Overview

Green Economy

Green Economy

RAU

Tyre Wear in the Environment
August 2017
January 2021

Plastics in the environment are an increasingly serious challenge. As macroplastics deteriorate, such as through tire abrasion, the resulting microplastics can enter the aquatic environment through a variety of entry points. As vehicle traffic increases, there is an inevitable increase in microplastics from worn tires ending up in the environment.

Green Economy

TextileMission

Microplastics of Textile Origin - A Holistic View: Optimized Processes and Materials, Material Flows and Environmental Behavior
September 2017
March 2021

Textiles made of synthetic fibres can lose microparticles during household washing, which can then enter rivers, lakes and oceans. The goal of Textile- Mission was to reduce the related environmental impact. The project pursued an interdisciplinary approach with partners from the Sport Goods Industry, research, the detergent and household aplliance sectors, and environmental protection.

Consumption

Consumption

Innoredux

Business Models for Reducing Plastic Waste along the Value Chain: Paths to Innovative Trends in Retailing
February 2019
January 2022

The idea and goal of Innoredux was to develop and implement innovative packaging solutions in distance and stationary retailing using a living lab research approach in order to avoid or reduce plastic waste along the value chain.

Consumption

InRePlast

Environmental Policy Instruments to Reduce Plastic Pollution of Inland Waters through Drainage Systems
January 2019
December 2021

The project aimed to make a significant, transdisciplinary contribution to applied research on the prevention of plastic discharges into water bodies via drainage systems from a behavioural and environmental economics perspective.

Consumption

PlastikBudget

Development of Budget Approach and LCA Impact Assessment Methodology for the Governance of Plastics in the Environment
November 2017
September 2021

In order to legitimise political decisions on the problem of plastic emissions into the environment, it is necessary to formulate a quantitative emission target. The budget approach for plastic emissions was developed within the framework of this project. The research work was guided by the following questions: What amount of plastics in the environment is still acceptable?

Consumption

VerPlaPoS

Consumer Behavior Related to Plastic and its Avoidance at the Point of Sale
October 2017
March 2021

Consumers buying products made of or wrapped in plastic play a decisive role in plastic consumption in Germany. A complete avoidance of plastic in everyday life, while unlikely to occur in full, would only be possible with extremely high restrictions. Moreover, many consumers are not aware of how much plastic is put into circulation or into the environment by buying a product.

Recycling

Recycling

KuWert

Ship-Based Treatment of Plastics for the Implementation of Value Chains in Less Developed Countries as well as for the Prevention of Plastic Inputs into the Environment and Especially in Marine Ecosystems
August 2017
December 2019

The aim of the project was to develop concepts and preliminary planning for the implementation of an infrastructure for the collection, ship-based treatment, and marketing of plastic waste in order to reduce the input of plastic waste into the environment and marine ecosystems. The project's target regions were primarily less developed countries in the Global South.

Recycling

MaReK

Marker-Based Sorting and Recycling System for Plastic Packaging
July 2017
December 2020

The goal of this project was to set up a markerbased system for sorting and recycling that involves every stage from packaging development and sorting technology to high quality material reuse. The MaRek project demonstrated the usefulness of fluorescent markers for waste management applications.

Recycling

ResolVe

Recycling of Polystyrene by Raw Material Recovery
August 2017
July 2020

In view of climate change, environmental pollution, population growth, and resource dependency, the transition from a linear economy to a closed-loop economy is both ecologically and economically necessary. Within the ResolVe project, a logistics and an industrial plant concept for the economic use of polystyrene waste as a raw material for high-quality new plastic products were developed.

Recycling

revolPET

Development of a Recycling Technology for PET Waste Plastics from Multilayer Material and Other Waste Composites
October 2017
March 2021

As part of the revolPET project, a solvolytic recycling process for waste PET plastics (Polyethylene Terephthalate) from multilayer and other mixed materials was elaborated and experimentally tested.

Freshwater ecosystems (limnic/standing water systems)

Freshwater ecosystems (limnic/standing water systems)

EmiStop

Identification of Industrial Plastic Emissions by Means of Innovative Detection Methods and Technology Development to Prevent the Input into the Environment via the Wastewater Pathway
January 2018
December 2020

This project systematically detected emissions of plastics into wastewater from relevant industries. Emissions levels were analysed along all points of the value chain (production, transport, processing, and cleaning of synthetic materials).

Freshwater ecosystems (limnic/standing water systems)

ENSURE

Development of New Plastics for a Clean Environment by Determining of Relevant Entry Points
April 2018
September 2021

Within the framework of this project, plastics with environmentally optimised decomposition behaviour were developed, which can degrade faster and in a more eco-friendly manner while maintaining the same stability.

Freshwater ecosystems (limnic/standing water systems)

MicBin

Microplastics in Inland Waters – Investigation and Modeling of Entries and Whereabouts in the Danube Area as a Basis for Action Planning
October 2017
March 2021

Within the framework of this project,  a first-ever accounting of macro-, meso- and microplastics released into the German part of the Danube river basin was achieved, with measuring stations at its main tributaries. Microplastic particles (particles < 5 mm) were examined by using various, complementary analytical methods.

Freshwater ecosystems (limnic/standing water systems)

MikroPlaTas

Microplastics in Dams and Reservoirs: Sedimentation, Spread, Effects
January 2018
September 2021

The spread of microplastics in rivers showed that along a given waterway there are sources as well as sinks. Thus, dams and reservoirs constitute important but until now hardly investigated parts of a water system that serve as examples for risk vs. usefulness of sedimentation of microplastics.

Freshwater ecosystems (limnic/standing water systems)

PLASTRAT

Strategies for Reducing the Entry of Urban Plastics into Limnic Systems
September 2017
December 2020

The common element of all investigations in PLASTRAT was the development of solution strategies for sustainable limitation of the spread of plastic residues in the aquatic environment on technical, environmental, scientific and social-ecological levels. The objective consisted of developing a multi-criteria evaluation approach for the environmental compatibility of different types of plastics.

Freshwater ecosystems (limnic/standing water systems)

REPLAWA

Reduction of the Input of Plastics via Wastewater into the Aquatic Environment
January 2018
December 2021

The REPLAWA project covered questions of water resource protection in connection with wastewater treatment. The project investigated and quantitatively assessed entry points into water bodies through treatment plants, storm water drainage, and combined sewer overflows as well as swales at treatment facilities and in sewage sludge.

Freshwater ecosystems (limnic/standing water systems)

RUSEKU

Representative Investigation Strategies for an Integrative System Approach to Specific Emissions of Plastics into the Environment
March 2018
March 2021

This project developed representative investigation methods and strategies for an integrative system understanding of relevant plastic entry paths into the environmental compartment water.

Freshwater ecosystems (limnic/standing water systems)

SubμTrack

Tracking of (Sub)Microplastics of Different Identities - Innovative Analysis Tools for Toxicological and Process-engineering Evaluation
September 2017
June 2021

The methods currently available for the analysis of microplastics in environmental matrices were primarily designed for particles in the size range of 1 μm to 5 mm. Smaller particles below 1 μm were hardly detected. However in contrast to larger particles, these are able to enter cells and have a higher potential for adsorption of pollutants due to their relatively larger surface.

Saltwater ecosystems (marine/ocean systems)

Saltwater ecosystems (marine/ocean systems)

MicroCatch_Balt

Investigation of Sinks and Sources of Microplastics from a Typical Catchment Area to the Open Baltic Sea
August 2017
April 2021

This project determined sources and sinks of microplastic in the Warnow river basin, as well as relevant dissemination processes on its way to the open Baltic Sea. Separate models were linked so that the resulting model covers the entire river basin including estuary and coastal waters.

Saltwater ecosystems (marine/ocean systems)

PLAWES

Microplastic Contamination in the Weser- Wadden Sea – National Park Model System: an Ecosystem-Wide Approach
September 2017
April 2021

In PLAWES, the modelling system of the German national park Weser-Wadden Sea was the first large European river basin that was investigated in detail regarding its microplastic pollution.

( top of page )( zum Seitenanfang )