Innovation Lab – Recalcitrant Polymers

Innovation Lab – Recalcitrant Polymers

Date and time: Friday 26th September from 12:00 noon -17:00pm

Location: The University of Manchester

We would like to invite businesses in the Northwest to participate in the above “Innovation Lab” focusing on ‘Recalcitrant Polymers’,

Summary:

Recalcitrant polymers — those that resist degradation and/or are contaminated and are difficult to recycle using conventional methods such as mechanical recycling — are present in products across nearly every sector. The focus on packaging plastics has hidden the significant environmental and technological challenges, as well as economic opportunities, these more challenging products, components or materials pose. Large urban areas, such as the north-west of England, generate substantial amounts of carbon locked away in plastics commingled with other materials and/or organic waste. Emerging technologies that offer solutions for production from renewable feedstocks, aid value recovery through recycling or upcycling, or facilitate the circular economy are difficult to navigate. Policy and regulatory requirements, such as the plastic packaging tax or extender producer responsibility, suggest an increasing amount of environmental responsibility being passed onto producers. Through this Innovation Lab we will explore the current barriers to recycling these challenging polymers and investigate emerging solutions across mechanical, chemical, and biological approaches. We will work together to chart a course for future research, innovation, and industry implementation.

Objectives:

• Identify major scientific, technical, and logistical challenges associated with recovering value from recalcitrant polymers at end-of-life.
• Explore integrated systems approaches to improve economic and material efficiency.
• Highlight gaps in commercial solutions and define opportunities for academic-industry collaboration.

What’s the ask from the company:

• Identify in advance, a challenge relating to recalcitrant polymers for exploration; this could be a business challenge/question/opportunity where academic input could add value.
• Commit 2-3 representatives to attend the half-day workshop (12-5pm on 26th Sept, lunch provided)
• Consider an element of match-funding (cash) for researcher time to conduct projects as designed at the workshop, this will enhance the scope of the project.

For enquiries and to register your place on the innovation lab contact:

Name - Sabina Hawthornthwaite 

Job Title - The IBIC Programme Manager 

Email Address - [email protected]