of plastic waste during 3D printing. Using mathematical software, CPW will analyse this profile to pinpoint the precise temperature of crystallite formation that can then be regulated during 3D printing.
Objective
Nowadays, the issue of plastic recycling has become one of the major issues of environmental protection and waste management. Since 1950, humans have produced more than 8 billion tons of plastic, of which more than half was discarded into landfills and only 9% was recycled. The majority of plastic waste stemmed from semi-crystalline polymers such PE, PP and PET. When recycled, the properties of these polymers deteriorated due to shrinkage and warpage issues related to the crystallisation process that occurred during the cooling process. The temperature gradient during cooling is able to control the crystallisation growth. However, determining the crystallization process of plastic waste during processing is difficult as generally plastic waste contains additives. Therefore, CPW uses IR thermal imaging technique as it can capture the temperature profile of plastic waste during 3D printing to study the temperature-crystallisation relationship. The existing techniques, such as hot-stage microscopy, X-ray synchrotron and in-situ light scattering, have several restrictions. Among them are non-simultaneous processes, expensive, and requiring high energy radiation sources. Furthermore, these techniques can only be applied to virgin plastic and are limited to transparent polymers that are free from additives and contamination. The captured temperature profile will be analysed using MATLAB to examine the crystallite structure at precise temperature, thus could control their properties through the processing temperature of the 3D printer. An innovative approach through experimental setup and technique used to investigate the crystallisation process will be the novelty of CPW. This research will contribute to at least four research papers with two ISI journals and two conference papers, and a patent application. The implementation of the MSCA will benefit and impact the recycling of plastic wastes in the world, and this is in line with EUs strategy for the SDG 12 and SDG13.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology environmental engineering waste management waste treatment processes recycling
- natural sciences chemical sciences polymer sciences
- natural sciences physical sciences optics microscopy
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
MSD 2080 MSIDA
Malta
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.