Friday, 09 December 2022
Research into developing new sustainable ways to decontaminate plastic packaging for recycling has been given a boost with $3m funding after winning a global prize.
The University of Nottingham’s School of Chemistry is part of the COtooCLEAN multi-participant project by Nextex Ltd which has won the Alliance Prize in Circular Solutions for Flexibles.
Researchers are developing a disruptive waterless, non-toxic cleaning process for polyolefin films that are commonly used for packaging edible and non-edible goods. The process is based on using low-pressure super-critical CO2(scCO2) combined with green co-solvents to remove oils, fats and printing inks and will fill a gap in the recycling stream that is currently missing.
This new process was one of around 600 bids for the Alliance Prize which was whittled down to five finalists. Following a final pitch at the New York Stock Exchange, Nextex was awarded the prestigious prize of $3m to fast-track COtooCLEAN’s ground breaking process to decontaminate post-consumer plastic films back to food-grade quality. Professor Edward Kosior, founder of Nextex accepted the prize and commented: “We now have the potential to make a major contribution to the circularity of films in a global context.”
Professor Steve Howdle, Head of School of Chemistry, University of Nottingham is leading the scientific research that is being undertaken in collaboration with Unilever, Amcor, Viridor, Allied Bakeries, SUPREX and Bangor University.
The School of Chemistry is delighted to be a key part of this project working with a large industrial consortium focussed on packaging and recycling. The sustainable methodologies we are developing have the potential to revolutionise the recycling of food packaging and contribute to a cleaner, greener society.
The unique commercial process being developed can be integrated into mechanical recycling operations and can treat printed and multi-layer films to make them much easier to recycle.
Steve Sikra, AEPW VP Americas, Alliance to End Plastic Waste said: “The COtooCLEAN process offers an impactful solution for the hight levels of flexible film waste growing around the world. By enabling food-grade film-to-film advanced mechanical recycling, the process will improve circularity of flexible films by diverting film waste from landfill and lesser value outlets.
“The relatively simple modification to the existing mechanical recycling process makes the potential impact of COtooCLEAN even greater because of its scalability to global adoption over time.”
Story credits
More information on the is available from Professor Steve Howdle on Steve.Howdle@nottingham.ac.uk
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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