Sustainability in Rotomolding Usign Biosourced and Recycled Materials
Summary
Based on the concepts of circular economy and sustainable development, several companies are now looking into the production of more environmentally friendly parts. This can be done via two approaches. The first one is to use as much as possible recycled materials (postconsumer origin), while the second option is to introduce biobased materials such as lignocellulosic residues. Nevertheless, both approaches can be combined to get the maximum advantage. In this presentation, rotational molding is used to produce parts based on both approaches with a specific focus on recycled polyethylene, recycled tire rubber and natural fibres (wood, hemp, flax, etc.). The advantages and limitations will be discussed with respect to processing conditions optimization and formulations (composition).
About the Speaker
Denis Rodrigue obtained a B.Sc. (1991) and a Ph.D. (1996) in chemical engineering from Université de Sherbrooke (Sherbrooke, Canada) with a specialization in non-Newtonian fluid mechanics. In 1996 he moved to Université Laval (Quebec City, Canada) where he is now full professor. Since then, he has been an invited professor at the University of Guadalajara (Mexico), the Technical Institute of Karlsruhe (Germany), the University of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain), the University of Arts and Sciences of Hunan (China), the Technical University of Lodz (Poland) and Polytech Tours (France).
His main research areas are in the characterization and the modelling of the morphological / mechanical / thermal / rheological properties of polymer foams and composites based on thermoplastics and elastomers. His main focus is related to polymer recycling and rheology.
He is the co-editor of one international journal, Current Applied Polymer Science, and and a member of the editorial board of three others:
- Biopolymer Applications Journal
- Cellular Polymers
- Elastomery