Institute for Cooperative Upcycling of Plastics News

DOE Office of Science announces renewed funding for plastics upcycling research

The Institute for Cooperative Upcycling of Plastics (iCOUP) has been awarded funding to continue their work transforming discarded plastics into feedstocks for new materials and chemicals.

Building a World With Sustainable Plastics

Massimiliano Delferro, Deputy Director of the Institute for the Cooperative Upcycling of Plastics and scientist at Argonne National Laboratory, has spent his career bringing research on plastics recycling to the forefront of scientific discussions. Since 2008, he has focused on how to effectively and economically recycle plastics – but also how to turn them into more valuable materials like synthetic oils and waxes

Chemistry for the greater good

Daniel Howell, Iowa State University graduate, worked with Wenyu Huang on iCOUP research during his time at Iowa State. His story was featured by Iowa State news.

Could cars one day run on plastic waste? Ames National Lab researchers aim to find out

Ames National Laboratory scientists have developed a one-step process that uses a catalyst to break down the polymers that make up plastic and convert them into diesel.

New process tackles pollution on two fronts: plastic waste and fuel emissions

What if we could help the global plastic waste problem and the transportation industry with the same technology? A team of scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames National Laboratory are doing just that. The team, led by Aaron Sadow and Wenyu Huang, recently developed a chemical conversion process that makes diesel out of plastic waste.

iCOUP Deputy Director elected as AAAS Fellow

Massimiliano “Max” Delferro, iCOUP deputy director and Argonne National Laboratory scientist, was elected as a 2024 AAAS Fellow.

ICOUP Postdoc Sam Hunt featured in Argonne Science 101

Postdoc researcher Sam Hunt, who is supported by the Institute for Cooperative Upcycling of Plastics (iCOUP) is featured in one of Argonne National Laboratory's Science 101 videos discussing circular economy.

Aaron Sadow awarded the David C. Henderson Chair in Chemistry at Iowa State University

Aaron Sadow, professor of chemistry at Iowa State University and scientist at Ames National Laboratory was recently awarded the David C. Henderson Chair in Chemistry.

iCOUP Welcomes New Partners

Three professors have recently joined our iCOUP EFRC research team. Their expertise will synergistically combine with existing iCOUP research projects to develop new ways to upcycle discarded plastics.

iCoup Deputy Director featured in Chicago Tribune

Massimiliano Delferro, deputy director of iCOUP and scientist at Argonne National Laboratory, was featured in an article published in the Chicago Tribune.