Register today for an upcoming workshop on Polymers with professors from the University of Alberta. You do not need to be registered for the full conference to attend this workshop!
10am-12pm October 30 at the Banff Springs Hotel:
The Poltergeist of Plastics: Polymers 101
President’s Hall (2)
Plastics have offered and continue to offer an unprecedented uplift in the quality of our lives. This workshop will provide an introduction to polymers as the main component of plastics and elaborate on what makes plastics a unique class of materials. This will be followed by a discussion on the end-of-life options for plastic products and how we can minimize their negative impacts on the environment. The workshop will conclude by presenting the recent advances in recycling technologies that enable us to expand the amounts, types, and qualities of plastics waste that can be recycled.
Prof. João B. P. Soares and Dr. Arash Alizadeh, Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta
Cost: $75/person
Sponsored by Alberta Plastics Recycling Association
The workshop is intended to serve as a springboard to gain fundamental as well as practical insights into the universe of polymers and plastics, covering the following topics:
- What are polymers and plastics? An overview of major plastic materials
- The concept of molecular weight in polymers and how it is related to melt flow index
- The concept of chemical composition distribution and how it is related to the density of polymers
- How to distinguish different types of polymers: thermoplastics, thermosets, and elastomers
- How different polymer types are made in industrial processes
- How to transform polymers into plastic products: compounding and processing
- End-of-life options for plastics: from recycling and biodegradation to incineration and landfilling
- How plastics impact the environment: from carbon dioxide emissions to microplastics
- Recent advances in plastics recycling technologies: an industry in a state of change