Materials

Recycled plastics can support electronics housings, but heat, impact, flame ratings, and compliance still limit adoption.

Plastics in menstrual products affect hygiene, comfort, additive exposure, PFAS concerns, and environmental impact.

PVC remains one of the world’s most versatile and widely used polymers, but producing high-performance PVC products requires far more than selecting the right resin. From pipe and window profiles to foam board and flooring, success depends on understanding the relationship between gelation, fusion, additives, and processing conditions.

A composite polymer coating improves bamboo flame retardancy, water resistance, char formation, and smoke suppression.

Melt filtration affects ABS recyclate quality, pressure stability, contaminant removal, melt flow, and the risk of polymer degradation.

In a project with Audi AG, Fraunhofer IVV demonstrated how solvent-based recycling can recover high-quality PC/ABS from automotive waste.

Gasification of automotive shredder plastic with biomass lowers CO₂ emissions and creates circular feedstock for chemical production.

PFAS regulation is changing fluoropolymer selection by separating applications into essential, replaceable, and politically exposed uses.

Reducing melt overheating, back pressure, and poor mold cooling can shorten cooling time and improve injection molding efficiency.

Circularity targets are moving recycled polymers into more automotive applications, but vehicle cabins remain among the most demanding.

Engineers upgrade polymer proppants to safely boost fracturing flow, quickly cut wear, and improve thermal yields for commercial oil wells.

Inspired by the porous bones of birds, these porous materials offer a new design framework for aircraft wings.