Call for papers - Winning paper announcement
Hands on vinyl: students of today experts of tomorrow
European Plasticisers is committed to science and is constantly engaged to foster a sound scientific debate around plasticisers.
To encourage research activities and raise awareness, amongst the younger generations, about the safe and sustainable use of plasticisers in flexible PVC applications, European Plasticisers, with the support of VinylPlus, launched a call for the best essays on plasticisers and/or flexible PVC last January.
We received very interesting work from Bachelor, Master and PhD students from Belgian, German and Italian Universities. A selection panel composed by industry experts reviewed all the papers and appreciated the high quality of the essays submitted, as well as the dedication and commitment of all authors.
THE WINNER IS...
We are pleased to announce that the scientific selection panel has chosen the following winning paper:
Acciaretti, Federico/ Pasquale, Andrea: Di(2-ethylhexyl) adipate (DEHA), A NEW HOPE! A sustainable and promising process for the plasticisers industry, University of Milan Bicocca. [Read the full paper]
The panel also wanted to give a special mention ex-aequo to:
Albano, Ylenia: Biomass as source of furan-based plasticizers: an alternative to phthalates, RWTH University Aachen. [Read the full paper]
Hiessl, Robert: Inline analytical supported process development towards alternative bio-based plasticizers Institute of Technical Biocatalysis, Hamburg University of Technology. [Read the full paper]
THANK YOU!
We would also like to thank the following students who contributed to our call for papers for their participation and the quality of their work:
- Carmen Plass “Soft PVC and Sustainability” (Universität Bielefeld, Germany)
- Mathias Verstappen “Sustainability: How to improve a sustainable use plasticizers and/or flexible vinyl” (Thomas More Geel, Belgium)
- Mick Bartels “Alternatives to phthalates” (Thomas More Geel, Belgium)
- Niels Bergmans "Plasticisers in PVC: a brief summary" (Thomas More Geel, Belgium)
- Ruben Van Den Broeck "PVC and its plasticizers: How to make them sustainable?" (Thomas More Geel, Belgium)
- Yassmina Azaoum "Green Plasticizers: How to improve a sustainable use plasticizers and/or flexible vinyl" (Thomas More Geel, Belgium)
2021 PVC CONFERENCE
All participants will be invited to attend the 2021 PVC Conference in Edinburgh, the world's leading forum on vinyl. The students will have the chance to meet the industry, learn about the opportunities offered by vinyl, the newest technologies, the latest scientific researches, the regulatory challenges as well as the sustainability aspects related to PVC.
ABOUT VINYL PLUS
VinylPlus is the renewed ten-year Voluntary Commitment of the European PVC industry. The programme establishes a long-term framework for the sustainable development of the industry by tackling a number of critical challenges, in the EU-28, Norway and Switzerland.
Its Voluntary Commitment is build upon five key challenges that include the "sustainable use of additives" and "sustainability awareness".
NB: the views, information, or opinions expressed in the papers are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of European Plasticisers. The papers were written independently by their authors and were not commissioned by European Plasticisers.
