Sustainability flame retardant solutions: economic alternatives to TCPP for polyurethanes

Search for project partners

14-Nov-2025 - Tris(chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCPP) effectively protects mattresses, upholstered furniture, and thermal insulation in buildings from flammability. However, it can be released during use and is suspected of being carcinogenic and harmful to reproduction. Fraunhofer LBF is looking for partners ...

Cellulose esters developed for bio-based reactive resins and high-performance adhesives

Successful application in reactive dowel compounds and LED light-curing adhesives - manufacturer wanted for market launch

29-Oct-2025 - The Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF has developed multifunctional resin components made of cellulose for industrial applications. The researchers have demonstrated their suitability as reactive resins in the construction sector and as LED light-curing ...

Sustainable plastics containing flame retardants for use in closed-loop applications

New ways for recycling quotas

10-Apr-2025 - The development of high-quality, halogen-free flame retardants (hffr) for recycled plastics to meet increasing recycling quotas is a major challenge. The Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF is looking for partners for the project "hffr-Up2Cycle". The main ...

Bio-based polyesters for demanding long-term applications

Making biopolymers fit for long-term use: New project will optimise bio-based materials to compete with petrochemical plastics

28-Mar-2025 - Current bio-based plastics are limited to short-life applications, such as packaging, as they have insufficient long-term properties. The new project "Bio-based polyesters for demanding long-term applications" by Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF aims to ...

Quantitative molecular characterization of polyolefin recyclates

13-Aug-2024 - Polyolefin waste is largely only recycled thermally. Material downcycling dominates here. From an economic and legislative point of view, more upcycling, i.e. the use in product categories of equal or higher value, is urgently required. However, information on the molecular structure of ...

Revamped plastics recycling chain

Today’s waste, tomorrow’s valuable resource

06-Mar-2024 - These days, the majority of consumable and everyday items are made from petroleum-based plastic. In Germany alone, some six million tons of plastic waste are generated every year. Approximately half of this is mechanically recycled into new materials; the rest is used for energy recovery. ...

Better recycling of plastic packaging: New process extracts fragrances

Environmentally compatible and climate-friendly recycling for high-quality "post-consumer" recyclates

25-Apr-2023 - What doesn't smell good is hard to recycle. This simple rule also applies to the growing volume of plastic waste worldwide. One way to recycle it in an environmentally compatible and climate-friendly manner as high-quality post-consumer recyclates is through improved sorting and reprocessing. ...

New possibilities for data acquisition

Spin-off Altosens launches Fraunhofer technology on the market

18-Apr-2023 - Whether in the industrial environment, in mobility or at home: "Smart services" require data that is processed and evaluated. Altosens GmbH, a Fraunhofer LBF spin-off from Osnabrück founded in April 2022, offers novel cloud-based force sensors that measure forces where this was previously not ...

Flexible bonding: hard and soft at the same time

04-Jan-2018 - To connect components with each other, gluing is preferred today instead of welding, riveting or using screws. That makes cars, planes and agricultural machines lighter. The requirements placed on the adhesive are high, though: it has to be flexible enough to compensate for stress peaks in the ...

Fraunhofer LBF investigates recycling of halogen-free flame retardant

17-Feb-2016 - Zero plastics to landfill increases the need to mechanical recycling of plastics. This also applies to flame retardant plastics which are increasingly formulated with halogen-free flame retardants. According to EU regulations, plastic waste recycling is to increase in quality, and recycling rates ...