CHEMREC I – 2024: 1st International Conference on Thermochemical Recycling of Plastics

April 28-May 2, 2024
Malaga, Spain

About This Conference

The conference will be a forum for discussion of the advances in thermochemical technologies for chemical recycling of plastic and plastic waste (e.g., pyrolysis, gasification, hydrogenolysis). The refining and/or upgrading of resulting product intermediates using standalone facilities or co-processed taking advantage of existing infrastructure will be also an important topic for this conference.

Final products are derived after proper fractionation, isolation, purification and/or upgrading, and contributions addressing the processing to marketable materials, chemicals and fuels are especially invited. This discussion will include techno-economic analyses and life cycle assessments.

The conference will also offer a platform to those who are able to report on commercially successful processes.

ChemRec I will be the first conference exclusively dedicated to thermochemical processing of plastic waste, and thus will be an important event to foster friendly and deep face-to-face discussions that could further catalyze the growth of this industry.

Conference Organization

Co-Chairs

Main Themes and Format

1. Characterization and pretreatment of plastic waste feedstocks (e.g., for contaminants removal).
2. Fundamentals of pyrolysis, liquefaction, gasification and catalytic depolymerization technologies (reaction mechanisms, reaction kinetics, product selectivity, effects of heat and mass transfer limitations, catalysis).
3. Reactor development and modelling (testing and modelling of lab-scale units)
4. Process development and integration (testing of fully continuous laboratory setups and pilot installations providing a full mass balance closure, including pre-treatment, reaction and product separation).
5. Product characterization, separation and upgrading (refers to chemical characterization, isolation, purification and post treatment / upgrading of the products from pyrolysis or liquefaction to e.g., remove contaminants/impurities.
6. Successful demonstration, scale-up and commercialization

The format of the conference will be the “retreat-style Banff-format”. There will be no parallel sessions to allow all participants to be exposed and contribute to all presentations. Apart from 4 plenary lectures of 30 minutes each, the regular contributions will consist of short oral presentations (10~15 minutes + 2 min for change of speaker). Each presentation, however, will also be accompanied by a poster, to be presented normally during the social hour after dinner. The poster session will allow ample time for questions and answers and informal discussion between presenter and interested participants. Additional free-forum poster presentations will also be invited.

Networking time will be allowed during each afternoon. This will allow participants to engage in informal discussions and to spend time together enjoying the many beautiful outdoors activities available in the region.

Call for Abstracts

Original papers for presentations at the above listed sessions are invited. If you wish to be considered for an oral or poster presentation, please submit a one-page abstract.  All abstracts will be reviewed by the session chairs. 

Deadlines

Abstracts submission for oral presentation: January 15, 2024
Abstract reviews: February 2024

Abstracts submission for poster presentations: February 29, 2024
Call for Free-Forum posters: Ongoing until April 30, 2024

Please prepared your abstract according to this template: docx or doc.

All abstracts should be submitted electronically and submissions must follow the template provided at This Link.

Abstracts of all presentations will be made available to conference participants prior to the start of the conference.

Graduate students and young investigators are particularly encouraged to present posters. An evening poster session will be an integral part of the conference. If an abstract has multiple authors, each of whom wishes an invitation to attend the conference, each author must submit a separate application.

Publications

(1) The optional publication of PowerPoint presentations delivered at the Conference in the ECI Digital Archives.

(2) Invitation for full paper submission in a special issue of a suitable internationally recognized refereed journal will be organized.

Venue Information

The conference will be held in Malaga, Spain. The exact location is yet to be confirmed, but it will be in a hotel in the city of Malaga, which can be easily reached from the international airport.

The geographical location of Malaga is in the South of Europe.  It is the capital of the Costa del Sol and one of the major cities in Spain.  Its Old Town, with its bustling harbor, has been declared a Historic Artistic Site and Site of Cultural Interest.  The city enjoys a privileged position in what is the leading tourist area in mainland Spain, making it a lively and warm city where art, culture and tradition merge on the shores of the Mediterranean.

 Its three thousand years of history have given it its open, voyager, commercial and hospitable character. It is a cosmopolitan city with an eternal universal aspiration. The city has fantastic natural surroundings, theatres, and museums.  Moreover, there is the varied gastronomic attractions that provide from the most traditional cuisine to the very latest trends, both in the city’s Historical Quarter, or by the waters of the Mediterranean. It is known as Picasso’s City and is now a cultural center in Europe.

The Alcazaba and Gibralfaro Castle

The Alcazaba and Gibralfaro Castle are the main legacy of Malaga’s Arab past. These fortresses, built between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries, represent one of the examples of the era’s best-preserved defensive architecture in Spain. There are fabulous views of the city and the Mediterranean Sea from the castle, which dominates the top of the mountain of the same name.

At the foot of both fortifications the Roman Theatre is located. Built in the times of Emperor Augustus, it hosts shows in a unique environment. It also has an innovative interpretation centre to learn about the life and customs of Roman Hispania.

Catedral de Málaga or de la Encarnación

Nearby is the Catedral de Málaga or de la Encarnación that was designed by Diego de Siloé.

Among the jewels of art held in the temple are the tallas del coro [carvings of the choir], the work by Pedro de Mena.

Architecture

Malaga has a wide range of charming nineteenth-century buildings, such as the Teatro Cervantes, the Palacio de la Aduana or the Plaza de Toros de La Malagueta.  The city’s most iconic street culminates in the plaza de la Constitución, presided over by the Renaissance style Fuente de Génova. From here one can admire the picturesque Pasaje de Chinitas, the Casa del Consulado and the Ateneo de Malaga, the old school where Picasso began to draw.

Museo Picasso Málaga 

The most important cultural area of the capital is dedicated to the Malaga genius. Nestled in the Palacio de los Condes de Buenavista, built in 1520, the Museo Picasso Málaga is the answer to the artist’s desire to exhibit some of his work in his hometown. The permanent collection is made up of more than two hundred paintings, sculptures and ceramics.

Casa Natal de Picasso 

Next to the museum is the Casa Natal de Picasso (the artist’s birthplace), on the corner of the Plaza de la Merced, and the Iglesia de Santiago, where Picasso was baptised in 1881. The temple was built on an ancient mosque and has a Moorish tower initially conceived as a minaret.

Museo Carmen Thyssen Málaga

The city also has one of the most valuable painting collections in Spain: the Museo Carmen Thyssen Málaga. Located in the Palacio de Villalon, there are more than two hundred works in the country’s most representative collection of nineteenth century Andalusian art sample.

Centre Pompidou de Málaga

Another must for art lovers is the Centre Pompidou de Málaga, the first one built outside of France. This space is dedicated to avant-garde creations, in the same way as the Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga, housed in an old market near the river Guadalmedina.

General Information About ECI

Engineering Conferences International (ECI) is a not-for-profit, global engineering conferences program, originally established in 1962 that provides opportunities for the exploration of problems and issues of concern to engineers and scientists from many disciplines.

The format of the conference provides morning and late afternoon or evening sessions in which major presentations are made. Poster sessions will be scheduled for evening discussion as well. Available time is included during the afternoons for ad hoc meetings, informal discussions, and/or recreation. This format is designed to enhance rapport among participants and promote dialogue on the development of the meeting. We believe the conferences have been instrumental in generating ideas and disseminating information to a greater extent than is possible through more conventional forums.

All participants are expected both to attend the entire conference and to contribute actively to the discussions. The recording/photographing of lectures and presentations is forbidden. As ECI conferences take place in an informal atmosphere, casual clothing is the usual attire.

Smoking is prohibited at ECI conferences and conference functions.