Consider Recycling When Addressing Polymer Design and Optimization

Often, as part of materials design processes, inevitably, there is a reconciliation where various inadequacies and limitations are addressed relative to design requirements. These adaptations include changes to material composition through copolymerization, blending, physical integration and fixturing, and through process design and component design to minimize stress concentrations, etc. We will consider here the impact these adaptations have on the design lifetime and the corresponding capacity for polymeric designs to ultimately be recycled. The goal of the workshop is not to make every conceivable product fully recyclable, but to empower registrants to recognize the impact of decisions that ultimately can render a viable product more or less recyclable.