Recycling, Reusing and Resource Recovery from Polymers
A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Circular and Green Polymer Science".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 August 2023) | Viewed by 6171
Special Issue Editors
Interests: biochar; composites; nanomaterials; carbon dots
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: polymer composites and nanocomposites; biopolymers; coatings; structure–property relationship; processing of polymers and biopolymers; polymer-based complex systems; food packaging; biomedical engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
It is well known that the demand for polymer recycling/reusing is vast. This is because the million tons of plastics entering our environment every year are impressive. Many economies have started to work towards achieving a “zero-waste economy” by means of plastic reuse and recycling. However, when compared with virgin materials, the lower properties and contamination issues of recycled ones impose new research efforts. In mechanical recycling, new processes are required to create materials that can compete on price with virgin polymers. New compatibilizers or compatibilization techniques that could enable the melt processing of mixed polymers to yield high-performance products are essential. Additionally, chemical and enzymatic recycling requires new processes with green solvents and enzymatic catalysts that can be recycled easily for many processing loops. Finally, in thermal recycling, due to their high calorific value when compared with other materials, polymers are a convenient energy and fuel source and can produce syngas and useful materials. However, all the produced products of thermal recycling should be transformed into value-added materials for ensuring the paradigm of zero waste. Finally, the reuse approach of polymer waste in other low structural material applications is an important framework that can be used to reduce overall waste.
For all the reported reasons, the goal of this Special Issue is to collect works on the reuse,
recycling, and responsible manufacture solutions of polymer-based materials for reducing emissions and ensuring efficient use of Earth resources.
There are no limits in terms of the application of recycled/reused polymers (i.e., in the automotive sector, energy recovery/alternative fuels, in decarbonizing technology, for improving agricultural soil quality, as smart fertilizers, as bitumen additives, flame retardants, etc.) or nature of the material (neat polymers, blends, composites, nanocomposites). Further, papers on waste characterization, impact, and economic analyses are welcome. Both original contributions and reviews are welcome.
Dr. Mattia Bartoli
Dr. Donatella Duraccio
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- mechanical recycling
- thermal recycling
- enzymatic recycling
- reuse
- LCA
- polymer-based materials
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