Free workshop about Closing the Loop on the Plastics Dilemma.

On May 9-10, 2019, the Chemical Sciences Roundtable of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will host a free workshop entitled, Closing the Loop on the Plastics Dilemma.

The workshop will discuss new polymer options and approaches that reduce the impacts of plastics that enter the environment and that improve recycling of plastics, through both mechanical and chemical methods. Ultimately, the overall goal of the workshop is to provide a venue to identify opportunities to reduce the environmental impact of plastics by enhancing plastics recycling and by reducing the lifetime of plastics that enter the environment.

The workshop will be held at the Keck Center in Washington, DC, but it will also be webcast. To attend in person or to view the webcast, go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/closing-the-loop-on-the-plastics-dilemma-tickets-58855282735 and click on “register”. Again, the workshop is free and those viewing the webcast should feel free to watch all or that which their schedule allows.

WORKSHOP AGENDA:

DAY 1
May 9, 2019
Keck Center

8:30 AM Welcome and Opening Remarks

Mary Kirchhoff
American Chemical Society

8:40 AM Keynote – The Plastics Dilemma

Eric Beckman
University of Pittsburgh

Session 1: Mechanical Recycling: Challenges and Opportunities

9:10 AM Introduction to Session 1

Timothy Patten, Moderator
National Science Foundation

9:15 AM Overview of Mechanical Recycling: Methods and Challenges

Brian Riise
REMADE Institute

9:40 AM Enhancing Mechanical Recycling with Spectroscopic Methods

Andre Benard
Michigan State University

10:05 AM Enhancing Mechanical Recycling with Compatibilizers

Megan Robertson
University of Houston

10:30 AM Break/Mingle to Identify Discussion Questions

10:45 AM Panel Discussion with Keynote Speaker and Session I Speakers

Timothy Patten, Moderator
National Science Foundation

Jill Martin, Additional Panel Discussant
Dow Chemical Company

11:30 PM Lunch Break

Session 2: Chemical and Biological Recycling of Today’s Plastics

12:30 PM Introduction to Session 2

Kathryn Beers, Moderator
National Institute of Standards and Technology

12:35 PM Chemical and Biological Recycling: Methods and Challenges

Jeannette Garcia
IBM Research

1:00 PM Thermal Depolymerization

Reaction Engineering Fundamentals

Paul Dauenhauer
University of Minnesota

Scaling Industrially

Jennifer Le Roy
BioCellection Inc.

1:50 PM Catalytic Depolymerization

Heterogeneous Catalysis

Susannah Scott
University of California, Santa Barbara

Molecular Catalysis

Robert Allen
IBM Research

2:40 PM Break/Mingle to Identify Discussion Questions

2:55 PM Biological Depolymerization

Biocatalysis

Richard Gross
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Microbial Degradation

Eric Boyd
Montana State University

3:45 PM Life Cycle Assessment and Technoeconomic Analysis for Chemical Recycling

Ming Xu
University of Michigan

4:10 PM Break/Mingle to Identify Discussion Questions

4:30 PM Panel Discussion with Session II Speakers

Kathryn Beers, Moderator
National Institute of Standards and Technology

5:15 PM Poster Session – Reception

7:00 PM Adjourn Day 1

DAY 2
May 10, 2019
Keck Center

Session 3: Designing Plastics for the Future

8:30 AM Introduction to Session 3

Gregg Beckham
National Renewable Energy Laboratory

8:35 AM Biomass Conversion: Building Blocks for Future Plastics

David Hodge
Montana State University

9:00 AM Infinitely Recyclable Plastics

Eugene Chen
Colorado State University

9:25 AM New Building Blocks for Plastics

Geoffrey Coates
Cornell University

9:50 AM Modeling or Predictive Analyses

Linda Broadbelt
Northwestern University

10:15 AM Life Cycle Assessment and Technoeconomic Analysis on Sustainable Plastics

Michael Wang
Argonne National Laboratory

10:40 AM Break/Mingle to Identify Discussion Questions

11:00 AM Panel Discussion with Session III Speakers

Gregg Beckham, Moderator
National Renewable Energy Laboratory

11:45 AM Closing Remarks

Mary Kirchhoff
American Chemical Society

12:00 PM Workshop Concludes