Awards 2025

Turning waste into innovation: U Alabama upcycles PVC for 3D printing and more

Awards 2025 - Univ of AlabamaWith patented technology this breakthrough upcycles mixed PVC waste through fractionation and chemical processing, recovering additives like plasticisers and fillers. This way, PVC can be recycled into a range of grades based on the strength of the solvent used. Low-molecular weight PVC is transformed via dehydrochlorination and hydrogenation into materials that could replace CPE – chlorinated polyethylene. It also enables creation of high-content PVC resins for SLA (stereolithography) 3D printing – delivering strong, homogenous results while avoiding FDM (fused deposition modelling) degradation.

https://jbara.eng.ua.edu