SPE Workshop
Consider Recycling When Addressing Polymer Design and Optimization
May 13, 15, 20 & 21, 2025
All workshop days are from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM EDT.
Online
Summary
Often, as part of materials design processes, inevitably, there is a reconciliation where various inadequacies and limitations are addressed relative to design requirements. These adaptations include changes to material composition through copolymerization, blending, physical integration and fixturing, and through process design and component design to minimize stress concentrations, etc. We will consider here the impact these adaptations have on the design lifetime and the corresponding capacity for polymeric designs to ultimately be recycled. The goal of the workshop is not to make every conceivable product fully recyclable, but to empower registrants to recognize the impact of decisions that ultimately can render a viable product more or less recyclable.
Agenda
Outline
- The Design Process relating to polymers. Distinctions between polymers and other materials classes.
Presentations
Go to Session 1
Outline
- Critical Design Requirements Assessments. Common schemes to shore up an inadequate design requirement through formulation and their impact on recyclability.
Presentations
Go to Session 2
Outline
- The duality between polymer complexity and circular design scenarios for polymers, copolymers, and composites.
Presentations
Go to Session 3
Outline
- End of life and design lifetime considerations for existing and future polymer designs. Here, I will describe many of my experiences linked with single use, disposable and packaged products used in medicine, as well as some other examples.
Presentations
Go to Session 4
Registration Information
| SPE Premium Member |
$540 |
| SPE Members |
$600 |
| Nonmembers |
$800 |
Register Now
Not an SPE member? Join today and attend this workshop at a discounted rate!
Workshop Packs
Strengthen your team’s skills and take advantage of group savings with an SPE Workshop Pack.
Go here for Workshop Pack information and registration.
Instructor
Brian Love
Professor
University of Michigan
Brian Love has been a Professor in Materials Science and Biomedical Engineering at Michigan for the last 15 years. His research has focused on the kinetics of polymerization and structural evolution in soft structures, and on other implications linked to structure/property relationships in polymers and composites. Dr. Love’s research has pivoted towards polymer recycling, capture, and bypass via isolating natural polymeric substitutes derived from biomass and other plant-based polymers. Brian has been teaching part of the capstone design sequence and with that has come a larger understanding of life cycle assessment and valuing these other material substitutions. It should be an engaging and productive workshop to work through some examples and consider how we make decisions about addressing limitations in polymer features and attributes at present.
Questions? Contact:
For questions, contact Iván D. López.
Who Should Attend?
- Are you a plastic parts designer aiming to integrate recyclability into your designs?
- Do you struggle to balance recyclability with performance requirements?
- Are you worried about how traditional methods like material blending and composites might impact a part's recyclability?
- Do you consider how assembly methods, such as physical integration or fixturing, could affect a product's recyclability?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, this workshop is designed for you!
