Working with industry, academia and national labs, the REMADE Institute aims to reduce embodied energy and carbon emissions associated with industrial-scale materials production and processing.
The annual member meeting for REMADE is an opportunity to hear insights from renowned keynote speakers, explore emerging technologies, discuss industry trends, hear the latest innovations updates from project teams and learn more about the Institute’s newest education and workforce development offerings.
Common Objectives
During various sessions throughout the two-day event, there was discussion about the common objectives that various industries have. No matter what industry, energy savings are key to reducing carbon emissions. In addition, reuse and recycling of materials is important to reducing the waste problem and saving energy.
This message resonated with the iMFLUX attendees. Jodi Hammock, VP Talent & Customer Growth, explained, “Recycling is important, but energy is equally as important and iMFLUX begins to help solve (for) both of those things!”
Project Team Updates
One of the highlights was the opportunity to view project team posters and speak with project team members. Posters were on display throughout the entirety of the meeting but there was designated time during the evening reception to speak with representatives for each project.
This reception led to many great conversations and brainstorming for future projects. It was a great opportunity to see how many different companies and universities are working towards common goals.
iMFLUX partners with UMass-Lowell
One such project team is being led by Prof. Masato and Prof. Sobkowicz-Kline from the Department of Plastics Engineering at the University of Massachusetts – Lowell (UMass-Lowell). Faculty and Students from UMass-Lowell presented a poster at the meeting to summarize the ongoing project which is evaluating chemical conversion and process control for increased use of polyethylene and polypropylene secondary feedstocks. iMFLUX, SER North America and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are a part of this project.
At the project’s current stage, there is work ongoing to convert recycled plastic film, provided by SER North America, to injection molding grade by high-speed extrusion. This recycled product is then being injection molded with conventional and iMFLUX technology. Process instrumentations and data analysis focus on the molding behavior of the recycled materials and the implementation of the iMFLUX process control technology.
Following the processing experiments and data acquisition, Dr. Olivetti from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT will model the relationship between material properties, processing, energy consumption, and carbon emissions reduction.
In Person Networking
iMFLUX partners with various plastics engineering programs around the country but the relationship with UMass-Lowell is a bit unique because the school offers both undergraduate and graduate programs, enabling broader research opportunities. Student researchers at UMass Lowell have access to two iMFLUX-enabled injection molding machines, which have been utilized for research and teaching.
Given this project was kicked off virtually during COVID restrictions, this was the first chance for multiple team members to meet in person. This afforded a great opportunity to learn and brainstorm on future collaboration. iMFLUX and UMass-Lowell are both excited about what the future will bring. Continue to watch this space for updates!
Learn more about REMADE.