Overwhelming response from 23 countries: Three main winners and 8 other outstanding projects awarded

With the Scientific Challenge, RETSCH, a leading manufacturer of laboratory mills and sieve shakers for the preparation and characterization of solids, has invited scientists from all over the world to present their research projects in areas such as recycling, green chemistry, materials development or life sciences. The only condition: ball mills are used in the project and the research is aimed at improving environmental and living conditions.

Over 90 international scientists responded to the call and submitted their research projects. These included exciting projects such as plastics recycling via mechanosynthesis, 3D printing of moon regolith as a cement additive, or the conversion of lignin and food waste into new materials.

The competition not only awarded three main winners, but also honored 8 other outstanding research projects. The large number of highly qualified entries underlines the great importance of ball mills in the world of research.

"The Scientific Challenge has shown us the impressive potential of using planetary ball mills and mixer mills in innovative research projects. We are overwhelmed by the creativity and commitment of the scientists from all over the world," says Dr. Tanja Butt, Head of Product Management, RETSCH GmbH.

The wide range of applications has provided RETSCH with new insights and groundbreaking findings for the use of ball mills, which will play an important role in the further development of the devices and accessories.

These three projects were awarded the main prize, either a RETSCH Planetary Ball Mill PM 300 or a Mixer Mill MM 400:

• Dr. Riccardo Gallorini und Dr. Benedetta Ciuffi (Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy): Functionalization of biochar from waste biomass for sustainable production of energy and secondary raw materials.
• José Manuel Mendoza, Gabriela Tarango, Ivanovich Estrada, Carlos Gamaliel Garay, Roberto Martinez (Centro de Investigación en Materiales Avanzados, S. C., Chihuahua, Mexico): Technische Umweltlösungen - Engineering Environmental Solutions: Graphite Expansion preparation through Mechanochemical Route for Oil Removal in water
• Prof. Petrica Vizureanu, Madalina Simona Baltatu, Assoc. Prof. Andrei Victor Sandu (Gheorghe Asachi Technical University Iasi, Romania): Sustainable Biomaterial Innovations for Healthcare - Study on the microstructural evolution of Ti-Mo-Si based alloy obtained by high-energy ball milling

About RETSCH

RETSCH GmbH, a part of Verder Scientific, is a leading global specialist in the field of analysis-oriented sample preparation and characterization of solids and has more than 100 years of experience in the development and manufacture of innovative size reduction equipment and analytical sieve shakers that convince with their performance, user-friendliness, safety and long service life.

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