MIT engineers design recyclable elastic yarn - MIT News

Oct 15, 2026The ProblemConventional crosslinked polymers found in car tires, rubber bands, and other everyday items are durable, but their permanent crosslinks prevent them from being recycled. Our IdeaResearchers developed crosslinks that remain strong during use but can break and reform during reprocessing, allowing the material to be recycled multiple times. Why It MattersThe approach could make widely used crosslinked polymers recyclable using improved industrial processes. Our TeamProfessor John Torkelson; PhD graduates Boran Chen (PhD ’24), Logan Fenimore (PhD ’25), Yen-Wen Huang (PhD ’26), and Mathew Suazo (PhD ’26); Dow researchers Evelyn Auyeung (PhD ’14), Stephanie Barbon, Hayley Brown, and Colin Li Pi Shan. Northwestern Engineering’s John Torkelson and eight collaborators from Northwestern University and the Dow Chemical Company have been selected to receive the 2027 Cooperative Research Award in Polymer Science and Engineering from the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) Division of Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering (PMSE). An award symposium in their honor will be held at the Spring 2027 National ACS Meeting in New Orleans.