Michael Ulbrich

Plastics have a very important role to play in energy-efficient and low-carbon technologies of the present and future, but for them to be classified as sustainable materials, there is a great need for practical and economic recycling methods and infrastructure. This book fills the gap for a modern comprehensive technical guide to recycling of plastics, covering the whole value chain from raw materials to recycled materials.


All important recycling technologies (mechanical… Show more

Plastics have a very important role to play in energy-efficient and low-carbon technologies of the present and future, but for them to be classified as sustainable materials, there is a great need for practical and economic recycling methods and infrastructure. This book fills the gap for a modern comprehensive technical guide to recycling of plastics, covering the whole value chain from raw materials to recycled materials.


All important recycling technologies (mechanical, chemical/feedstock, dissolution) are discussed and compared to each other and alternative disposal methods such as energy recovery and gasification. Collecting, sorting, and purification methods are also covered, as are economic, legal, and political aspects.
A strong emphasis is placed on data comparability, e.g. by standardized methods in measuring data. Although this is a challenge to implement, comparing data across technologies, regions, and stakeholders along the value chain yields important benefits. Key instruments for such a target are lifecycle assessments (LCAs), which are calculated in a standard way across the chapters to “calibrate“ the messages among the numerous expert co-authors. Show less

Laboratory 4.0 is taking shape. So far, chemical companies have mainly digitized marketing, sales, service and production. Now the focus is on automation and digitization in research and development (R&D). Small laboratory robots - so-called cobots - will relieve employees of routine tasks and ensure higher work quality and comparable results. Generated data flow together in a validated Data Lake so that new products can be created or additional applications for existing offers identified in… Show more

Laboratory 4.0 is taking shape. So far, chemical companies have mainly digitized marketing, sales, service and production. Now the focus is on automation and digitization in research and development (R&D). Small laboratory robots - so-called cobots - will relieve employees of routine tasks and ensure higher work quality and comparable results. Generated data flow together in a validated Data Lake so that new products can be created or additional applications for existing offers identified in the shortest possible time using analytics or simulation calculations. Many companies have completed their pilot phases and are beginning to integrate the results into their regular operations. Show less

Article for high profile chemical industry journal highlighting the key results of our study "Taking the European chemical industry into the circular economy" which we have completed together with Cefic