Membership Category
- Regular
Institution
- École de Technologie Supérieure - ETS
Discipline(s)
- Material Engineering and Metallurgic Engineering
Expertises
- Recycling of polymers
- Graphene for polymer upgrading
Scientific activities and affiliations
- Mechanical Engineering Department
- Center for Research on High-Performance Polymer and Composite Systems (CREPEC)
- Polymer and Composite Engineering Laboratory (LIPEC)
Biography
Nicole Demarquette is Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at ETS and Director of LIPEC, the Polymer and Composite Engineering Laboratory. Nicole Demarquette is a chemical engineer specializing in polymeric materials. After completing a master's degree and a doctorate at McGill University, she began her career at the Materials Engineering Department of the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo in Brazil, where she was responsible for creating courses and a graduate program in polymers. At the University of São Paulo, she was also responsible for setting up polymer rheology and shaping laboratories. In 2012, she returned to Quebec where she began a new career at ETS initiating research activities on thermoplastics. To date, she has supervised over 50 PhD and Master's students and published over 150 articles in specialized journals. Her areas of expertise include characterization of the physical properties of polymers, rheology (the science of material flow) and optimization of thermoplastic blends and composites. She is also very interested in emerging polymer manufacturing techniques such as electrospinning and additive manufacturing.
Affiliated research axes
Change and Transition Management
Planning Optimization
Resource and Product Maximization
Policy levers
Projects funded by the RRECQ
Recycling plastic accessories produced by 3D printing used in the context of radiation oncology
Description
The project seeks to gain more basic knowledge of the recyclability of the plastic used in a medical context. By focusing on the particular context of 3D printed boluses for radiation therapy in cancer patients, the initiative will assess the influence of recycling processes and radiotherapy treatments on the structure and properties of the material (PLA, polylactic acid) before it is reused in treatment.
The project has three sub-objectives:
- Determine the extent to which repeated shredding-extrusion-3D printing shaping affects the properties of PLA.
- Determine the influence of radiation treatment (i.e., repeated application of high-energy photons or electrons) and the regular application of cleaning agents on the polymer’s properties.
- Evaluate the combined effect of shaping and radiotherapy treatment on the recyclability of PLA.
Themes
- 3D printing
- Plastic
- Polymers
- Recycling
Development of a metal-infused recyclable raw material for low-cost 3D printing in the context of circular manufacturing
Description
The project focuses on the development of a new recyclable 3D printing feedstock for low-cost printers.
It explores the unique reaction of nickel and iron with carbon monoxide, which form nickel and iron carbonyl, respectively, to provide an ideal mechanism to recycle the metals, as well as nickel- and iron-based products.
The research aims to develop metal-infused recyclable filaments with high concentrations of nickel and iron carbonyl powders to make functional and resistant metal parts using widespread, low-cost 3D printing processes such as fused filament fabrication.
Themes
- 3D printing
- Plastic
- Polymers
- Recycling