Field of Work
The activities in the field of plastics technology are directed towards the plastic product. The field of research focuses on the interactions between material, construction and processing in order to derive feasibility and properties during use. This results in the three fields of activity of plastics technology:
- Materials technology: new polymers and their characterization
- Processing technology: innovative processes, efficient machines and their simulation
- Product development: new products made of plastics, modelling of their behavior.
Specifically, research activities include plastics, bioplastics, polymers, material testing, material analysis, injection molding, extrusion, thermoforming, blow forming, additive manufacturing, 3D printing, process simulation, simulation, product development, part testing and non-destructive testing.
The development of bioplastics e.g. has been driven in particular by growing ecological awareness. Essentially, the aim is to replace fossil raw materials in plastics production with renewable raw materials (biobased), or to ensure the biodegradability of plastics. In addition to the synthesis of new biopolymers, another research focus is on the modification (compounding) of these novel bioplastics.
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Personal Information
Prof. Christian Bonten was born in Krefeld in 1969 and studied mechanical engineering at the Rheinisch-Westfälisch Technische Hochschule Aachen. He was a research assistant at the Essen Chair of Plastics Technology and from 1998 senior engineer in Essen and later at the Institute of Plastics Processing in Aachen. After working in industry with BASF and bioplastics producer FKuR, the mechanical engineer has been professor and head of the Institut für Kunststofftechnik at the University of Stuttgart since 2010. In 2007 he was awarded the Dr. Richard Escales Prize by the Association of German Engineers and Hanser Publishers.