Bachelor thesis or Master thesis
The packaging sector uses the largest quantities of plastic of all industrial sectors. The main advantages of plastic packaging are its low density, which makes transportation more efficient, and its high barrier effect, which can extend the shelf life of food. However, films, for example, only have a useful life of a few weeks, resulting in large quantities of waste. The linear use of plastic products leads to high greenhouse gas emissions and considerable environmental pollution. A major obstacle to the widespread use of high recycled content in packaging products is the strong odor and discoloration caused primarily by contaminants such as printing inks. The removal of these printing inks (de-inking) is essential in order to increase the recyclate quality and process packaging waste into new packaging.
© IKVThe work is written in this working group:
In the “Sustainable materials from recycling processes” working group, we are working on closing plastic cycles and opening up new fields of application for recycled plastics.
Objective:
The aim of your thesis is to investigate the ink removal of differently structured film systems. To this end, you will carry out and evaluate washing tests based on our preliminary work on household packaging waste. The comparison of these results enables the critical evaluation of the recyclability of real packaging films and the derivation of recommendations for action for Design for Recycling!
Your task:
| For a Bachelor's thesis, you will work on the following tasks | For a Master's thesis, you will work on the following tasks |
| Planning and execution of washing tests and their evaluation | Research on the structure of current film systems and the resulting challenges for de-inking |
| Interpretation and summary of results, as well as classification in the context of Design for Recycling | Planning and execution of washing tests and their evaluation |
| Interpretation and summary of results, as well as classification in the context of Design for Recycling |
Your profile
- Independent, analytical and structured approach
- Interest in experimental work
- Communicative and a team player
- Preferred study programs:
- Mechanical engineering / industrial engineering, specialising in mechanical engineering
- General mechanical engineering
- Materials science
- Industrial engineering, specialising in materials and process engineering
- Environmental engineering
- Applied chemistry
- Applied Polymer Science