Publicaties

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a polymer comprised of more than 50% chlorine that offers unmatched versatility at low expense. PVC is irreplaceable in several applications, such as construction materials, medical applications, and cables. This versatility and tunable properties come at the cost of complex formulations for the product and challenging end-of-life (EoL) options for PVC waste. Pure collected and sorted PVC is already recycled ...

Plastic polymers such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) may contain chemical additives, such as lead (Pb), that are leachable in aqueous solution. The fragmentation into microplastics (MPs) of plastics such as PVC may facilitate desorption of chemical additives and increase exposure of aquatic animals. In this study, the role of chemical additives in the aqueous toxicity of PVC, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) MPs ...

Nowadays, the chemical recycling is applied for only 1% of total waste plastics, largely due to contaminants in plastic waste and difficulty in product control. As the major contaminant, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) often forms corrosive hydrogen chloride (HCl) during the chemical recycling, which may cause severe catalyst deactivation and equipment damage. However, the investigation on catalytic pyrolysis (the major route for plastics chemical ...

Concerns about the presence of microplastics in the environment has increased in recent years, prompting more attention from scientists. Thorough exposure studies using artificially produced microplastics containing additives are required to assess their potentially hazardous effects. Therefore, an efficient microplastic production and fractionation protocol was established using a cryogenic grinding and wet-sieving approach. The developed ...

The effect of the initial cross-link, as well as process parameters, such as heating rate and temperature, was investigated on the pyrolysis of poly butadiene rubber (PBR) using a semi-batch stirred reactor and a TG equipment. To better evaluate the degradation mechanisms of polybutadiene rubber, the degradation of polyvinyl chloride was also investigated at similar heating rates using TG instrument. The results showed that due to the production ...

Due to the expansion in the global population, there is an increase in animal protein demand and waste generation. Currently, food waste derived from supermarkets, etc., which is used to produce biogas, is collected separately and can contain (micro)plastics deriving from food packaging, imposing potential risks to the environment. A possible solution to address protein, waste and plastic concerns can potentially be achieved by rearing black ...

The increasing global population and demand for animal proteins result in an increased production of feed sources like fish- and soybean meal. This exerts considerable pressure on our planet, due to more deforestation, land and water overuse, and overfishing. Additionally, global municipal waste is also rapidly increasing, consisting for 32 to 50 % of food and greens, which is largely anaerobically digested to produce biogas at present. However, ...

The increasing global population and demand for animal proteins result in an increased production of feed sources like fish- and soybean meal. This exerts considerable pressure on our planet, due to more deforestation, land and water overuse, and overfishing. Additionally, global municipal waste is also rapidly increasing, consisting for 32 to 50 % of food and greens, which is largely anaerobically digested to produce biogas at present. However, ...

Protein adsorption onto polymers remains a problem. In recent years, several protein-repellent PVC tubings have been developed. Although several studies report the interaction between plasma coagulation proteins and PVC, few address the interaction with other plasma proteins. Two commercial brands of untreated medical grade PVC tubing, phosphorylcholine-coated PVC tubing, triblock-copolymer ...