The separation of pure polyolefins, polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), from post-consumer plastic waste is of increasing interest in the last years according to market requirements for their further recycling. In this paper new analytical inspection strategies, based on HyperSpectral Imaging (HSI) in the VIS-NIR and NIR fields (400-1000 and 1000-1700 nm, respectively), have been investig...

This paper reports the principal discoveries which have played a major role in the polyolefin field and have positioned polyolefins as the most produced plastics. The early development of polyolefins covering the production of LDPE (Low density polyethylene) at ICI (Imperial Chemical Industries) and the discovery of Phillips or Ziegler-Natta catalysts are highlighted in the first section. In th...

The idea to write this Special Issue originated as I am involved in the running European FP7 Collaborative Project “Magnetic Sorting and Ultrasound Sensor Technologies for Production of High Purity Secondary Polyolefins from Waste (W2Plastics)” Grant Agreement No. 212782, specifically addressed to develop a number of novel concepts and an innovative operative approach finalized for recovering h...

Experimental and mathematical modeling analyses were used for controlling melt free-radical grafting of vinylic monomers on polyolefins and, thereby, reducing the disturbance of undesired cross-linking of polyolefins. Response surface, desirability function, and artificial intelligence methodologies were blended to modeling/optimization of grafting reaction in terms of vinylic monomer content, ...

Heteroatom-functionalized polyolefins are of fundamental interest and practical importance. This has spurred investigations of the copolymerization of polar and nonpolar olefins. We report the first syndiospecific polymerization of a series of heteroatom-containing α-olefins and their copolymerization with ethylene catalyzed by half-sandwich rare-earth complexes. We have found that the interact...

Ricinoloxazoline maleinate (OXA) was grafted by melt free radical grafting onto polyolefins and elastomers to produce new compatibilizers for polymer blends. Effects of initial monomer and peroxide concentrations on the degree of grafting, on the amount of residual monomer, and on the side reactions were investigated. Reactive compatibilizers could be prepared with a suitable choice of processi...

The adhesion between mineral surfaces and organic polymers is important in many industrial products. Examples range from paints to filled plastics and fiber reinforced composites. Talc, for example, is well known to be an important reinforcing filler for polyolefins such as polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) [1]. Usually, for this application, there is no need to treat the mineral surface...