PET is a fully recyclable plastic, which can be processed after use and converted into rPET (recycled PET) to manufacture new products. However, in Chile less than 15% of PET reaches recycling plants to be transformed into rPET, says a report by the Chilean Plastics Industry Association (Asipla). This is clearly illustrated by the low household recycling rate of plastic bottles, which barely reaches 7%.
“This paper is very special for me because it represents the end of a stage of my career as a scientist,” said Dr. Alejandra Moenne Muñoz, an academic from the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology, after the results of the research she led clarified the mechanism of copper accumulation in the algae.
Currently, dairy packaging waste made of high impact polystyrene (PS) is not recycled to produce new containers for the same product, because this material has a particular chemical composition that causes its strong deterioration with recycling, hindering its performance for producing new resistant and safe containers for safe food preservation.
PS is a hard-to-replace petrochemical polymer due to its low cost, light weight and impact resistance which prevents container breakage.
The project entitled “Advancing mass timber and precast concrete-timber building research by multi-physics and multi-scale engineering computations and large-scale experimental studies,” led by Erick Saavedra, was awarded an ANID Technology Ring with the potential for transforming the construction industry.
“We propose to research building, wood, concrete, and hybrid structures that mix the two. Today, construction in Chile is dominated by concrete, which is highly polluting,” stated the Civil Works Engineer.
Alongside industry leaders and representatives of key collaborators, the closing of the IDeA ID21I10412 project entitled “Design and development of a new ultra-fast multiprotocol charger with vehicle to grid capability for light and medium electric vehicles” was held on March 26. The initiative has consolidated an important step towards a more sustainable and efficient mobility future. It constitutes a breakthrough in the production and massification of electromobility in the country as the development of the first electric car charger made in Chile.
“Blue Spaces for Recoleta”, is the name of the research carried out by Dr. Lucio Cañete Arratia (project director), from the Faculty of Technology; Enrique San Juan Urrutia, Victor Herrera Gonzalez, both from the Faculty of Engineering; and Rodrigo Vidal Rojas, current rector and professor of the Faculty of Architecture and Built Environment. In this initiative, the academics of the Campus configured alternatives of free access water bodies (pools, fountains, tanks, etc.) present in the district of Recoleta.