Press releases

The sense of smell, often underestimated, plays an important role in our daily lives. In the circular economy, particularly in recycling, odor is a significant issue. Often, foul-smelling recyclates make the recycling process more challenging. This is where the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Circular Plastics Economy CCPE comes in, developing various strategies to reduce odors in plastic recyclates.

For the first time, the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Circular Plastics Economy CCPE will present the topic ‘Sustainable Geosynthetics for Landscaping’ at ACHEMA 2024 alongside the topic ‘Advanced Recycling’. We cordially invite you to visit us at the trade fair in Frankfurt (Hall 6.0 – Research and Innova-tion | Booth D49).

There is a growing demand for information on the environmental impact of the use of recycled plastic. However, publications and reliable data are rare. Now is the time for industry, academia and policy makers to share ideas and reach a consensus on how to model the environmental impact of recycled plastics. This is exactly where the Fraunhofer CCPE compact on 20 June 2024 on "Impacts of recycled plastics – A stakeholder approach to find consensus in LCA" comes in. Dr Anna Kerps and Tanja Fell give us an initial insight in this interview.

The VDMA and the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Circular Plastics Economy CCPE are presenting the Chemical Recycling Spotlight Area at IFAT. Technologies for the recycling of plastics that can complement established mechanical processes will be presented, including solvent-based processes, solvolysis, pyrolysis and gasification.

Life cycle assessments are often used as a basis for decision-making when selecting environmentally friendly processes, input materials or services for plastics recycling. But what does a comparable and transparent ecological assessment that meets different requirements look like? Fraunhofer CCPE researchers have identified ten challenges and ten requirements that increase comparability and transparency in the ecological assessment of plastics recycling.

Elastomers can be found in many products and areas of application. In addition to their use in tires, many technical products such as seals, tubes, cable sheathing, gloves and much more are made from elastomers. Apart from used tires, which are collected and recycled separately, the recycling of elastomers is hardly possible in many cases, either economically or technically. New approaches and initial solutions for circular elastomers will be presented at our next Fraunhofer CCPE compact "Elastomers - Advanced technologies for recycling" on April 25, 2024 from 10 am to 12 pm.

How can lightweight design become more circular? What role are composites playing in this? And what developments in this field is the Fraunhofer CCPE researching? Sascha Kilian, Head of the Research Department Application and Demonstration at the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Circular Plastics Economy CCPE, answers these questions in a short interview. More information on the state of research in the recycling of lightweight materials awaits interested parties at the online event "Fraunhofer CCPE compact - Materials for the Circular Economy in Efficient Lightweight Design" on October 19 from 2 to 4 pm.