The Goodyear Polymer Center at the University of Akron.
The University of Akron recently received nearly $5.5 million in federal grants for technologies that would develop a new recycling technology for mixed-use plastics and boost energy transmission efficiency.
The grants, which were announced by U.S. Representative Emilia Sykes, are from the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). They are aimed at developing “disruptive and ambitious technologies that advance America’s energy future.”
The first project, which will be overseen by Dr. Yilmaz Sozer, is called the “Chemi-Mechanical Recycling of Mixed Plastic Residues by Reactive Solvothermal Blending and Purification Project.” It received $3.14 million in support.
The project aims to develop a new recycling technology that can blend and purify mixed plastics, making them reusable for manufacturing by removing volatile organic compounds and pigments.
“Oftentimes, the manufacturing industry can’t reuse (the recycled plastic) because it's not of sufficient quality,” said Sue Bausch, vice president of research and business engagement at UA. “Hopefully this will decrease the amount of single-use plastics that are relegated to our landfills and other sites. And those plastics in the landfills end up contaminating our environment because most current plastics aren't biodegradable.”
The technology would benefit plastic manufacturers, recyclers and material recovery facilities, as well as companies that rely on sustainable packaging. It would also reduce the need to use petroleum for new source materials.
The second project, overseen by Dr. James Eagan, is titled the “Double Alternating Current Overhead Circuit Utilization with Blended DC Transmission Line Edging Project.” It was awarded just under $2.3 million.
The project aims to develop energy integration technology to enhance the transmission and distribution capacity of existing alternating current (AC) lines by blending with the high voltage direct current (DC) energy networks. Traditional AC transmission lines use double circuits to transition power to meet growing energy demands, but those systems have capacity and efficiency limits, Bausch said.
“This (project) is really meant to enhance the electrical transmission distribution and energy storage,” she said. “Any time you can get more efficiency — and perhaps capacity — out of your existing infrastructure, the better it will be.
“It's really a cutting edge idea.”
ARPA-E’s OPEN program looks to develop cutting-edge technologies that tackle three goals:
“Ohio’s 13th Congressional District has long been known for its scientific innovation and creativity – and the University of Akron plays a huge role in that,” Sykes said in a news release. “These grants will support projects to help ensure the University of Akron continues to lead the way to a future in technology that creates jobs and opportunities for our region.”
Last July, Akron’s Polymer Industry Cluster — a collaboration of private and public partners that includes UA — was named the recipient of a $51 million federal investment as part of the EDA Tech Hubs Phase 2 awards. The program was part of the CHIPS and Science Act from August of 2022.
“We’re proud of all the funding we receive, obviously, but the ARPA-E projects are special because it really acknowledges the fact that these really talented researchers are operating at the cutting edge of their individual fields,” Bausch said. “Not only is it really great, solid research research, but it’s really innovative and cutting edge. We're very proud of our researchers, especially over the last years in which we've been getting a lot of recognition in terms of funding.”
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