Advent calendar - December 7 th - Joël Benninga

In the Zernike Institute Advent Calendar, we are presenting 24 short spotlights in December. In these specials, we highlight PhD students, postdocs, support staff and technicians of our research groups and team - providing a glimpse in their typical day at work. In Episode 7 meet Joël Benninga, PhD candidate within HyBRIt, which is a combination of two research groups: Macromolecular Chemistry and New Polymeric Materials (University of Groningen) and Professorship Circular Plastics (NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences).

I am working as a PhD candidate within HyBRIt, which is a combination of two research groups: Macromolecular Chemistry and New Polymeric Materials (University of Groningen) and Professorship Circular Plastics (NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences).

My research is focused on the recycling of plastic using unconventional methods, such as enzymatic or chemical recycling. The benefit of these techniques is that the quality of recycled plastic is equal to that of new plastic, which is not the case for current recycling methods.

The last few years I have investigated the recycling of various polyesters, polyamides and polyurethanes. Some of these polymers can be broken down into their building blocks with enzymes, while others need chemical catalysts. The goal is then to reuse the building blocks to make recycled polymers, but obtaining these building blocks is often the tricky part, and can take a lot of research.

I like my research because I can combine several aspects of chemistry and because there is always an application related to it. My day-to-day involves performing experiments, data analysis, helping students with their research, meetings with colleagues, and preparing for conferences. I enjoy being a part of two groups, which allows me to learn from many different colleagues, and even work from two locations: Emmen and Groningen.

See all Advent Calendar items 2024 here!