From: mk_thisisit
Adam Hańderek, a Polish innovator, has developed advanced recycling technologies that transform waste into high-quality products, including fuels from plastics and building materials from industrial dust and paper [01:26:00]. His work extends to reclaiming raw materials from textiles and even animal byproducts [02:51:00].
Recycling Polyester Textiles
A significant focus of Hańderek’s innovations is the recycling of textiles, particularly polyester clothing [01:47:00]. This endeavor was prompted by a request from a large company [01:01:00].
The Challenge of Textile Waste
While PET bottles are relatively easy to recycle due to their clean, homogeneous nature [02:01:00], clothing presents a greater challenge [02:13:00]. Even labels claiming “100% polyester” are misleading, as clothing often contains mixtures of fibers like cotton, polyamide, and other materials in threads, additions, stitching, and prints [02:16:00]. This heterogeneity makes simple recycling methods for PET bottles unrealistic for textiles [02:36:00].
Innovative Recycling Process
Hańderek’s team developed a technology to decompose polyester into its prime raw materials, a concept he has been working on since 2008 [01:28:00]. This method allows for the extraction of raw materials for polyester production from fabrics [01:48:00]. Other components like cotton or polyamide are separated, remaining on a sieve for potential future solutions [01:52:00]. The primary goal is to recover the largest part of the raw material, which is polyester, given that approximately 80% of clothing is made of polyester [01:08:00]. This technology aims to create “eternally alive” clothes from old garments, continuously recycling raw materials [01:36:00].
Uniqueness and Patent Status
Adam Hańderek claims his method for recycling polyester is unique globally, as his research has not found a similar existing process [02:29:00]. The technology has been submitted for patenting and received a positive assessment from the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland, confirming it as a technological novelty [02:40:00]. Basic research in this field is financed by LPP, which chose Hańderek’s team despite conducting global research on polyester recycling technologies [04:43:00].
Recycling Building Materials
Beyond textiles, Hańderek has innovated in the realm of building materials, specifically by creating bricks from industrial dust and other wastes [02:24:00].
Transforming MDF Dust into Bricks
His technology utilizes MDF (Medium-Density Fiberboard) dust, a troublesome waste product from cutting furniture boards [02:35:00]. MDF boards contain phenol-formaldehyde resins, which cause high emissions if combusted [02:40:00]. Hańderek’s team uses this dust as a raw material for building materials [02:40:00].
They developed a mineral binder (not cement) that gives the material brick-like hardness and flame-retardant properties [02:49:00]. This new invention was officially presented to the public for the first time in this program [02:51:00].
Advantages and Applications
Traditional building materials often use cement to bind wood chips, a method employed by Russians for a long time [02:55:00]. However, Hańderek’s binder has a smaller carbon footprint [03:19:00]. It can bind not only MDF dust but also sawdust, straw, and even paper that paper mills typically refuse for processing [03:22:00], allowing for the creation of bricks from paper [03:39:00].
Commercialization Challenges
Despite the innovative nature and awarded patents in the United States, Canada, and the European Union [10:03:00], commercializing these solutions remains a significant hurdle [07:45:00]. Adam Hańderek notes that entering the market is an expensive process [07:51:00]. A planned commercial-industrial installation faced a dramatic budget increase from 48-50 million PLN to nearly 75 million PLN due to global market shifts, including increased costs of materials and engineering services [09:11:00]. Subsidies received from the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development could not be utilized due to these unforeseen cost surges [08:52:00].
There is significant international interest in their technology, with letters of intent signed for several dozen installations in countries like Korea, Japan, and Vietnam [08:00:00]. However, the requirement to build a first commercial industrial installation to demonstrate scalability is a major step [08:23:00]. The fuels derived from plastic waste are the closest to commercialization [04:58:00].
This situation reflects broader challenges in commercializing recycling technologies, where a ready solution can still be a very long way from market implementation, as exemplified by the 17 years it took for a bioethanol invention to be commercialized [11:03:00].
Broader Philosophy and Impact
Hańderek, who studied veterinary medicine and worked in meat plants, drew inspiration from his grandmother’s resourcefulness, who wasted nothing [02:05:00]. This upbringing fostered his belief in the potential to reuse waste [02:05:00]. His approach is driven by imagination rather than strictly by academic knowledge, as his chemistry teacher instilled in him that “imagination is everything” [03:31:00]. He believes that conventional knowledge can sometimes limit imagination, and he constantly seeks to challenge established ways of thinking [03:39:00].
He argues that plastic itself is not the problem, but rather the inability to handle it properly [04:09:00]. He advocates for legislation to mandate filters in washing machines to capture microplastics from clothing [05:29:00], noting that polyester clothing (80% of garments) produces microparticles through friction during washing, which can end up in drinking water [05:57:00]. This perspective highlights the need for systemic solutions to environmental impact and sustainability in recycling. Hańderek also controversially suggests that PET plastic cups are more ecological than paper ones, citing Danish Ministry of the Environment research that indicates paper and cotton require more natural resources than plastics [01:30:00].
Hańderek’s work has been recognized and appreciated at numerous international invention fairs, including winning competitions in China and receiving the Grand Prix at the Barcelona invention fair [03:06:00].