The SPE Library contains thousands of papers, presentations, journal briefs and recorded webinars from the best minds in the Plastics Industry. Spanning almost two decades, this collection of published research and development work in polymer science and plastics technology is a wealth of knowledge and information for anyone involved in plastics.
Various topics related to sustainability in plastics, including bio-related, environmental issues, green, recycling, renewal, re-use and sustainability.
Sustainability Metrics and Characterization - Presentation: The purpose of this research is to model the deflection behavior of railroad ties fabricated from recycled polyolefin post-consumer/post-industrial waste composed of HDPE (High Density Poly Ethylene) and PP/FG (Poly Propylene/Fiber Glass). A technical challenge in predicting the final part performance is a limited understanding of the impact of microstructural variations due to processing variability on the final produced part's spatially varying material properties. The ties fabricated using extrusion molding techniques have a solid shell region on the outer surface and an inner foamed core. The foamed core region has cells of differing dimensions and the resulting effective material properties will vary as a function of the cell size and density. The shell and the foamed core regions are an alyzed using micromechanics models for the prediction of the stiffness. The stiffness of the foamed core is calculated using the Monte Carlo method to investigate the macroscopic sensitivity to microstructural variations. The elastic moduli obtained from micromechanics is used for the shell and foam regions in a Finite Element model, and the computational results are compared to those obtained from experimental four point bend test results with a difference between the model and experiment being less than 2% for the predicted effective stiffness.
Sustainability Metrics and Characterization - Paper: Polyethylene has been adopted for a variety of industrial, agricultural, and packaging applications with an estimated market of $164 billion and a projected global demand growth of 4% through 2018. The pressure for landfill diversion strategies have increased with cons umer awareness of traditional end-of-life practices. Regulatory bodies have instituted minimum post-consumer recycled ( PCR ) content laws to increase the long-term sustainability efforts of polymer use in commodity goods (e.g., SB 270 in California); thus, the ability to empirically quantify the post-consumer recycled content is vital for compliance. A stepwise multivariable regression approach was employed to develop a n equation capable of empirically determining the post-consumer recycled content from a va riety of certification markers. The empirical equation determined the post-consumer content of unknown film samples within ~10 wt% of the true value.
Sustainability Metrics and Characterization - Presentation: Polyethylene has been adopted for a variety of industrial, agricultural, and packaging applications with an estimated market of $164 billion and a projected global demand growth of 4% through 2018. The pressure for landfill diversion strategies have increased with cons umer awareness of traditional end-of-life practices. Regulatory bodies have instituted minimum post-consumer recycled ( PCR ) content laws to increase the long-term sustainability efforts of polymer use in commodity goods (e.g., SB 270 in California); thus, the ability to empirically quantify the post-consumer recycled content is vital for compliance. A stepwise multivariable regression approach was employed to develop a n equation capable of empirically determining the post-consumer recycled content from a va riety of certification markers. The empirical equation determined the post-consumer content of unknown film samples within ~10 wt% of the true value.
Claudia Staudt, Alan J. Lesser, Silas Owusu-Nkwantabisah, November 2017
The synergy obtained by combining supercritical carbon dioxide and superheated water enables polyethersulfone to be processed at significantly lower temperatures than in conventional processes.
Waste wheat straw can be treated for use as an environmentally sustainable reinforcement in composite materials, with performance equal or better than wood-polymer composites.
Hamed Nazarpour-Fard , Ramin Shamsi, Reza Sheibani, October 2017
Dynamic mechanical analysis and three well-known models were used to investigate the mechanical properties of samples synthesized from recycled poly-ethylene terephthalate.
Eugenio Amendola, Antonello Pastore, Stefania Dello Iacono, Alfonso Martone, July 2017
A thermo-reversible self-healing epoxy resin based on Diels-Alder chemistry is synthesized and strength-tested as part of a fiber-reinforced composite material.
Incorporating silicon carbide and calcium carbonate nanofillers into soy protein and starch, respectively, improves the thermal, mechanical, and chemical-resistance properties of the samples.
Use of unconventional filler materials as a recycling strategy for sustainable manufacturing practices is in its infancy of adoption into commercial applications. The hope is to displace conventional fillers while improving on raw materials utilization. Materials that I will discuss focus on recycled unconventional fillers and include: Sawdust, Paint Waste, Paper Powder, Crumb Rubber
Poly(pentamethylene oxamide) exhibits excellent mechanical, thermal, and water absorption properties, and is suitable for the fabrication of plastics, as well as parts in the automobile and electronics industries.
Aiga Ivdre, Ugis Cabulis, Mirta Ines Aranguren, Juan Manuel Buffa, Pablo Marcelo Stefani, Veronica Mucci, June 2017
Environmentally friendly nanocomposite materials from bio-based polyurethane and cellulose nanocrystals show significantly improved mechanical properties with only 1 nanocrystal filler.
Hero Jan Heeres, Francesco Picchioni, Asaf Sugih, Henky Muljana, May 2017
The novel use of sago starch and vinyl laurate in densified carbon dioxide increases the reactivity of esterification and produces final products that have higher degrees of substitution.
Kim McLoughlin Senior Research Engineer, Global Materials Science Braskem
A Resin Supplier’s Perspective on Partnerships for the Circular Economy
About the Speaker
Kim drives technology programs at Braskem to develop advanced polyolefins with improved recyclability and sustainability. As Principal Investigator on a REMADE-funded collaboration, Kim leads a diverse industry-academic team that is developing a process to recycle elastomers as secondary feedstock. Kim has a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Cornell. She is an inventor on more than 25 patents and applications for novel polyolefin technologies. Kim is on the Board of Directors of SPE’s Thermoplastic Materials & Foams Division, where she has served as Education Chair and Councilor.
A Resin Supplier’s Perspective on Partnerships for the Circular Economy
About the Speaker
Gamini has a BS and PhD from Purdue University in Materials Engineering and Sustainability. He joined Penn State as a Post Doctorate Scholar in 2020 prior to his professorship appointment. He works closely with PA plastics manufacturers to implement sustainability programs in their plants.
A Resin Supplier’s Perspective on Partnerships for the Circular Economy
About the Speaker
Tom Giovannetti holds a Degree in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Tulsa and for the last 26 years has worked for Chevron Phillips Chemical Company. Tom started his plastics career by designing various injection molded products for the chemical industry including explosion proof plugs and receptacles, panel boards and detonation arrestors for 24 inch pipelines. Tom also holds a patent for design of a polyphenylene sulfide sleeve in a nylon coolant cross-over of an air intake manifold and is a Certified Plastic Technologist through the Society of Plastic Engineers. Tom serves on the Oklahoma Section Board as Councilor, is also the past president of the local Oklahoma SPE Section, and as well serves on the SPE Injection Molding Division board.
Joseph Lawrence, Ph.D. Senior Director and Research Professor University of Toledo
A Resin Supplier’s Perspective on Partnerships for the Circular Economy
About the Speaker
Dr. Joseph Lawrence is a Research Professor and Senior Director of the Polymer Institute and the Center for Materials and Sensor Characterization at the University of Toledo. He is a Chemical Engineer by training and after working in the process industry, he has been engaged in polymers and composites research for 18+ years. In the Polymer Institute he leads research on renewably sourced polymers, plastics recycling, and additive manufacturing. He is also the lead investigator of the Polyesters and Barrier Materials Research Consortium funded by industry. Dr. Lawrence has advised 20 graduate students, mentored 8 staff scientists and several undergraduate students. He is a peer reviewer in several journals, has authored 30+ peer-reviewed publications and serves on the board of the Injection Molding Division of SPE.
Matt Hammernik Northeast Account Manager Hasco America
A Resin Supplier’s Perspective on Partnerships for the Circular Economy
About the Speaker
Matt Hammernik serves as Hasco America’s Northeast Area Account Manager covering the states Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. He started with Hasco America at the beginning of March 2022. Matt started in the Injection Mold Industry roughly 10 years ago as an estimator quoting injection mold base steel, components and machining. He advanced into outside sales and has been serving molders, mold builders and mold makers for about 7 years.
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How to reference articles from the SPE Library:
Any article that is cited in another manuscript or other work is required to use the correct reference style. Below is an example of the reference style for SPE articles:
Brown, H. L. and Jones, D. H. 2016, May.
"Insert title of paper here in quotes,"
ANTEC 2016 - Indianapolis, Indiana, USA May 23-25, 2016. [On-line].
Society of Plastics Engineers, ISBN: 123-0-1234567-8-9, pp. 000-000.
Available: www.4spe.org.
Note: if there are more than three authors you may use the first author's name and et al. EG Brown, H. L. et al.
