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About Kim
Kim Ragaert is Full Professor at Maastricht University's Faculty of Science and Engineering, holding the key domain Chair of Circular Plastics in the Department of Circular Chemical Engineering. With a PhD in polymer processing from Ghent University obtained in 2011 and a background in mechanical engineering and materials science, she advanced from researcher and lecturer to Associate Professor at Ghent University between 2011 and 2021. There, she coordinated projects like C-PlaNeT, chaired the Plastics to Resource pipeline in CAPTURE, and established herself as a pioneer in plastic recycling. In September 2021, she joined Maastricht University, founding the Circular Plastics research group on the Brightlands Chemelot Campus. This interdisciplinary team, co-led with experts in polymer processing, physics, and systems analysis, emphasizes polymer science for enhanced mechanical recycling, data-driven approaches, and holistic strategies for plastics circularity. The group collaborates with industry partners and contributes to the BSc Circular Engineering program, which Ragaert chairs the educational committee for.
Ragaert's research centers on structure-property-processing relations in thermoplastics, mechanical recycling of plastics, plastic packaging design for circularity, and recycling system optimization. Her highly cited work, exceeding 11,000 citations on Google Scholar, includes seminal papers such as 'Mechanical and chemical recycling of solid plastic waste' (2017, over 3,900 citations), 'Performance indicators for a circular economy: A case study on post-industrial plastic waste' (2017), 'Towards closed-loop recycling of multilayer and coloured PET plastic waste by alkaline hydrolysis' (2020), and recent contributions like 'Additives: The Next Frontier in Recycling Research' (2026) and 'Interphase Anchoring Mechanism for Enhanced Environmental Stress Cracking Resistance in Recycled High-Density Polyethylene' (2026). Recognized with the 2020 European Plastics Recycling Ambassador award and the 2024 public award in the Royal Netherlands Society of Engineers' Engineer of the Year election, she consults for Plastics Recyclers Europe, CEFLEX, and ECOS. Ragaert has delivered a TEDx talk 'Plastics Rehab', her inaugural lecture 'Plastics, people and power' (2024), and organized seminars on global plastics treaty negotiations, advancing value-chain cooperation and interdisciplinary education in circular professions.
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