Lara Maroto-Diaz1, Víctor Bellido-Gonzalez1 Volodymyr Nesin2, Johann Boedecker2, Jamie Hall2
1Gencoa Ltd, Liverpool, United Kingdom
2Pentatonic, London, United Kingdom
In the last thirty years the concept of circular economy has been one of the main topics for models of production and consumption of resources. It involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products for as long as possible. Most of the techniques applied to create these items involve the use of recyclable or biobased materials and building methods. However, do not always allow the desired finish and properties to be achieved directly. Some examples of these techniques are 3D printing and recycled plastic injection moulding. While they offer a wide range of possibilities, in many cases several layers and treatments are needed in order to attain a specific functionality, aesthetic appearance or wear durability. Here is where PVD coatings can add value, offering a low environmental impact proposition.
One of the main challenges of the circular economy is finding the way of transforming new or recycled materials so that they are able to compete or replace well established current manufacturing techniques. Here is where surface engineering has a role to play in order to match property requirements such as visual appearance, hardness and durability, especially on those materials that have undergone several reuse cycles.
Collaborative work is needed between different areas of expertise to contribute to the development of new materials, innovative design applications and new added value propositions. This paper presents a joint effort of bringing new products to market. It presents the collaboration between an expert group in sustainability and a surface engineering group through a process of circular economy innovation. The main challenges and opportunities entailed by the addition of PVD into the circular economy will be presented, as well as case studies based on high value consumer products which have an important impact on sustainability.