A federal initiative focused on energy efficiency in U.S. manufacturing recently selected two dozen recycling projects to support. A majority of the projects are related to plastics recycling, but others target fiber, metals and more.
The REMADE (Reducing Embodied-Energy and Decreasing Emissions) Institute on March 1 announced 24 projects that will receive funding from the organization. Combined, the research efforts will receive $43 million from REMADE.
REMADE is funded partially through the U.S. Department of Energy, and its goal has been to develop technologies reducing energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions in manufacturing by improving recycling, remanufacturing and reuse.
This is the fourth round of funding from REMADE, which also plans to issue a further $50 million in funding in late spring, according to the announcement. REMADE previously issued funding in August 2020, May 2019 and July 2018. The initiative has funded more than 60 projects overall.
These are the latest projects to receive funding, organized by material:
Fibers
“Smart Additive Manufacturing Towards Use of Recycled Paper Fibers for Producing High-quality Fiber-Reinforced Plastic (FRP) Composites,” a project of the University of Iowa and Impossible Objects Inc.
Plastics
“Dynamic Crosslinking to Enable EVA Recycling,” a project of Braskem America, Case Western Reserve University and Allbirds Inc.
“Diverting Mixed Polyolefins from Municipal Solid Waste to Feedstocks for Automotive and Building Applications,” a project of Michigan State University, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and PADNOS.
“Chemical Recycling of Mixed PET/Polyolefin Streams Through Sequential Pyrolysis and Catalytic Upgrading,” a project of Pennsylvania State University, Northwestern University, Shaw Group Industries Inc. and Process Systems Enterprise Inc.
“Identification of Mixed Plastics and Valuable Electronics at the Source,” a project of the University of Miami and Lid Vizion LLC.
“Recycling of PET in Sustainable Food Packaging Systems,” a project of MuCell Extrusion LLC, Plastilene SAS, Wingate Packaging, Sugar Creek Packaging Co., the Center for Innovative Food Technology and Ohio State University.
“Reprocessing and Upcycling of Mixed Polyurethane Waste Streams,” a project of Northwestern University and BASF.
“Delamination as Key Enabler for the Recycling of Polymer-based Multilayer Packaging,” a project of The Research Foundation for SUNY – University of Buffalo, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Modern Corporation and Honeywell.
“Zero-Waste Recycling of Blended PET Fiber to Transform Polymer Sourcing,” a project of Circ, Fiber Industries, SeaChange Technologies, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and lululemon.
“Repurposing of FRP Composites Using Next-Generation Technology,” a project of the American Composites Manufacturing Association, West Virginia University, Polynt Composites, AOC Resins, Strongwell Corporation, Owens Corning and the Rhode Island Marine Trade Association.
“Supramolecular Interfacial Reinforcement for Manufacture Utilizing Mixed Secondary Plastic Feedstock,” a project of the University of Akron and Braskem.
“Enabling Cross-industry Reuse of Commingled Waste Plastics as Quality Asphalt Modifier for Sustainable Pavement,” a project of the University of Tennessee – Knoxville, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Paragon Technical Services Inc.
“Chemical Conversion and Process Control for Increased use of Polyethylene and Polypropylene Secondary Feedstocks,” a project of the University of Massachusetts Lowell, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, SER North America LLC and iMFLUX Inc.
“Analysis and Design for Sustainable Circularity of Barrier Film in Sheet Molding Composites,” project of Ohio State University, Kohler Co., National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Arizona State University.
“Dynamic Systems Analysis of PET and Olefin Polymers in a Circular Economy,” a project of Michigan Technological University, Idaho National Laboratory, Resource Recycling Systems, Yale University, Chemstations and Honeywell.
Metals
“Selective Recovery of Elements from Molten Aluminum Alloys,” a project of Phinix LLC, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Kingston Process Metallurgy, Smelter Service Corporation and Certified Flux Solutions LLC.
“Remanufacturing of Surface-Hardened Steel Components by Ultrasonic Surface Modification,” a project of the Rochester Institute of Technology, Caterpillar Inc. and the University of Pittsburgh.
“Achieving 100% Recycling Aluminum in Die Casting Applications,” a project of Ohio State University, Alcoa USA Corp., North American Die Casting Association and CompuTherm LLC.
“Material and Vehicle Design for High-Value Recycling of Aluminum and Steel Automotive Sheet,” a project of the University of Michigan, Ford Motor Company, Novelis, Argonne National Laboratory, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, the Aluminum Association and Light Metal Consultants.
Other
“Efficient Purification and Reuse of Carbon Black Recovered from End-of-Life Tires,” a project of the University of Utah, Idaho National Laboratory and OTR Wheel Engineering/Green Carbon.
“Development of Instruments and Techniques That Can Assess Tire Life and Increase Re-Manufacturing of Commercial Vehicle Tires,” a project of Michelin North America and Northwestern University.
“Development of Additive Manufacturing Material and Process Technologies to Improve the Re-Manufacturing Efficiency of Commercial Vehicle Tires,” a project of Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Arizona State University, Michelin North America, Nike Inc. and Sealed Air Corporation.
“Sustainable Automotive Manufacturing,” a project of Michigan State University, American Chemistry Council and BASF.
“Building Re-X (BREX): Data, Methodology, and Design Integration,” a project of National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Building Transparency and Skidmore Owings & Merrill.
A version of this story appeared in Plastics Recycling Update on March 3.
