Bachelor’s thesis, master’s thesis, project work or research laboratory
© IKVTopic of the work:
The largest quantities of plastic are used in the packaging sector. 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 only have a useful life of a few weeks, resulting in large quantities of waste. The linear use of plastic products leads to high 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 (deinking) is essential in order to increase the recyclate quality and process packaging waste into new packaging.
The 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 deinking mechanism by means of experimental tests. You will carry out experiments with different washing parameters and surfactant systems. A statistical analysis can be used to draw conclusions about the influence of various washing parameters. These findings will then be used to test deinking on a pilot plant.
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 | Planning and execution of washing tests and their evaluation |
| Interpretation and summary of results, as well as classification in the context of industrial implementation | Interpretation and summary of results, as well as classification in the context of industrial implementation |
| Statistical evaluation of the deinking results and description of the deinking mechanism | |
| Conceptual design of a deinking pilot plant |
Your profile:
- Technical or scientific studies
- Independent, analytical and structured approach
- Interest in experimental and analytical work
- Communicative and a team player
Your benefits:
- Independent work with intensive support
- Co-design of current research projects
- Individual coordination of tasks and time frame
- Fast processing, direct contact for questions during processing
- Varied mix of research, experimental work and analytics (overview of the entire mechanical recycling chain, deinking tests, image-based evaluation, etc.)
If you are interested in writing your thesis at IKV and in my working group, please get in touch with me. We agree on the exact scope of content and schedule individually.