Trade Fair K 2022

Fraunhofer CCPE is strongly represented at the K trade fair with all its partner institutes. Our plastics experts are looking forward to presenting their exhibits and topics on the Circular Plastics Economy: Self-Check CRL®, our web based tool for circularity assessment, Sustainable approaches for packaging by example of demonstrator »reusable transport box«, Cascading recycling, Degradation of mulch films, System mapping and many more.

Exhibits
 

• Fraunhofer CCPE and Circular Readiness Level^® (CRL^®)
  
  In the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence "Circular Plastics Economy" CCPE, six Fraunhofer institutes are using plastics as an example to research how the sustainable transformation of an entire value chain can take place under the principles of the circular economy (see www.ccpe.fraunhofer.de ). Through this collaboration, R&D competencies and infrastructures are bundled in order to design products in a circular manner, to develop suitable business models and to transform plastic waste into valuable resources. One highlight is the CRL® (see www.crl.fraunhofer.de/selfcheck/ ): a web-based tool that companies can use to self-assess the maturity of products or product systems with regard to the circular economy. It checks the extent to which a product already takes into account circular economy strategies in the areas of product design, product service system, end-of-life management, and circular economy, and where there is still potential for improvement.
  
  
• Demonstrator "Reusable transport box"
  
  The demonstrator "reusable transport box" combines the potential of circular plastic compounds with innovative manufacturing processes for component production. Newly developed PLA-based monomaterial approaches, bio-based foams with functional additives and odor-optimized recyclates open up promising design opportunities for the realization of circular product designs.
  
  
• Technology cascade for recycling plastics
  
  At the K trade fair, Fraunhofer CCPE will present an optimised recycling cascade for plastic waste that can no longer be recycled using conventional, mechanical processes, e.g. mixed packaging waste, shredder residues, composite materials like GRP / CFRP, etc. The input materials are pre-sorted by AI and treated using a combination of three innovative recycling technologies. This significantly improves the quality of the plastic recyclates and increases the product yield.
  
  
• Test stand for degradation tests of plastics
  
  During its life cycle, a biodegradable plastic product passes through various phases. Beginning with the utilization when the product is fully functional, a decrease in the physical-chemical properties of the plastic follows, which leads to visible fragmentation and finally to the metabolization of the plastic. However, the properties of the product can already deteriorate significantly before the visible fragmentation.
  
  In order to observe this under conditions that are as realistic as possible, a test stand was developed for the artificial ageing of films or other plastic products on floors under the influence of UV radiation, controlled humidification and temperature. The exhibit shows the principle of the test stand in a model. The test materials are simultaneously exposed to both UV radiation and soil contact, whereby the combined influences of these two factors on the degradation behavior are investigated.
   

Fraunhofer Cluster Circular Plastics Economy CCPE

The Fraunhofer Cluster Circular Plastics Economy CCPE bundles the competencies of six Fraunhofer institutes:

• Fraunhofer UMSICHT
• Fraunhofer IAP
• Fraunhofer ICT
• Fraunhofer IML
• Fraunhofer LBF
• Fraunhofer IVV.