Dr. Adrian Merrington
Senior Associate Scientist

Adrian MerringtonAreas of Research Interest

  • Plastics Recycling, Processing and Additives
    Recycling Post-Consumer Thermoplastics from Automotive Applications; Recycling Painted Post-Consumer Automotive Parts; Economic Recycling of Thermoplastics for Automotive Applications; Analysis of Plastic Materials for the Automotive Industry; Additive Cross-Contamination in Recycle Streams; Evaluation of Recycle Plastics Enhancement by Interpolymer Inclusions
  • Advanced Composites
    Thermoplastics Composites; Polyolefin Composites; Cellulosic Fillers; Sustainable Plastics Composites; Recycle-content Composites; Natural Fibers; High-Temperature Toughening of Epoxies; Incorporation of Novel Additives into Plastics for non-Traditional Applications
  • Coatings and Colloids
    Specialty Coatings; Rheology and Synthesis of Idealized Colloids; Phase Behaviour; Steric Stabilization Efficiency of Colloidal Dispersions; Hard Coatings from Dendritic Polymers
  • Fuel Cells
    Assessment of membranes and catalyst systems used in Fuel Cells

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Education

  • The University of Greenwich (formerly Thames Polytechnic), London, England, Applied Chemistry, Bachelor of Science, 1988
  • The Royal Society of Chemistry, London, England, Chartered Chemist, 1990
  • The University of Bradford, Bradford, England, Chemical Engineering, Doctorate of Philosophy, 1992
  • The Michigan Molecular Institute, Visiting Scientist Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, Colloid Rheology, 1992-1994
  • The Royal Society of Chemistry, London, England, Chartered Scientist, 2004, 2009

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Research Experience

  • Senior Associate Scientist, Michigan Molecular Institute, Midland, MI (1992-present)
  • Assistant Professor, Michigan Molecular Institute, Midland, MI (1999-present)
  • Graduate School Adjunct Professor, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI (1999-present)
  • Research Director & Principal Investigator, American Commodities, Flint, MI (2003-present)
  • Research Director & Principal Investigator, Resource Recovery Corporation, Coopersville, MI (2002)
  • QUOTA Ph.D. Student, The University of Bradford, England (1988-1992)
  • Teaching Assistant, The University of Bradford, England (1989-1991)
  • Research & Production Assistant, Eyetech (formerly CLM), Redhill, England (1986-1987)

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Theses and Dissertations

A. Merrington, (1992). Synthesis and Rheology of Idealized Colloids. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Bradford

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Honors & Awards

  • SERC QUOTA Research Studentship (1988-1991)
  • Unilever Prize for Ph.D. Presentation, University of Bradford (1991)
  • Michigan Materials Processing Institute, Most Valuable Research Project (1996-1997)
  • Michigan Materials Processing Institute, Best Presented Poster (1996-1997)
  • British Society of Rheology, Student Award (1991)
  • President, mid-Michigan Section of Society of Plastics Engineers (mmSPE) (2002-2003 and 2004-2005)
  • Board member,  mmSPE(1996-present)
  • Board member, Global Plastics Environmental Conference (GPEC), (2007-present)
  • Technical Chair, GPEC (2008-present)
  • Who’s Who in Polymers.
  • Outstanding Scientists of the 20th Century
  • Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Plastics Environmental Division (PED) Dennis Denton Outstanding Member Award

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Publications

Papers

    1. A.I. Jomha, A. Merrington, L.V. Woodcock, H.A. Barnes and A. Lips. Recent Developments in Dense Suspension Rheology. Powder Technology. 65 (1991) 343.
    2. A. Merrington and L.V. Woodcock. Rheometric Experiments on Idealized Suspensions: Phase Behavior and Scaling Laws. Journal of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, FED-118 (1991) 109.
    3. A. Merrington, Z. Yang and D.J. Meier. Dispersion  Efficiency and Rheology of Sterically Stabilized Colloidal Silica. First International Particle Technology Forum, 3 (1994) 261.
    4. Z. Yang, A. Merrington and D.J. Meier. Stabilization and Rheological Properties of Steric Stabilized Silica Suspensions. ACS Polymeric Materials Science and Engineering Preprints, 73 (1995) 438.
    5. J. Castle, A. Merrington and L.V. Woodcock. Phase Behaviour in the Uniform Shear of Idealised Suspensions. Progress in Colloidal Polymer Science, 98 (1995) 111.
    6. H.F. Guo and A. Merrington, Effects of Compatibilizers and Additives on Recycled Thermoplastics. Third Annual Society of Plastics Engineers Recycling Conference Proceedings, 1 (1996) 145.
    7. C.F. Balazs, L.L. Chu, H.F. Guo, S.E. Keinath, A. Merrington and L.S. Thomas. Advances in Automotive Plastics Recycling. Sixth Annual Society of Plastics Engineers Recycling Conference Proceedings, 1 (1999) 489.
    8. S.E. Keinath and A. Merrington, (2000). Polymer Science and Technology Education Opportunities at Michigan Molecular Institute. Engineering Education in the New Millennium: The Next Steps [CD-ROM], Paper 101E (19pp). Available: American Society for Engineering Education, North Central Section.
    9. X. Liu, A. Merrington and C. Diehl, Using Experimental Interpolymers to Upgrade Mechanical Properties of Recycled Thermoplastics. Society of Plastics Engineers Global Plastics Environmental Conference Proceedings, 1 (2003) 249.
    10. Dvornic, P.R., Sarkar, A.; Rousseau, J., Hartmann-Thompson, C., Merrington, A., Carver, P., Zhang, T., and Keinath, S.E., Dendritic Polymer Networks: A New Class of Nano-structured Antifouling Coatings. Preprints of Extended Abstracts presented at the ACS National Meeting, American Chemical Society, Division of Environmental Chemistry, 48(1) (2008)  520.
    11. Hartmann-Thompson, C., Merrington, A., Carver, P.I., Keeley, D.L., Rousseau, J.L., Hucul, D., Bruza, K.J., Thomas, L.S., Keinath, S.E., Nowak, R.M., Katona, D.M., and Santurri, P.R., Proton-Conducting Polyhedral Oligosilsesquioxane (POSS) Nanoadditives for Sulfonated Polyphenylsulfone (S-PPSU) Hydrogen Fuel Cell Proton Exchange Membranes, J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 110(2) (2008) 95.

Chapters in Books

    1. A. Merrington, “Recycling of Plastics”, M. Kutz (ed.), Applied Plastics Engineering Handbook: Processing and Materials, Elsevier, New York, NY, 2011.
    2. A.I. Jomha, A. Merrington, L.V. Woodcock, H.A. Barnes and A. Lips, "Recent Developments in Dense Suspension Rheology", Clift, R., (Ed.), Particulate Technology, Elsevier Applied Science, London, 1991. 

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Lectures and Presentations

Web-Based Lectures

  • Adrian Merrington, SPE e-Live, So You Want to Recycle Plastics, October 1, 2006; click here to view.  
  • Adrian Merrington, SPE e-Live, Plastics Recycling: Processes, Opportunities and Issues, December 12, 2008; click here to view
  • Adrian Merrington, SPE e-Live, Plastics Recycling: Processes, Opportunities and Issues, May 18, 2011; click here to view

 

Presentations

  • A.I. Jomha, A. Merrington, L.V. Woodcock, H.A. Barnes and A. Lips. Recent Developments in Dense Suspension Rheology, Second Symposium on Advances in Particulate Technology, Guildford, England, 1991
  • Merrington and L.V. Woodcock, Rheometric Experiments on Idealized Suspensions: Phase Behavior and Scaling Laws, First ASME-JSME Fluids Engineering Conference, Portland, OR, 1991
  • Merrington, Rheology of the Ideal Suspension, University of Bradford, Bradford, England, 1991
  • Z. Yang, A. Merrington and D.J. Meier. Stabilization and Rheological Properties of Steric Stabilized Silica Suspensions. ACS Polymeric Materials Science and Engineering, Chicago, 1995
  • A. Merrington, Z. Yang and D.J. Meier. Dispersion  Efficiency and Rheology of Sterically Stabilized Colloidal Silica. First International Particle Technology Forum, Denver, 1995
  • H.F. Guo and A. Merrington, Effects of Compatibilizers and Additives on Recycled Thermoplastics. Third Annual Society of Plastics Engineers Recycling Conference Proceedings, Chicago, 1996
  • A. Merrington, Plastics Recycling, University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit, 1997
  • A. Merrington and C.F. Balazs, Plastics Recycle Research, Michigan Recycling Coalition Annual Conference, Midland, 1999
  • X. Liu, A. Merrington and C. Diehl, Using Experimental Interpolymers to Upgrade Mechanical Properties of Recycled Thermoplastics. Society of Plastics Engineers Global Plastics Environmental Conference Proceedings, Detroit, 2003
  • A. Merrington, SPE e-Live, So You Want to Recycle Plastics, October 1, 2006
  • A. Merrington, So You Want to Recycle Plastics, Ferris State University, SPE Student Section, Big Rapids, 2007
  • A. Merrington, SPE e-Live, Plastics Recycling: Processes, Opportunities and Issues, December 12, 2008
  • A. Merrington, Plastics Recycling: Processes, Opportunities and Issues, mid-Michigan SPE Technical Meeting, Midland, 2008
  • A. Merrington, Plastics Recycling: Processes, Opportunities and Issues, mid-Michigan SPE Technical Meeting, Midland, 2011
  • A. Merrington, SPE e-Live, Plastics Recycling: Processes, Opportunities and Issues, May 18, 2011

 

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