This page (revision-285) was last changed on 14-Sep-2022 10:00 by Leonid

This page was created on 18-Feb-2022 08:53 by Leonid

Only authorized users are allowed to rename pages.

Only authorized users are allowed to delete pages.

Page revision history

Version Date Modified Size Author Changes ... Change note
285 14-Sep-2022 10:00 8 KB Leonid to previous
284 14-Sep-2022 09:57 8 KB Leonid to previous | to last
283 14-Sep-2022 09:57 8 KB Leonid to previous | to last
282 13-Sep-2022 15:36 8 KB Leonid to previous | to last
281 02-Sep-2022 16:23 8 KB Makid Maskawat Marjub to previous | to last

Page References

Incoming links Outgoing links
Matrix
Matrix

Version management

Difference between version and

At line 1 changed one line
%%viewer [https://player.vimeo.com/video/670138203]%%
__%%( color: #003399; font-size: 30px;)Matrix Tool Introduction:__
At line 3 removed one line
__%%( color: #003399; font-size: 24px;)Type of tool:__
At line 5 changed one line
Web application
%%viewer [https://player.vimeo.com/video/670138203]%%
At line 7 changed one line
__%%( color: #003399; font-size: 24px;)Required skills: __
One of the hindrances of using recyclate is the challenge of finding suitable recyclate grades for specific products. The correlation between product/process requirements is difficult to make, and in most cases, field studies need to be carried out to validate the material selection. In this perspective, Matrix tool helps to find suitable recyclate (recycled plastic material or rPM) for converters or producers who want to replace virgin plastics. Furthermore, recyclate suppliers or traders can use this tool to sell their materials more efficiently.
At line 9 changed one line
- Knowledge of material properties
__%%( color: #003399; font-size: 18px;)Advantages of the Matrix Tool:__
At line 11 changed one line
- No programming or data science knowledge needed
[{Image src='Matrix/Tool-benefits-19.JPG'}]
At line 13 changed one line
__%%( color: #003399; font-size: 24px;)Short description of the tool: __
__%%( color: #003399; font-size: 18px;)Type of Tool:__
At line 15 changed one line
Matrix Tool increases the use of recycled plastic material (recyclate) by matching converter requirements with recyclate supply.
Web application
At line 17 changed one line
__%%( color: #003399; font-size: 24px;)Getting started __
__%%( color: #003399; font-size: 18px;)Required Skills and data: __
At line 19 changed one line
Before you get started, take a look at the :[guidelines | matrix//matrix-guidelines.pdf] and make yourself familiar with how to use the tool.
- Basic knowledge of material properties
At line 20 added one line
- Material properties of currently used virgin materials
At line 22 removed one line
__%%( color: #003399; font-size: 24px;)Disclaimer:__
At line 23 added 2 lines
__%%( color: #003399; font-size: 18px;)Disclaimer:__
At line 26 changed one line
__%%( color: #003399; font-size: 24px;)How to access the tool directly:__
__%%( color: #003399; font-size: 18px;)Tool Guideline and Access__
At line 28 changed one line
The tool is available at [https://matrix.sis.cs.uos.de/login.xhtml]. At first, the admin will open an account for you. After that you have to login there using your username and password.
- Before you get started, take a look at the [guidelines | matrix//matrix-guidelines.pdf] and make yourself familiar with the functionalities.
At line 30 changed one line
__%%( color: #003399; font-size: 24px;)How to access the tool via github:__
- To access the tool you will need an account. If you are interested in using the tool contact the admin who will create an account for you. After that, you can access the tool directly via [this link|https://matrix.sis.cs.uos.de/login.xhtml] using your account details.
At line 32 changed one line
The tool is available at [https://matrix.sis.cs.uos.de/login.xhtml].
- You can also download the tool source via [GitHub|https://github.com/cslab-hub/Di-Plast-Matrix-Tool-2.0].
At line 34 changed one line
__%%( color: #003399; font-size: 24px;)Use case/problem:__
__%%( color: #003399; font-size: 24px;)Your contact for the Matrix tool:__
At line 37 added one line
Martine Bonnema [mailto:m.bonnema@polymersciencepark.nl]
At line 37 changed one line
Problem finding the right recycled material for your virgin material?
__%%( color: #003399; font-size: 24px;)Detailed Tool Description:__
At line 41 added 2 lines
European Commission has the goal of reaching a circular economy and plastics have a crucial role in reaching this goal. Plastics are used in many sectors such as packaging, building and construction, textiles, consumer products, transportation, electrical and electronics, and so on. Thus it is important to close the plastic loop to reach a sustainable and resource-efficient economy. One of the ways of achieving this goal is to use recyclate (recycled plastic) as an alternative to virgin material for new plastic products. Although there is a high demand for recyclate material in the market, a very small amount of products is made from recyclate. This indicates the presence of some challenges in the uptake of the recyclate. Therefore, the main goal of the Interreg Di-Plast Project was to increase the uptake of recyclate among the companies. The Matrix tool was developed for this purpose. Details about the Di-Plast Project can be found at [Di-Plast Website|https://www.nweurope.eu/projects/project-search/di-plast-digital-circular-economy-for-the-plastics-industry/]
At line 40 changed one line
- The matrix tool can help you find the right replacement recyclate or rPM (recycled plastic material) by providing a database of possible materials and the ability to make expert-based suggestions for alternative recyclates.
__%%( color: #003399; font-size: 18px;)Working Mechanism:__
At line 42 changed one line
- Converters can put their desired specifications (polymer type, processing technology, properties etc.) in the tool. The tool will search the current recyclate supply for for exact matches. If no exact matches exist in the current database, the tool will use an algorithm to recommend alternative recyclates which do not exactly match the filled in specifications.
__Recyclate Supplies:__ This section contains the database of the existing recyclates. Converters can choose the material specifications (polymer type, process technology, properties, etc.) they want to see by clicking on the "column" tab. When they fill in the values or specify the ranges for those specifications, the tool will search the current recyclate supply for exact matches. If no exact matches exist in the current database, it will use an algorithm to recommend alternative recyclates which do not exactly match the filled-in specifications. In addition, suppliers can add information about a new recyclate by clicking on the "create recyclate" tab.
At line 44 changed one line
- A separate tab on the web-based tool shows the current demand for recyclate batches with a specified set of properties that has not been resolved yet. This information can be used by suppliers in order to sell their recyclate more targeted. Furthermore, this information can be used by suppliers to modify their materials to these specifications.
[{Image src='Matrix/3.14.png'}]
At line 46 changed one line
__%%( color: #003399; font-size: 24px;)Description of the problem the tools solves:__
__Recyclate Request:__ This section shows the current demand for recyclate batches with a specified set of properties that have not been resolved yet. Suppliers can use this information to modify their materials according to these specifications.
At line 48 changed one line
European Commission has the goal of reaching a circular economy and plastics have a crucial role in reaching this goal. Plastics are used in many sectors such as packaging, building and construction, textiles, consumer products, transportation, electrical and electronics, and so on. Thus it is important to close the plastic loop to reach a sustainable and resource-efficient economy. One of the ways of achieving the goal is to use recyclate (recycled plastic) as an alternative to the virgin material for new plastic products. Although there is a high demand for recyclate material in the market, a very small amount of product is made from recyclate. This indicates the presence of some challenges in the uptake of the recyclate. Therefore, the main goal of the Interreg Di-Plast project was to increase the uptake of recyclate among the companies.
[{Image src='Matrix/4.2.png'}]
At line 50 changed 3 lines
The Matrix Tool was developed for this purpose. The tool works in two directions:
- It allows converters to easily select the material that matches their process or product requirements.
- It allows recyclate suppliers to make their materials easier to find. Additionally, the recyclate suppliers can check on the demand for batches with a specific set of properties to sell their material in a more targeted way.
__%%( color: #003399; font-size: 18px;)Explanation of Material Specifications:__ 
At line 54 changed one line
The advantages of the tool are illustrated in the following figure:
__Polymer Type:__ This describes the main type of polymer present in the material. Some common types of polymers are:
At line 56 changed one line
[{Image src='Matrix/Tool-benefits-9.JPG'}]
- PE (Polyethylene)
At line 58 changed one line
__%%( color: #003399; font-size: 20px;)Explanation of commonly used material properties:__ 
- PP (Polypropylene)
At line 60 changed one line
__MFI:__ This value gives an indication of the fluidity of the molten polymer. The MFI is an important value for prediction of processing behaviour. For this reason, the MFI is one of the main properties used in selection of materials. The MFI could be seen as a measured viscosity at a single temperature and shear rate. The MFI of a material is often measured at a specified temperature and weight. However, due to the fact that the viscosity of polymers is shear-dependent, the MFI could also be measured at multiple weights (shear rates).
- PS (Polystyrene)
At line 62 changed one line
__Impact strength:__ The energy needed for brittle fracture of a material. The greater the value, the more resistant the material is to breaking upon impact. Impact strength can be measured via Charpy or Izod methods. Samples could be measured notched or unnotched. Notched values are lower than unnotched values due to the limitation of energy dissipation throughout the sample. Furthermore, the impact strength can be measured at different temperatures to predict impact behavior in different environments.
- PA 6 (Polyamide 6)
At line 64 changed 3 lines
__E-modulus:__ The stiffness of a material in the tensile direction. For blown films this value is measured in the machine direction and transverse direction.
__Flexural modulus:__ The stiffness of a material in the flexural direction.
- PA 6.6 (Polyamide 6.6)
At line 68 changed one line
__Strain at yield:__ Denotes the strain (percentage of elongation) of the material at its maximum elastic point. Deformation lower than this value is elastic, meaning the material can return to its original shape. Deformation greater than this value is plastic, meaning the material is permanently deformed. For blown films this value is measured in the machine direction and transverse direction.
- PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride)
At line 70 changed one line
__Strength at yield:__ The applied stress at yield strain. This value is the maximum stress that can be applied to a material before plastically deforming. For blown films this value is measured in the machine direction and transverse direction.
- PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate)
At line 72 changed one line
__Strain at break:__ This value denotes the strain (percentage of elongation) of the material at its breaking point. The strain at break gives information about the ductility of a material. For blown films this value is measured in the machine direction and transverse direction.
__Process Technology:__ This indicates the technology used in converting raw materials into semi-finished or finished products such as buckets, automobile parts, crates, tanks, pipes, bottles, etc. Some typical process technologies are:
At line 74 changed one line
__Vicat softening temperature:__ Denotes the temperature at which the material loses its hardness.
- Injection Molding
At line 76 changed one line
__Heat deflection temperature:__ It is a measure of a polymer's resistance to alteration under a given load at an elevated temperature.
- Blow Molding
At line 78 changed one line
__%%( color: #003399; font-size: 24px;)Contact person of the tool: __
- Rotational Molding
At line 80 changed one line
Nils Schut and Leonid Schwenke
- Blown Film
At line 82 changed one line
__%%( color: #003399; font-size: 24px;)Related tools:__
- Cast Film
At line 84 changed one line
- Analyse and Visualize your process data with data analytics -> [Data Analytics]
- Thermoforming
At line 86 added 34 lines
- Extrusion
__Melt Flow Index:__ It indicates the fluidity of the molten polymer. This property is important for the prediction of processing behavior and material selection. The MFI could be seen as a measured viscosity at a single temperature and shear rate. It is often measured at a specified temperature and weight. However, since the viscosity of polymers is shear-dependent, the MFI could also be measured at multiple weights (shear rates).
__Impact Strength:__ It denotes the energy needed for fracturing material. The greater the value, the more resistant the material is to break upon impact. It can be measured via Charpy or Izod methods. Samples could be measured notched or unnotched. Notched values are lower than unnotched values due to the limitation of energy dissipation throughout the sample. Furthermore, the impact strength can be measured at different temperatures to predict impact behavior in different environments.
__E-Modulus:__ It denotes the stiffness of a material in the tensile direction. For blown films, it is measured in the machine direction and transverse direction.
__Flexural Modulus:__ It denotes the stiffness of a material in the flexural direction.
__Strain at Yield:__ It denotes the strain (percentage of elongation) of the material at its maximum elastic point. Deformation of a product lower than this value is of elastic nature, meaning the material can return to its original shape. Deformation greater than this value is of viscous nature, meaning the material is permanently deformed. For blown films, it is measured in the machine direction and transverse direction.
__Strength at Yield:__ It is the applied stress at yield strain. This value is the maximum stress a material can handle before it yields. For blown films, it is measured in the machine direction and transverse direction.
__Strain at Break:__ It denotes the strain (percentage of elongation) of the material at its breaking point. The strain at break gives information about the ductility of a material. For blown films, it is measured in the machine direction and transverse direction.
__Vicat Softening Temperature:__ It denotes the temperature at which the material softens.
__Heat Deflection Temperature:__ It is a measure of a polymer's resistance to alteration under a given load at an elevated temperature.
__%%( color: #003399; font-size: 18px;)Use Case/Problem:__
Do you face problems in finding the right recyclate for your virgin material or are you looking to increase the publicity of your recyclate? In this case, the Matrix tool is the perfect candidate for you. Over the years the tool has been used by several companies (both converter and supplier). Some of the use cases of the Matrix tool are as follows:
-One converter wanted to use recyclate HDPE instead of virgin HDPE in their product. In the beginning, the virgin material properties were determined through tests. Those properties were put into the Matrix tool. After that, the tool provided a ranking of the potential PE or PE/PP recyclates using the database from the "recyclate supplies" section. From the ranking, 3 recyclates were chosen and the suppliers were contacted. The recyclates were ordered and tested for verification of their properties. After the tests, one out of the three recyclates was recommended for their product.
-One supplier sells polyolefin recyclates. They can see the demand in the "recyclate requests" section of the Matrix tool. In addition, they can see the overview of the producer requests using the filters. This in turn also helps them to optimize their recyclates according to the demand.
__%%( color: #003399; font-size: 24px;)Related Tools:__
We recommend also taking a look at the following Di-Plast tools below:
- Analyze and visualize your process data with data analytics -> [Data Analytics]
This page (revision-285) was last changed on 14-Sep-2022 10:00 by LeonidTop