The 11th Global Conference on Polymer and Composite Materials (PCM 2024)

Abstract: The principles of sustainable development, the bio-economy, and the circular economy are increasingly being applied to the synthesis of industrially relevant molecules. In this context, furfural and glycerol, which serve as platform molecules, are the subject of diverse research approaches aimed at improving their conversion into valuable compounds. Given the current momentum in promoting green chemistry for sustainable development, chemists have recently pioneered catalytic reactions utilizing innovative technologies, such as continuous flow processes.
This study highlights recent advancements in the continuous production of derivatives obtained from furfural and glycerol. Among the noteworthy molecules of interest are furfuryl alcohol, levulinic acid and its esters, gamma valerolactone, acrolein, quinoline-type derivatives, solketal, triacetin, and glycerol oligomers. These derivatives are synthesized from biomass or carbohydrates, utilizing both homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts. Various reaction parameters, including temperature, catalyst and feedstock loadings, and solvent types, have been meticulously fine-tuned with a focus on time efficiency. The conceptualization, synthesis, and detailed examination of the physicochemical properties of these derivatives will be comprehensively addressed [1-6].

References
[1] D. Zhao, P. Prinsen, Y. Wang, W. Ouyang, F. Delbecq, C. Len, R. Luque. ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2018, 6, 6901.
[2] W. Ouyang, D. Zhao, Y. Wang, A. Balu, C. Len, R. Luque. ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2018, 6, 6746.
[3] D. Zhao, Y. Wang, F. Delbecq, C. Len. Mol. Catal. 2019, 475, 110456.
[4] D. Zhao, D. Rodriguez-Padron, K.S. Trianfyllidis, Y. Wang, R. Luque, C. Len. ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2020, 8, 3091.
[5] N. Galy, R. Nguyen, P. Blach, S. Sambou, D. Luart, C. Len. Glycerol oligomerization in continuous flow reactor. J. Ind. Eng. Chem. 2017, 51, 312-318.
[6] R. Nguyen, N. Galy, F.A. Alasmary, C. Len. Microwave-assisted continuous flow for the selective oligomerization of glycerol. Catalysts 2021, 11, 166.

Biography: Prof. Dr. Christophe Len received his Ph.D. in 1995 from the Université de Picardie Jules Verne followed by a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Hull (UK). In 1997, he became assistant Professor at UPJV and was promoted to full Professor in 2004 at the Université de Poitiers (France). In 2010, he moved as full Professor to the Université de Technologie de Compiègne – UTC (France). Since 2017, he has developed his research at Chimie ParisTech (France). He has published ~ 250 original publications and review articles, 11 book chapters, and 12 patents (H 48, 7162 citations, Scopus). Among recent awards and recognition to his scientific career, he was promoted Honorary Professor of the University of Hull, England (2012–2018), Honorary Professor at the University of Delhi, India (2022), Honorary Professor at the Xi’an Jiaotong University, China (2022-2025) and Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC, 2015). In 2017, he was honored with the 2017 Glycerine Innovation Award sponsored by the American Cleaning Institute and the National Biodiesel Board. His current research explores organic chemistry and continuous flow.

Abstract: Since the patents expired a few years ago, the application of 3D printing has been developing at a highly dynamic pace. By using thermoplastics as the printing material, functional parts can be produced with various properties such as strength, flexibility and heat resistance. However, it is important to note that FFF has its limitations, such as limited accuracy and surface quality. An additional challenge is the limited strength and stiffness of printed parts compared to traditional manufacturing methods. This applies in particular to the mechanical properties perpendicular to the direction of printing, which are often not at the level of injection-molded components. In addition, the quality of the components depends on the component geometry, i.e. the properties vary greatly over the component volume. As plastics are inferior to metallic materials in terms of their mechanical properties, 3D-printed components are often only suitable as demonstration objects. They cannot even be used in semi-structural applications.
Reinforcement with fibers, known from composite material technology, can provide a remedy. Nowadays, glass, carbon, aramid, or even natural fibers are combined with polymer matrix materials for this purpose. In combination with 3D printing, new possibilities open up here, as the fiber orientation and thus the mechanical properties can be specifically influenced by the choice of deposition paths, i.e. the fiber orientation can be specifically adapted to the load path.
The talk will describe the opportunities and challenges in the manufacturing of thermoplastic materials, in particular fiber-reinforced composites, using fused filament fabrication. In this process, components are manufactured by depositing a continuously extruded molten strand along pre-planned paths. The component is therefore not subjected to the same process conditions throughout its volume, particularly during cooling, crystallization, or solidification. Rather, the local deformation and solidification processes during strand deposition, comparable to welding, lead to local gradients in morphology and ultimately to anisotropy of properties. Consequently, the properties of the component
transverse to the strand deposition direction are ultimately determined by the quality of the weld between the strands (and layers), which is usually a flaw. Overall, the aim is to exploit the material
properties of fiber-reinforced thermoplastics in the fiber direction fully, but on the other hand, this must not be at the expense of transverse strength, i.e. perpendicular to the fiber direction; a challenge that can be overcome with suitable process control. In addition to classic fiber-reinforced plastics, materialadequate process control is applied to fully recyclable plastic fiber-reinforced plastics. This allows direction-dependent (orthotropic) properties to be specifically adjusted in the component, thus enabling the material- and energy-efficient use of materials modelled on nature.

Biography: Professor Alois K. Schlarb currently serves as Senior Research Professor at the RheinlandPfälzische Technische Universität (RPTU), is a member of the State Research Center OPTIMAS at RPTU, and a visiting professor at Qingdao University of Science and Technology (QUST), PR China.
Alois K. Schlarb studied mechanical engineering at the University of Kaiserslautern, specializing in production engineering and company organization. After his graduation in 1984 he relocated to the University of Kassel, working as a scientific assistant to Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. e.h. Ehrenstein. He was awarded a doctorate in 1989 for his thesis on polymer processing. From 1988 until 1989 he was also head engineer at the university’s Institut fuer Werkstofftechnik (Institute of Materials Technology). In the following 13 years Professor Schlarb held different positions in the industry, e.g. the polymer laboratory of BASF SE as material scientist and project manager researching composites, last as Vice President and head of marketing, research and development with B. Braun Medical AG, Switzerland. In November 2002 Alois Schlarb was appointed to a full professorship for "Composite Materials" at the Technische Universität Kaiserslautern (now RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau) and held this position until March 31, 2022. From 2002 to 2008 he served in parallel as Chief Executive Officer of the Institut für Verbundwerkstoffe GmbH (Institute of Composite Materials). Since 2018 Alois Schlarb also holds a visiting professorship at Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, PR China.
Professor Schlarb served as Spokesman of the Scientific Alliance of Polymer Technology (WAK) from 2009 - 2015 and as President of the Society for the Advancement of Materials and Processing Engineering SAMPE Deutschland e.V. from 2003 - 2015. He is on the editorial board or scientific advisory board of several journals and has more than 150 publications in peer-reviewed journals. He is also the editor/author/co-author of several books and book chapters. The focus of his research activities is on process-structure-property-relations and tribology of polymer-based hybrid materials.

Abstract: During the last three decades, carbon-based composite coatings have enjoyed a growing interest in several industrial applications. By tuning the carbon sp3-to-sp2 atomic bonding ratio and by alloying the carbon with other elements, the researchers have been able to tailor unique physical, mechanical, and tribological composite properties in order to satisfy an increased technological demand.
In the first part of the talk, we will show how carbon-based composite coatings can be deposited at industrial scale onto steel bearings using Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) and Plasma Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition (PACVD) techniques at low temperatures. The main deposition methods will be reviewed.
In the second part of the talk, we will explain how is possible to deposit films with different amount of sp2-sp3 bonding ratios by just changing fundamental deposition parameters, leading to six different microstructures: graphite, non-hydrogenated a-C (amorphous) and ta-C (tetrahedral) carbon coatings, hydrogenated a-C:H and ta-C:H films, and soft polymeric coatings. Furthermore, the mechanical and tribological properties of the different microstructures will be discussed.
In the last part of the talk, we will describe the main applications of SKF’s NoWear® carbon-based composite coated bearings to extend maintenance and life expectancy of specialized bearings in the wind-energy area.

Biography: Esteban Broitman holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina), and a Docent (Habilitation) degree in Tribology from Linköping University (Sweden). He has been doing research and teaching at the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina), The College of William & Mary (USA), Carnegie Mellon University (USA), Linköping University (Sweden), and Invited Professor at University of Sao Pablo (Brazil), and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS - China). He is presently a Senior Scientist in the area of Coatings at the SKF Research and Technology Development Center in Netherlands. He has published more than 200 per-reviewed articles and book chapters, and presented numerous Plenary, Keynote and Invited Lectures. His activities focus on the use of advanced surface engineering to control friction and wear at the macro-, micro-, and nano-scales of coatings like DLC, nanocomposites, and softer materials like soft metals and polymers.