Sponsored by the National Science Foundation
Yasser Gowayed, NSF/EPSCoR Activity Director
Current methods and technologies used in recycling solid waste materials are limited in scope and application. A moderate degree of efficiency has been reported for recycling a small portion of the waste stream (e.g., metals, glass, unmixed plastics, newspaper printed with oil-based inks and some cellulosic waste). Major components of the municipal and industrial solid waste streams are left un-recycled and are sent to landfills. The environmental and economic impact of this problem is huge.
The main objective of this work is to advance the status of the solid waste utilization technology and create the scientific and engineering base needed to reuse the un-utilized portion of the waste stream. This portion includes mixed plastics, textiles, tires, cellulosic materials and newspapers printed with flexo inks.
In order to address the multi-faceted solid waste problem, this NSF/EPSCoR project has tapped into the valuable resources of four major universities in the state and allowed a research team to be formed from their faculty members. Auburn University, University of Alabama at Birmingham, University of Alabama at Huntsville and University of South Alabama joined efforts and introduced the first integrated, interdisciplinary, multi-institutional research program focusing on added value reclamation of solid waste in the State of Alabama. They created four research groups to develop novel solutions to the following aspects of the problem:
