Waste paints and other expired or unused coatings can be recycled before disposal. This is important because it reduces the volume of landfill waste and allows a certain amount of components to be reused. This contributes not only to waste reduction but also to improved environmental sustainability, while significant economic savings are realized. This paper presents the design of a paint recycling device that works on the principle of distillation. In contrast to classical distillers, which work on the principle of distillation with a heat exchanger condenser, the proposed system consists of a main tank and a distillation column. The advantages of this device are that fractions with similar evaporation temperatures can be separated more easily. A mathematical model based on thermodynamic and process parameters was developed to predict the behavior of the distillation process for different solvents. Based on the real parameters of the process, such as working pressure, composition, and flow rate of the feed mixture, evaporation temperature, etc., the time, composition, quality, and quantity required for the separation of each component were calculated, which represents the economic justification of this process. Three solvents with different compositions were tested using adjustable parameters of the distillation process, and the results provided insights into the distillation behavior, the characteristics of the recycled mixture, and the quality and yield of the recovered products.

Wood plastic composites (WPC) are currently one of the most popular building materials, especially for areas exposed to moisture, UV radiation or large temperature differences. In the first stage, the mechanically shredded wood was mixed with the matrix of waste polyethylene (WPE) and processed into briquettes using the extrusion process. In the second stage, the briquettes are hybridized with five layers of metal mesh and pressed at an elevated temperature to produce WPC with improved mechanical properties. SEM is used for the microstructural analysis of WPC. The chemical analysis is carried out using FTIR. The results of the impact strength and bending measurements show a strong improvement in the mechanical properties of the WPC hybridized with metal mesh layers. All WPC samples show a high resistance to moisture, which is confirmed by the results of the mechanical measurements after exposure to water. In terms of sustainable development and environmental protection, the materials used for WPC production are waste and/or recycled, indicating a longer life cycle of WPC that could be analyzed in depth in future research.

Polymer bonded magnets (PBMs) have shown great potential for applications in various industries. Many combinations of thermoplastic polymer matrices and fillers can be successfully produced by injection molding. The aim of this study is to synthesize Nd-Fe-B or barium ferrite - polymethylmetacrilate (PMMA) PBMs with optimal mechanical and magnetic properties. The synthesized Nd-Fe-B/PMMA and barium ferrite/PMMA composites are compared and analyzed under microstructural (SEM), thermal (DSC, TGA, DMA) and magnetic (SQUID) aspects. Highly sensitive characterization methods such as DMA reveal the differences between the samples in terms of dynamic mechanical properties. In addition, high-resolution SQUID measurements will show the magnetic superiority of Nd-Fe-B/PMMA composites. Furthermore, hybrid magnetic composites (Nd-Fe-B/barium ferrite/PMMA) show the best performance in dynamic mechanical properties compared to single magnetic composites, while the magnetic properties are between Nd-Fe-B/PMMA and barium ferrite/PMMA composites. The analysis of the SEM images of the fracture surface of the PBMs shows the formation of a stable and homogeneous composite material. Besides the high potential for many applications, the investigated composites are a good basis for further research activities in terms of particle size distribution, particle coating, coupling agents, stabilizers and final processing.