SKZ: Analysis of recycled surfaces for bonding or painting

Plastic recyclates are increasingly becoming the focus of sustainable production - but their use poses challenges. Particularly problematic: the strongly fluctuating and often insufficiently documented material properties compared to virgin material. In particular, the quality of the recycled surfaces has a significant impact on the quality of downstream finishing processes such as gluing, printing and painting. Many companies are therefore reluctant to treat the surfaces of recycled components. The SKZ Plastics Center wants to change this. With the new IGF research project "SurfRec", the project team aims to characterize and classify the surface quality of recycled plastics. "The safe and efficient use of recyclates in surface-sensitive applications requires standardized evaluation standards," explains David Herbig, Scientist at SKZ. Together with his team, he is developing proposals to add surface-specific aspects to existing standards. This will create the basis for quality-assured surface finishing and bonding processes for recycled materials.

IGF research project "SurfRec"

The core of the two-and-a-half-year project is the development of defined surface data quality levels (DQLs) that meet the requirements of downstream processing steps. To this end, suitable test methods - such as wetting tests or chemical analyses - are being identified, validated and optimized in terms of their informative value. In addition, it is being investigated whether artificially accelerated ageing tests can improve surface evaluation. The IGF project "SurfRec" of the FSKZ e.V. research association is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) as part of the program for the promotion of joint industrial research (IGF) on the basis of a resolution of the German Bundestag (FKZ: 01IF23716N). Interested companies can contact the research team via the project website or by e-mail.