In recent years, one of humanity’s most pressing challenges has been environmental pollution driven by rising greenhouse gas emissions. Each year, roughly 400 million tonnes of plastics are produced and deployed across countless applications. These fossil-based materials typically serve for one to fifty years and are then frequently consigned to landfill. The reliance on non-renewable feedstocks and the sheer volume of end-of-life plastics both aggravate CO2 emissions, hallmarks of the long- standing linear, fossil-based economic model. Bio-based and circular-economy frameworks offer complementary responses: the former prioritizes renewable resources, while the latter emphasizes reduction, reuse, recycling, and recovery. Both aim to cut pollution and climate impact by preserving material value and minimizing waste. This work conducted within Prof. Marcantoni’s research group at the University of Camerino (Italy), in collaboration with iGuzzini Illuminazione S.p.A., from December 2022 to December 2025, pursues sustainable processes for recycling industrial wastes and valorizing low-value residual streams. This PhD position and his scholarship are governed by the laws and regulations in force in Italy and, in particular, by the Decree of the Italian Ministry of University n°352/2022 (Next generation EU-Italian “National Plan for Recovery and Resilience”, PNRR). Priorities, such as Green Transition and Education and Research are the basis of this research project on the study of biocomposites for sustainable lighting innovation design. The dissertation deliberately starts from a challenging fossil-based stream, addressing the recovery and reuse of Nylon 6,6 from industrial textile waste by combining separation, purification, and reprocessing strategies aimed at preserving polymer quality while removing elastane and process contaminants. It then moves toward bio-based polymers, investigating a microwave-assisted methanolysis of PLA and PBS catalyzed by CeCl3·7H2O, an inexpensive, water-tolerant Lewis acid, to enable rapid and selective depolymerization into high-value monomers and esters with short residence times and minimal solvent use. The work further extends to biological residues, developing refined extraction conditions for keratin from wool and chicken feathers, preserving secondary structure and enabling functional materials such as stable, self-standing hydrogels. Finally, an industry-facing case study targets a partially bio-based flax/PP panel for lighting components, integrating baseline characterization with a screening LCA against conventional fossil-based panels and implementing durability-by-design through polypropylene lamination and a nanometric HMDSO plasma coating to control wetting and mould growth while preserving aesthetics. Following this same line of research, six-month internship at the Vatican Museums’ Cabinet of Scientific Research, Vatican City, allowed to develop, under supervision of Dr. Fabio Morresi, a procedure for the deposition of a polymeric nanofilm on the surface of natural lignocellulosic material. The polymerization process involved the use of cold plasma at atmospheric pressure. Together, these chapters articulate a coherent strategy for polymer circularity integrating clean recovery, selective depolymerization, and surface engineering evaluated through rigorous analytics and life-cycle thinking to deliver solutions that are both scientifically robust and industrially plausible.
CIRCULAR BIOECONOMY STRATEGIES FOR POLYMERS: FROM FOSSIL-DERIVED WASTE TO BIO-BASED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
GUZZINI, Alessandro
2026-04-27
Abstract
In recent years, one of humanity’s most pressing challenges has been environmental pollution driven by rising greenhouse gas emissions. Each year, roughly 400 million tonnes of plastics are produced and deployed across countless applications. These fossil-based materials typically serve for one to fifty years and are then frequently consigned to landfill. The reliance on non-renewable feedstocks and the sheer volume of end-of-life plastics both aggravate CO2 emissions, hallmarks of the long- standing linear, fossil-based economic model. Bio-based and circular-economy frameworks offer complementary responses: the former prioritizes renewable resources, while the latter emphasizes reduction, reuse, recycling, and recovery. Both aim to cut pollution and climate impact by preserving material value and minimizing waste. This work conducted within Prof. Marcantoni’s research group at the University of Camerino (Italy), in collaboration with iGuzzini Illuminazione S.p.A., from December 2022 to December 2025, pursues sustainable processes for recycling industrial wastes and valorizing low-value residual streams. This PhD position and his scholarship are governed by the laws and regulations in force in Italy and, in particular, by the Decree of the Italian Ministry of University n°352/2022 (Next generation EU-Italian “National Plan for Recovery and Resilience”, PNRR). Priorities, such as Green Transition and Education and Research are the basis of this research project on the study of biocomposites for sustainable lighting innovation design. The dissertation deliberately starts from a challenging fossil-based stream, addressing the recovery and reuse of Nylon 6,6 from industrial textile waste by combining separation, purification, and reprocessing strategies aimed at preserving polymer quality while removing elastane and process contaminants. It then moves toward bio-based polymers, investigating a microwave-assisted methanolysis of PLA and PBS catalyzed by CeCl3·7H2O, an inexpensive, water-tolerant Lewis acid, to enable rapid and selective depolymerization into high-value monomers and esters with short residence times and minimal solvent use. The work further extends to biological residues, developing refined extraction conditions for keratin from wool and chicken feathers, preserving secondary structure and enabling functional materials such as stable, self-standing hydrogels. Finally, an industry-facing case study targets a partially bio-based flax/PP panel for lighting components, integrating baseline characterization with a screening LCA against conventional fossil-based panels and implementing durability-by-design through polypropylene lamination and a nanometric HMDSO plasma coating to control wetting and mould growth while preserving aesthetics. Following this same line of research, six-month internship at the Vatican Museums’ Cabinet of Scientific Research, Vatican City, allowed to develop, under supervision of Dr. Fabio Morresi, a procedure for the deposition of a polymeric nanofilm on the surface of natural lignocellulosic material. The polymerization process involved the use of cold plasma at atmospheric pressure. Together, these chapters articulate a coherent strategy for polymer circularity integrating clean recovery, selective depolymerization, and surface engineering evaluated through rigorous analytics and life-cycle thinking to deliver solutions that are both scientifically robust and industrially plausible.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
