Automated Lab: Robots optimise adhesive development
10.05.2023
Robots already take over a large number of monotonous, repetitive tasks today – freeing up time and resources for creative and more exciting tasks. Henkel is also automating work steps in its new Inspiration Center Düsseldorf (ICD). In a data-driven laboratory, new adhesive formulations are automatically prepared and tested around the clock.
Circular Collaboration Platform: for more recyclates in food packaging
21.04.2023
The share of recycled material in plastic products is growing. The exception: food packaging. The requirements for the quality of the material for food contact are high, but in the case of recyclates there is still often a lack of corresponding information today. The project COPPA wants to create transparency in this area – with an open digital platform.
ENGEL launches Pay per Use
09.01.2023
ENGEL breaks new ground in injection moulding machine distribution. Blazing a trail for its industry, the machine manufacturer now offers its customers a pay-per-use model on top of classical machine purchases. This helps processors to reduce their investment risk while at the same time boosting flexibility in production.
Innovation venture of Covestro awarded: Niaga® wins Circular Economy Prize
04.01.2023
Niaga®, an innovation venture of Covestro, is the winner of the 2022 European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) Community Circular Economy Prize in the Digital Products Passports (DPP) category. The EIT Circular Economy Community awards relevant start-ups and SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises) with significant new solutions accelerating the circular economy.
Lessons from natural photosynthesis: conversion of CO2 to raw materials for plastic
21.10.2022
A research team at Osaka Metropolitan University has succeeded in producing fumarate from pyruvate and CO2 through artificial photosynthesis. Fumarate can be used to produce biodegradable plastic such as polybutylene succinate. In this process, the carbon is stored in a compact, durable and solid form.
Create a quote for plastic testing services in just minutes
07.06.2022
Plastics are versatile and come in every conceivable shape, size, color, and function. Yet before plastic products can fulfill their desired function, they are subject to testing to confirm they comply with various standards. It takes testing labs hours, if not days, to create a quote for materials testing.
Borealis and Grabher partnership gives used FFP2 face masks another life
09.05.2022
High-quality face masks made in Austria by Grabher contain fully recyclable meltblown polypropylene supplied by Borealis and can be recycled in Austria. The new Partnership between the companies Borealis and Grabher is embodiment of the Borealis EverMinds™ spirit of taking action to accelerate the move towards plastics circularity.
BASF and NEVEON cooperate on mattress recycling
24.03.2022
The first trials on chemical recycling of mattresses by BASF and NEVEON were successful. BASF is developing a wet chemical recycling process for used mattresses made of flexible polyurethane. Mattress take-back pilot is an important step towards circular economy.
ERDE Recycling: recovery and recycling systems for agricultural plastics
18.03.2022
ERDE is a recovery and recycling system focused on the return of silage sheets and covers and agricultural stretch films in Europe. The company has big goals, such as a recycling rate of 65 percent in 2022, but also faces challenges, such as the cross-border transport of agricultural plastics.
PERC Solar Cells from 100 Percent Recycled Silicon
07.03.2022
In order to be able to reuse silicon, a working group from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE and the largest German recycling company for PV modules, Reiling GmbH & Co. KG, have developed a solution, in which the silicon in the discarded modules was recycled on an industrial scale and reused to produce new PERC solar cells.
Recyclable furniture from the creative workshop
24.01.2022
Plastic is a versatile material that can be used for a wide variety of projects. What's more, it is reusable and can be given new forms – so it can be given a second life in the sense of the circular economy. In the plastikfabrik in Saarbrücken (Germany), Daniela and Pascal Becher breathe such a second life into plastic.
Using circular economy principles to recycle toys
28.12.2021
Many of us are familiar with this scene in our children’s bedrooms: when the kids have outgrown their toys, the latter typically get boxed up until we finally take heart and purge them. But it doesn’t have to be that way: the initiative of the HolyPoly company takes recycling steps to create new toys – that look slightly different.
Program aims to help students tackle the challenges of plastics waste
07.12.2021
Plastics waste presents a major challenge for humanity. There are many innovative people taking impactful action to address this issue, but their efforts are often on a small scale or overlooked, with no good means to scale them to make a significant difference.
Digital marketplace for recyclates: cirplus networks entire value chain
25.11.2021
Sometimes you have to see a problem with your own eyes – or feel it with your own feet – to want to do something about it. At least that's how it was for Christian Schiller, who launched cirplus, a digital marketplace for recyclates.
URI launches 'Plastics: Land to Sea' web platform
08.11.2021
A new University of Rhode Island web platform, "Plastics: Land to Sea," has been launched to provide the science community with a burgeoning array of data resources and tools designed to inform and support dialogue concerning research focused efforts to start addressing plastics pollution. The platform can be found at: plastics.uri.edu.
The many ways that 'going digital' is changing manufacturing
23.08.2021
There are many aspects and forms of digitalization in manufacturing, ranging from Industry 4.0, the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence and additive manufacturing, to augmented and virtual reality, 5G connectivity, mobile apps, blockchain technology, and more.
Circular Economy: using digital tools to produce high-quality recyclates
03.08.2021
Only a small percentage of materials currently used in plastic processing are recyclates. Yet these secondary plastics are in no way of inferior quality to virgin material. The culprit is often a lack of data and poor communication between recyclers and plastic manufacturers. Digital solutions can help close material cycles in the plastics industry.
Sustainable packaging: towards a circular economy in the Asian market
09.06.2021
Today's waste becomes tomorrow's resource: "Waste4Future" paves new ways for plastics recycling
17.05.2021
A sustainable society with climate-neutral processes requires significant adjustments in the value chains, which are only possible through innovations. Seven Fraunhofer Institutes are pooling their expertise in the lighthouse project Waste4Future to develop new solutions for this goal, from the raw material base to material flows and process engineering right to the end of a product's life cycle.
Industry 4.0: "We should seize opportunities and create added digital value"
04.05.2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the rise of the digital workplace. This also applies to industry in general, where massive amounts of data are collected from countless sources. The so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution (or Industry 4.0) aims to use this data to gain actionable insights and target the development of marketable products, technologies, and services.
PRISM – a data platform for the circular economy
06.04.2021
In mid-December, U.S. IT company IBM announced it had joined the Alliance to End Plastic Waste. Together, they are designing the PRISM platform – a unified ecosystem of NGOs, the plastic value chain participants, communities, regulators, and any organization looking to deploy and improve waste management decisions and programs.