Resource-Efficient and Sustainable Polymer Materials for Circular Economy
1Polish Academy of Sciences, Zabrze, Poland
Resource-Efficient and Sustainable Polymer Materials for Circular Economy
Description
Research on the design, characterization, production, and development of environmentally friendly and sustainable polymer materials with higher efficiency and lower costs - in particular resource-efficient materials - is a rapidly growing field of material science. Advanced polymer materials are the most developing class of new materials that leads to numerous technological innovations. Therefore, it is extremely important to design such materials so that they are not only responsibly and sustainably adapted to new areas of application, but also safe for human health and the environment.
The level of reuse and recycling of used polymer materials is very low, and the current demand for recycled plastics also slight. That is why the European strategy on plastics focuses on adapting EU legislation to the implementation of the circular economy principles. This strategy identifies the most important actions that national and regional authorities as well as industry should take. The current advanced production chain combines various intermediate links, such as the raw material suppliers, producers of high-value polymer materials and waste recyclers.
The purpose of this Special Issue is to provide a contemporary overview of the latest developments in the field of advanced polymer materials, in particular the latest breakthroughs and approaches in the science of those materials leading to the development of the new generation resource-efficient, environmentally friendly and sustainable polymer materials for the circular economy. Reviews, full papers, and short communications, covering aspects of the current trends in expansion of such materials are all welcome.
Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:
- Polymer materials for the sustainable future
- Materials based on natural, renewable and synthetic polymers
- Methods of recycling, properties and applications of recycled polymer materials
- Functional materials with application in automotive and transportation industry, aeronautics and space industry, energy, engineering and environmental sectors
- New application in agriculture and horticulture sector, packaging and food-service sectors
- Applications of advanced polymer materials in the areas of the environment
- Advanced materials in medical, pharmaceutical and dental industry
- Relationships between structure, properties, functions and performance of polymer materials
- Synthesis, design, characterization and development of innovative, technologically advanced, adaptable and multifunctional materials
- Latest breakthroughs and approaches in the material science
- A new generation of resource-efficient, environmentally friendly and sustainable polymer materials with enhanced features and improved properties for circular economy