Complementary experimental equipment

At our facility, we have a range of additional equipment for preparing and/or analysing polymers and related products:

Enables (in addition to devulcanization) extraction of raw and depolluted plastics for GC/MS analysis

 

Microwave reactor

It enables us to analyze :

  • pyrolysis oils
  • raw and depolluted plastic extracts
Gas chromatograph coupled with mass spectrometer and with headspace (HS-GC/MS)

Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA)

Enables the monitoring of changes in the mass of a material as a function of temperature under a controlled atmosphere and provides a rapid assessment of:

  • the thermal stability of polymers
  • degradation temperatures and stages
  • the content of fillers, additives and residues

TGA–FTIR/MS coupling (from 2026)

Coupling with Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and mass spectrometry (MS) will enable the identification of gases emitted during thermal degradation, thereby enabling the monitoring of decomposition mechanisms and the products formed.

Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) without coupling

Allows grinding into fine particles of different particle sizes to ensure better sample homogeneity

 

Microgrinder

As part of our projects, we regularly carry out polymer analyses before and after recycling processes, in order to assess the efficiency of the latter and their impact on the physical and chemical properties of the recycled products.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of the tests generally carried out:

  • Morphology:
    • Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)
    • Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM)
  • Crystallinity:
    • X-Ray Diffraction (XRD)
    • Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC)
  • Mechanical properties:
    • Tensile/compression tests
    • Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA)
  • Fourier transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR)
  • Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)
  • Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC)
  • Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA)
  • Thermomechanical analysis (TMA)

Other characterisations are possible nearby our platform.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of the equipment available:

https://umet.univ-lille.fr/Instruments/list.php?&lang=en

https://chevreul.univ-lille.fr/?page_id=468

https://uccs.univ-lille.fr/en/scientific-resources/plateaux-uccs

In addition, we have access to the instrumental equipment of the Faculty of Science and Technology (FST Lille), where our platform is located:

https://sciences-technologies.univ-lille.fr/recherche/les-structures-de-recherche-et-plateformes (in French)