Prof. Costas Tzoganakis

Costas Tzoganakis is a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Waterloo in Canada. He obtained his Diploma of Chemical Engineering from the Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, Greece and received his PhDin Chemical Engineering from McMaster University in Canada. Prior to joining the University of Waterloo, he worked at the DuPont Canada Research Center in Canada.

His research expertise encompasses areas relating to polymer reactive extrusion (REX), chemical modification of polymers, and polymer rheology. Professor Tzoganakis has made significant and novel contributions in the area of polymer reactive extrusion. His research activities have primarily focused on the enhancement of polyolefinicmaterial properties through melt phase chemical modification. His seminal work on the on the fundamentals of controlled rheology polypropylene production has been adopted widely in the industry and he has pioneered the use of supercritical fluids in novel polymer and rubber REX operations. Prof. Tzoganakis has several patents, over two hundred publications, and he has interacted and consulted extensively with the industry. He is a long-time member of the Polymer Processing Society (PPS), a Fellow of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) and a Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada (CIC).

In recognition of his significant research achievements, Prof. Tzoganakis has received the Heinz Hermann Award (2018) as well as the Heinz List Award (2015) from the Extrusion Division of the Society of Plastics Engineers and the Syncrude Award from the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering.

His innovative work on rubber devulcanization by reactive extrusion has led to the formation of Tyromer Inc., a University of Waterloo start-up company in which Prof. Tzoganakis is currently serving as the chief technology officer.  Tyromer’s technology is based on a unique patented reactive extrusion process which involves the extrusion of rubber crumb with supercritical carbon dioxide. This is a very simple continuous twin-screw extrusion process that does not employ any chemical reagents, resulting in high-quality devulcanized rubber. This technology provides a sustainable, financially viable, environmentally friendly, and socially responsible solution to scrap rubber. It offers a sustainable solution to End-of-Life Tires (ELT) and provides tire manufacturers afinancially advantageous option to reduce their carbon footprint. This technology can be easily adjusted to work with scrap from various rubber types and sources. Tyromer currently operates two manufacturing facilities in Canada and has two licensees (Europe and China).