V. Mechanical Recycling of Waste

1. Mechanical Recycling of Plastics and Rubber

Following appropriate collection, sorting, cleaning and shredding, post-consumer and industrial plastic waste can be processed into secondary raw materials. Advanced treatment and processing methods enable the production of high-quality recycled plastics suitable for packaging, construction, automotive applications and many other uses.

Our research focus

• Expanding the range of recyclable fractions – recovering plastics that have previously been excluded from recycling.
• Developing innovative additives – improving the compatibility of mixed plastic streams during processing and enabling faster, simpler pre-sorting.
• Improving efficiency – making the entire recycling process more cost-effective and energy-efficient.

Our laboratory and pilot-scale equipment

• Preparation and processing – drying ovens, granulators, twin-screw extruders, an injection moulding machine, two-roll mills and a laboratory press.
• Sample preparation – CNC specimen preparation machines, specimen notchers and a furnace.
• Thermal conditioning and ageing – climate chambers and accelerated ageing equipment.
• Material characterisation – moisture content, melting behaviour, rheology, tensile and impact testing, and hardness measurement.

2. Recycling of Construction, Demolition and Packaging Waste

The quantities of construction and demolition waste, including ceramics, concrete and glass, as well as paper, textile and plastic fractions, continue to grow. Conventional recovery methods are often unsuitable for these materials, creating a need for innovative recycling solutions. At the University of Pannonia, we develop new material applications that support resource efficiency and sustainable construction.

Our main research areas

• Ceramic materials – improving thermal insulation through controlled porosity, developing advanced brick products and fibre-reinforced earth-based materials.
• Binders – developing fibre-reinforced composites and climate-friendly "green" cements through mechanochemical activation of waste-based materials, and investigating PVC additives.
• Established recycling applications – using crushed brick and concrete as aggregates in new concrete, and incorporating waste glass into thermal and acoustic insulation materials.
• Innovative materials – developing geopolymer and alkali-activated binder systems for composites, insulation components, vibration-damping layers and fire-resistant systems.

Our goal

We transform underutilised waste streams into valuable raw materials for the construction industry, reducing the consumption of primary raw materials and supporting the development of sustainable building materials.

Our laboratory capabilities

• Chemical composition analysis – EDX, CHNS, XRF and spectrophotometry
• Phase composition analysis – X-ray diffraction and simultaneous thermal analysis
• Non-destructive testing – 2D and 3D computed tomography (CT) imaging
• Microstructural characterisation – electron microscopy and high-resolution optical microscopy
• Thermal insulation performance testing
• Mechanical testing – compressive, tensile and flexural strength
• Specialised testing – colour fastness, thermal expansion, hardness, viscosity and abrasion resistance