CPW

Enhancing plastic recycling methods: The EU’s Green Deal has set a goal for 55 % of plastic packaging waste to be recycled by 2030. Currently, only about one-third is recycled. One of the challenges of plastic recycling is that it usually results in low-quality secondary products due to crystallisation that occurs during cooling. Furthermore, most plastic waste contains additives, making it difficult to determine the correct temperature gradient to avoid crystallisation. Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, the CPW project aims to investigate the crystallisation process using infrared thermal imaging to capture the temperature profile of plastic waste during 3D printing. Using mathematical software, CPW will analyse this profile to pinpoint the precise temperature of crystallite formation that can then be regulated during 3D printing.