Course details

  • Study time: 5 hours

  • Target audience: Students and professionals with a principle knowledge of the level of a bachelor student

Course curriculum

  • 1

    Introduction

    • Welcome video

    • Meet the teachers

    • Learning objectives

    • Good practices to use this platform

    • How to obtain your course certificate
  • 2

    How are plastics products made - what output do we need from mechanical recycling?

    • Introduction: polymer properties and processing

    • Plastic: its shapes and recyclability - open question

    • Basic principles of processing thermoplastics

    • Processing-related properties of polymers

    • Polymer extrusion

    • Injection moulding process

    • Film blowing

    • Making a stress-strain diagram

    • Reading a stress-strain diagram

    • Impact properties of materials

    • Summarizing exercises
  • 3

    Making recycled granulate

    • Introduction video

    • Open question

    • Extrusion of recycled plastics

    • EREMA Plastic Recycling System
  • 4

    Challenges in mechanical recycling

    • Introduction and challenges

    • Open question

    • Polymer degradation

    • The trouble with polymer blends

    • Effects of minority components
  • 5

    Mechanical recycling in practice

    • Introduction video

    • Upgrade the mechanically recycled plastic: what do you think?

    • Scoring quality of recyclates

    • Case study: Samsonite
  • 6

    Conclusion

    • Concluding video

    • What did you learn?

    • Further readings

    • Help us to improve this course

    • Thanks to our sponsors

Instructor(s)

Full Professor

Kim Ragaert

Kim Ragaert is full professor at Maastricht University, holding the key domain chair of Circular Plastics within the department Circular Chemical Engineering at the Faculty of Science and Engineering. Her Circular Plastics lab and research group are on the Chemelot industrial site in Sittard-Geleen, NL. The 25-strong group works on polymer science to improve mechanical recycling, circular data science, a systemic view on plastics circularity and interdisciplinary topics like economics of recycling. Within the Circular Engineering programme, she teaches on materials science and circularity of materials, knowledge which is transferred within this MOOC.

Assistant Professor

Ali Gooneie

Ali Gooneie is an assistant professor at Maastricht University, where he leads the Polymer Physics for Circularity team within the Chair of Circular Plastics. Before moving to the Netherlands, he gained professional experience in polymer research and development in Austria and Switzerland. His team studies the physics of complex polymer melts and liquids, aiming to connect molecular-level phenomena with macroscopic behavior through multiscale experiments and theoretical approaches. By doing so, Ali and his colleagues strive to identify fundamental principles that can guide more sustainable pathways for plastics.

Assistant Professor

Rudinei Fiorio

Rudinei Fiorio is a polymer scientist with vast experience in both R&D and higher education, having held professional positions in Brazil, the USA, and Belgium before joining Maastricht University (UM) in in 2022. He currently leads the research team Polymer Analytics for Circularity within the Circular Plastics group at UM, where the fundamentals of polymer science are applied to address technological challenges in plastics recycling. His research focuses on improving the sustainability of polymers, particularly through the degradation, stabilization, and modification of discarded plastics, while exploring new strategies to enhance their properties and recyclability.