Publications Books
Books culminate the views of the authors. How to use wasted biomass? What to do with used packaging? How to design circular produce? What is the future of plastics? How to efficiently shape plastic objects? How to begin to understand the workings of proteins as materials? These are some science and technology questions that needs addressing for creating a sustainable future.
Answers to these questions and more you can find in the books listed below, co-authored by Prof. Dr. R.J. Koopmans.
From the Chicken to the Egg, From the feather to the polymers
É. Krähenbühl, R.J. Koopmans, De l’oeuf a la poule. Genoud Arts, 2023
Huge amounts of food and other organic material is wasted. Typically, this biomass is left to rot in the environment, burnt, or composted in very modest amounts. These renewable resources when properly managed form the basis for a bioeconomy. The book evokes through the eye of artists and scientists how biomass can help to reduce the dependence of society from fossil-fuel based materials. The egg created by artist Etienne Kraehenbuehl symbolises a new beginning and was shaped from the non-consumable and wasted remains of chickens.
Authored by André Hoffmann, Catherine Valentini, Christian Patermann, Sandra Hofmann, Joseph Pisani, Rudy Koopmans, Franziska Mueller-Reissemann.
Published in French with translations in German and English.
Plastics: Time to wrap it up
É. Krähenbühl, R.J. Koopmans, Plastics: Time to wrap it up., Genoud Arts, 2021.
Plastics, particularly in the form of packaging, is commonly perceived as the cause of an evironmental pollution desaster. With a global population of 8 billion and growing, plastics however will be needed to protect food, to clothe people, and provide lightweight functional tools and parts, just mentioning a few essentials for society to operate sustainably. Nevertheless, a different approach to manage the carbon of plastics is urgently needed when the ambition of green house gas emission reduction towards net zero in a circular economy is to be reached. The brings together different perspective of people on plastics. The artistic work of 730 color prints, size 50x50 cm of plastics packaging was created by Etienne Krähenbühl. He collected the family plastics packaging every day during one year, colored the objects in line with the temperature of the day (black is cold, red is warm), and pressed them between thick cardboard sheets. The ensemble of prints represents a 10.5 x 17.5 m portrait of plastics consumption in need for being recycled.
Authored by Étienne Krähenbühl, Rudy Koopmans, Karine Tissot, Françoise Jaunin, Fabien Krähenbühl and Catherine Valentini.
Published in French and English versions.
Ecodesign: Shaping tomorrows products
K. Van Doorsselaer, R.J. Koopmans, Ecodesign: Shaping tomorrows products., in print, Hanser Verlag, Munchen, 2020.
Ecodesign means integrating environmental factors into the design process of all types of products, from toys, packaging, household appliances to industrial products like compressors. It requires life cycle thinking, with the environmental impact minimized at all stages of the product cycle, from the extraction of raw materials to end of use. Ecodesign is also a key to success in the transition to a circular economy model. The ecodesign rules of thumb are a guide to develop products that fit in the circular economy.
This unique book serves as a key guide for designers, organizations, governments, companies, or anybody else with an interest in a sustainable future, byaddressing three main topics: First, ecodesign is explained for what itis and how it fits with the necessity for a sustainable planet. Second,ecodesign is shown to be a coherent and practical process with a planand tools that can be used to provide solutions for the environmentalchallenges the world faces. Third, the impact of the ecodesign approachis elaborated for enterprises, governments, and consumers.
A circular economy for plastics – Insights from research and innovation to inform policy and funding decisions
M. Crippa, B. De Wilde, R. Koopmans, J. Leyssens, J. Muncke, A-C. Ritschkoff, K. Van Doorsselaer, C. Velis, C., M. Wagner, A circular economy for plastics – Insights from research and innovation to inform policy and funding decisions, 2019 (M. De Smet & M. Linder, Eds.). European Commission, Brussels, Belgium.
The current plastics system demands fundamental change in which research and innovation, enabled and reinforced by policymaking, play a crucial role. Moving towards a circular economy, we can harness the benefits of plastics, while achieving better economic, environmental and social outcomes. This report aims to inform policy and funding decisions on a circular economy for plastics by providing research and innovation insights from EU-funded projects and the wider scientific community.
The report covers the entire plastics value chain, highlighting a broad range of challenges and opportunities. Based on scientific evidence, the insights presented contribute to the transition towards plastic production from renewable feedstock and product design for use, reuse, repair, and mechanical, chemical, or organic recycling. In addition, the report explains how this systemic change can be supported by innovation in business models, collection systems, and sorting and recycling technologies. In this way, plastics could circulate through our society with full transparency at high-value usage, while minimising the risks to human health and the environment.
Polymer Melt Fracture
R.J. Koopmans, J. Den Doelder, J. Molenaar, Polymer Melt Fracture., CRC Press – Taylor & Francis group, Boca Raton, 2011.
The continually growing plastics market consists of more than 400 million tons of product annually in 2024, making the recurring problem of polymer melt fracture an acute issue in the extrusion of these materials. Presenting a pictorial library of the different forms of melt fracture and real industrial extrusion melt fracture phenomena, Polymer Melt Fracture provides pragmatic identification and industrial extrusion defect remediation strategies based on detailed experimental and theoretical findings from the last 50 years.
Chapter contributions Prof. Dr. R.J. Koopmans has also written Chapter contributions in the books listed below
- R.J. Koopmans, "Extrudate Swell of PolyPropylene.", in Polypropylene: From A to Z, Chapter contribution book, Ed. Karger-Kocsis, Chapman- Hall, (1999).
- R. J. Koopmans, "Melt fracture in PolyPropylene.", in PolyPropylene: From A to Z, Ed. Karger-Kocsis, Chapman- Hall, (1999).
- R.J. Koopmans, "Development of an advanced rheological tool for polymer melt processing", in Y. Brechet Ed., EuroMat 99, Volume 3, Wiley-VCH, (2000).
- R.J. Koopmans, "Positioning plastics R&D for growth", in Polymer Process Engineering 01, Ed. P. Coates, (2001)
- R.J. Koopmans, "Sustainable Technologies for Innovative Materials", in Polymer Process Engineering 07, Ed. P. Coates, (2007)
- R.J. Koopmans, "Nanobiotechnology", in Industrial Biotechnology, Ed. W. Soetaert & E. Vandamme, Wiley-VCH, Munich, (2010)
- R.J. Koopmans, "Polyolefin based plastics from biomass derived monomers", in Bio-based plastics – Materials and Applications, J. Wiley, New York, (2013)