Recovery and recycling of plastic materials

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Speeches

Closing the loop

Speaker: Barbara Del Curto
Presentation: Chiudere il cerchio

The introductory intervention will aim to frame the current scenario in the field of recycling and selection of recycled materials, as well as the strategies that can be adopted to “close the circle”, ensuring that everything is transformed within the industrial cycles, as well as case studies related to the topic.

Assessing the environmental sustainability of plastics end-of-life

Speaker: Giovanni Dotelli
Presentation: Valutazione della sostenibilità ambientale del fine vita delle materie plastiche

The speech will focus on the analysis of the environmental sustainability of the recovery, recycling, and end-of-life disposal processes of plastics from a life cycle perspective. The objective is to show how the problem of the quantitative assessment of the environmental impacts of a plastic material can be tackled using in an extended way the circularity concepts contained in the “Circular Footprint Formula” wanted by the European community. An attempt will be made to illustrate the potential of the PEF methodology in a critical comparison with the well-established LCA approach developed by ISO and finally an attempt will be made to introduce the circularity indicators developed so far.

Chemical Recycling: properties of the obtained materials

Speaker: Davide Moscatelli
Presentation: Chemical Recycling: properties of the obtained materials

The presentation will briefly illustrate the characteristics of chemical recycling; some industrial examples of chemical recycling will be also presented. Some typologies of plastic materials will be taken as an example, showing in detail their possible chemical recycling processes and the characteristics of the obtained products.

Recycling: “the engine of the circular economy”

Speaker: Roberto Sancinelli
Video 1: Impianto di riciclo rifiuti plastici
Video 2: Produzione di biometano con recupero di CO2

Never as in this moment of the economic life of our country, the mechanical recycling of plastic waste assumes an essential and fundamental importance, both for the achievement of the objectives dictated by the “circular economy” package issued by European directives and implemented by national laws, which for the employment opportunities given by the increase in plant engineering potential and innovation that the mechanical recycling sector is called upon to develop. Research and development for the application of new technologies aimed at making the Secondary Raw Materials (MPS) produced by recyclers more efficient is an exercise that has been pursuing for some time and must increasingly be a path to be followed with the utmost attention, to create a more varied downstream recycling market in the sectors of use of MPS.

Relatori

Barbara Del Curto

Dipartimento di Chimica, Materiali e Ingegneria Chimica “Giulio Natta”, Politecnico di Milano

Graduated in Industrial Design, PhD in Materials Engineering, she is Full Professor of Design at the Politecnico di Milano at the “Giulio Natta” Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering and teaches at the School of Design. The research activity concerns the design of materials and surfaces, with attention to innovative and functional materials, packaging and “talking” packaging, nanotechnologies and surface treatments and their technological transfer. Since 2018 she leads the research group Making Materials that works at the intersection of material selection, sustainable behaviour, design, and engineering.

Giovanni Dotelli

Dipartimento di Chimica, Materiali e Ingegneria Chimica “Giulio Natta”, Politecnico di Milano

Full Professor at the Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta” of the Politecnico di Milano. His main interests are low environmental impact materials, life cycle analysis and sustainability in the field of materials and chemical processes with a focus on sustainable construction and materials for electrochemical energy generation and storage devices. He has held training courses in SMEs on environmental certification and sustainability issues. He is the author of numerous scientific publications.

Davide Moscatelli

Dipartimento di Chimica, Materiali e Ingegneria Chimica “Giulio Natta”, Politecnico di Milano

Davide Moscatelli received his Laurea cum laude in Chemical Engineering at the Politecnico di Milano in 2002, and since 2018 he is full professor of Applied Physical Chemistry at Politecnico di Milano. He serves as lecturer of Petroleum Technologies and Refining Processes course at Politecnico di Milano. His main research interests concern the application of physical chemistry fundamentals to analyze industrial processes of chemical nature and the materials synthesis: organic, inorganic, and polymers. The applications are related to industrial processes with chemical implications, polymers and inorganic materials for advanced technologies, and nanotechnology (primarily nanoparticles synthesis).

Roberto Sancinelli

President of Montello S.p.A.

In 1996, the company converted its steel plant (Brown Economy) into recovery and recycling of plastic waste and organic waste from separate collection (Green and Circular Economy). Currently, in addition to holding the position of President of the Montello S.p.A. group, Roberto Sancinelli:

• is a Director of CO.RE.PLA .;
• he is a member of the Board of Directors and Deputy Chairman of the CIC – Italian Composting Consortium;
• is on the Board of Directors of FISE-Assoambiente of which, until July 2018, he was also the President;
• is a member of the Board of Trusteees of CYFE – Center for Young and Family Enterprise – University of Bergamo.
• he is a founding member and member of the Presidential Committee of the “Sustainable Development Foundation”;
• is a supporter of numerous initiatives in defense of the environment and in support of the integration of immigration;
• is a full member/supporter of Assorimap.