A circular economy for polymers in liquid formulations: a synergy report on the opportunities for collaboration in the chemical sciences
Summary of contents
The Royal Society of Chemistry has brought together a diverse group of stakeholders including academics, SMEs, large companies, government agencies and NGOs through our Synergy programme.
This report is for participants of the Synergy programme and colleagues within their organisation. Technical managers interested in this topic, working in businesses across the polymer supply chain will also benefit from reading this report, to understand our current and future work in this area. This report may also be of interest to academia, government and NGOs working in this area.
Key findings from this work highlight the need for wide collaboration to advance our understanding of these materials to overcome technical feasibility and economic challenges of integrating solutions in industry. It will also be critical for influencing key areas of funding, regulation and policy that may affect innovation.
Recommendations made by participants for supporting the chemical science community to progress these opportunities in the next stages of Synergy are:
- Gaining a baseline understanding of currently used polymers in liquid formulations across chemistry-using industries
- Addressing gaps in technical knowledge
- Identifying mechanisms that stimulate collaboration on this topic in academia, industry and the wider ecosystem