| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2025 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Revitalization of Materials through Upcycling: The 2025 Student-Led Symposium
|
| Presentation Title |
Strategies and Tools to Upcycle Plastics Waste |
| Author(s) |
Michael Berg, LaShanda T.J. Korley, Katie M. Herbert |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Michael Berg |
| Abstract Scope |
Plastics play an indispensable role in many aspects of modern life, which has led to continuously increasing production. However, a very low percentage of plastics waste is recycled (less than 10% in the U.S.), causing deleterious environmental impacts. The Center for Plastics Innovation (CPI) is researching materials and methods to deconstruct plastics as well as functionalization and upcycling strategies to generate high-value monomers and polymers. A suite of catalysts was developed to deconstruct plastics waste efficiently and selectively into high-value products and starting materials for functional and/or readily recyclable polymers. To diversify the potential products derived from plastics waste, novel upcycling strategies involving chemical transformations and/or biocatalysis were also pursued using either the polymer itself or catalytic deconstruction products as feedstock. Novel computational and experimental tools further aided the fundamental understanding of these upcycling processes and the effects from the diverse components and contaminants commonly found in plastics waste streams. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Polymers, Recycling and Secondary Recovery, Sustainability |