The project PRESTO, or Recycling & Sorting of Plastics with Timegated Optical Technology, funded by the Women TechEU prize, awarded to Prof. Paola Ceroni, focuses on enhancing the recycling process of plastics by utilizing silicon quantum dots (SiQDs). These SiQDs are colourless under sunlight but emit bright colours under UV light, creating a luminescent fingerprint that allows for the precise sorting of different types of plastics.
One of the main achievements of PRESTO is the successful demonstration of this sorting principle on a small scale. The project aims to upscale this to larger quantities suitable for industrial use, ultimately enabling the separation of plastic waste into highly pure mono-material streams, a critical step towards a circular economy for plastics.
Another significant achievement is the focus on applications in food packaging. The project has worked towards achieving food contact material (FCM) characterization, including toxicological analysis and imaging of nanomaterial-cell interactions, ensuring the safety of recycled materials for such applications.
Additionally, a comprehensive Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) was conducted on luminescent marked polymers, assessing the environmental impact and confirming the potential of SiQDs to improve sustainability in plastic recycling.
The project involved collaborations with industry leaders, facilitating practical application and scalability of the technology. Extensive testing was carried out to evaluate the mechanical, optical, and photophysical properties of the marked plastics, ensuring they met industry standards.
Overall, PRESTO significantly advances the recycling and sorting of plastics, providing a sustainable solution that enhances the purity and usability of recycled materials.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement n°101114050, project — PRESTO