Institute of Plastics and Circular Economy

The longevity of plastics is increasingly becoming an ecological problem if they are not disposed of properly, as can be seen from the unabated discharge of plastics into the environment. As with glass, metal and paper, a more consistent introduction of a circular economy is also necessary in the plastics sector.

Another critical point is the use of limited petro-based raw materials as polymer feedstock. At the same time, carbon is “lost” through the current end-of-life scenarios for plastics, such as landfilling, littering or incineration. By recycling these plastics, the petro-based carbon is used multiple times, reducing the dependency on crude oil and at the same time reducing the amount of plastics released into the environment.

This approach represents a technically regenerative system in which the plastic waste generated after production (post-production) and after the useful life of the products (post-consumer) can be recycled and reused as effectively as possible. The basis for economical and ecological post-consumer recycling are products and materials in which the subsequent recyclability is already taken into account to a much greater extent during development and design (design for recycling) as well as a material and product design that allows the use of the recyclates produced (design for recyclates).

These two design principles are the basis for natural organic cycles in nature. Biogenic carbon has been “cycling” for many millions of years.

Defossilization strategies for increased sustainability in the plastics sector are the overarching focus of research work at the IKK. By recycling plastics, petrochemical carbon is used several times and thus replaces primary carbon from crude oil. This means that less “fresh” petrochemical carbon is used at the beginning of the life cycle and at the same time the petro-based carbon becomes a renewable source of raw materials.

The IKK - Institute for Plastics and Circular Economy therefore supports the industry in the development of product-specific recycling strategies, starting with design, through processing, to the practical implementation and optimization of material developments, recycling processes and sustainability assessment. The entire life cycle of plastic products is considered, i.e. material production and processing, process optimization and the development and practical investigation of sustainable, efficient recycling approaches. The IKK has a state-of-the-art technical infrastructure for this purpose. Extensive destructive and non-destructive material testing and chemical analysis accompany the entire development process. With its plastics expertise, the IKK complements the technical profile of the Hannover Centre for Production Technology (PZH) at the new Mechanical Engineering Campus in Garbsen (CMG) very well.

Another approach to defossilizing the plastics industry is the use of biogenic carbon for the production of bio-based and biodegradable plastics. In particular, the persistence and degradation behavior of conventional plastics as well as the degradation mechanisms and decomposition products of bioplastics are therefore the subject of research at the IKK. The basic degradability and degradation behavior of plastics in aquatic and terrestrial environmental compartments can be investigated using various multi-scale experimental concepts. By simulating the environmental conditions of the various environmental compartments, the relationships between material structure, environmental conditions and the resulting degradation mechanisms and degradation products can be investigated.