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Airbus targets carbon fibre recycling
TECHNOLOGY
Airbus targets carbon fibre recycling
Sika gets approval for epoxy resin system
AIRBUS HAS set up a Composite Recycling Advisory Board to establish the company’s strategy for recycling and reusing carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) waste materials.
SIKA DEUTSCHLAND GmbH has obtained Germanischer Lloyd approval for the anhydride cured epoxy resin system Biresin CR141, cured with Biresin CH141 anhydride hardener and Biresin CA141 accelerator.
By 2020-2025, the project targets for 95% of CFRP manufacturing process wastes to go through a recycling channel, with 5% of the waste products to be recycled back into the aerospace sector. The use of composites in passenger aircraft continues to increase. The A350 XWB, the first Airbus aircraft to be over 50 wt%
composite, made its maiden flight in June 2013. As part of the Airbus composites recycling programme, various research and technology projects for recycling CFRP are either underway or planned at Airbus sites, in partnership with external organisations. These will seek to examine and validate the techniques and industrialisation for recycling and reusing waste products from the CFRP manufacturing process – including both cured wastes and uncured materials. Airbus; www.airbus.com
$2m for carbon fibre reduction in hydrogen storage tanks MATERIA INC has been awarded a $2 million grant from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to demonstrate the ability of its ProximaTM resin to reduce the amount of carbon fibre required in composite pressure vessels. This would lower the cost of hydrogen storage tanks, making fuel cell-based vehicles more viable. “Reducing the amount of carbon fibre required in hydrogen tanks will substantially lower manufacturing costs and hasten market adoption of fuel cell-based cars, buses, and trucks,” states Dr. Michael A. Giardello, President, CEO and CTO, of California-based Materia. Proxima, a thermoset resin for glass and carbon fibre reinforced composites, is enabled by the Grubbs Catalyst™ Nobel Prize-winning olefin metathesis catalyst technology.
www.reinforcedplastics.com
“Proxima-based composites exhibit fracture toughness and fatigue performance superior to that of current state-of-the-art thermosets,” reports Dr. Brian Edgecombe, Materia’s Director of Materials R&D. Edgecombe expects hydrogen tanks to be one of many industrial applications which could benefit from the resin’s properties. The Materia grant is one of 6 projects awarded a total of $7 million by the DOE. Another goes to PPG Industries of Greensboro, North Carolina, which will receive $1.2 million to demonstrate a high strength glass fibre that is stronger than the carbon fibres used today at half of the cost. Materia; www.materia-inc.com
Sika adds that the system is suitable for processes such as filament winding, pultrusion or
even RTM. The company says that the system can be used for production of spars, tubes and other high performance components where long potlife, excellent thermal and mechanical performance are required. Sika Deutschland GmbH; www.sika-tooling.de
PlastiComp adds basalt fibre reinforced composites PLASTICOMP INC., the supplier of long fibre thermoplastic (LFT) materials and technologies, has introduced a line of basalt fibre reinforced LFT composites. The company adds that these new long fibre products offer a significant increase in performance over short basalt fibre filled materials and are available in multiple resins matrices with 30-60% by weight fibre loadings. “During development of these new basalt LFTs, we saw across the board increases in mechanical properties that were as much as 40% higher than chopped fibre grades.” said Eric Wollan, business development manager at PlastiComp. “That is a huge boost which makes PlastiComp’s long fibre variants a serious contender for those considering basalt.” “As an innovator in long fibre composite development, PlastiComp is always examining new additives and processes,” said Wollan. “We have had interest from the automotive and construction industries for
PlastiComp, Inc. has introduced a line of basalt fibre reinforced LFT composites.
basalt fibre materials because of its ability to resist corrosion.” Derived from volcanic rock, the beneficial characteristics of basalt fibre include excellent corrosion resistance, high abrasion resistance, and inherent fire resistance. Basalt fibre is known for retaining its performance at cold temperatures and for not being degraded by UV or electromagnetic radiation. It has uses in marine environments, concrete contact, and underground applications because of its high corrosion resistance. PlastiComp; www.plasticomp.com
JULY/AUGUST 2014
REINFORCEDplastics
17
Airbus targets carbon fibre recycling
Sika gets approval for epoxy resin system
AIRBUS HAS set up a Composite Recycling Advisory Board to establish the company’s strategy for recycling and reusing carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) waste materials.
SIKA DEUTSCHLAND GmbH has obtained Germanischer Lloyd approval for the anhydride cured epoxy resin system Biresin CR141, cured with Biresin CH141 anhydride hardener and Biresin CA141 accelerator.
By 2020-2025, the project targets for 95% of CFRP manufacturing process wastes to go through a recycling channel, with 5% of the waste products to be recycled back into the aerospace sector. The use of composites in passenger aircraft continues to increase. The A350 XWB, the first Airbus aircraft to be over 50 wt%
composite, made its maiden flight in June 2013. As part of the Airbus composites recycling programme, various research and technology projects for recycling CFRP are either underway or planned at Airbus sites, in partnership with external organisations. These will seek to examine and validate the techniques and industrialisation for recycling and reusing waste products from the CFRP manufacturing process – including both cured wastes and uncured materials. Airbus; www.airbus.com
$2m for carbon fibre reduction in hydrogen storage tanks MATERIA INC has been awarded a $2 million grant from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to demonstrate the ability of its ProximaTM resin to reduce the amount of carbon fibre required in composite pressure vessels. This would lower the cost of hydrogen storage tanks, making fuel cell-based vehicles more viable. “Reducing the amount of carbon fibre required in hydrogen tanks will substantially lower manufacturing costs and hasten market adoption of fuel cell-based cars, buses, and trucks,” states Dr. Michael A. Giardello, President, CEO and CTO, of California-based Materia. Proxima, a thermoset resin for glass and carbon fibre reinforced composites, is enabled by the Grubbs Catalyst™ Nobel Prize-winning olefin metathesis catalyst technology.
www.reinforcedplastics.com
“Proxima-based composites exhibit fracture toughness and fatigue performance superior to that of current state-of-the-art thermosets,” reports Dr. Brian Edgecombe, Materia’s Director of Materials R&D. Edgecombe expects hydrogen tanks to be one of many industrial applications which could benefit from the resin’s properties. The Materia grant is one of 6 projects awarded a total of $7 million by the DOE. Another goes to PPG Industries of Greensboro, North Carolina, which will receive $1.2 million to demonstrate a high strength glass fibre that is stronger than the carbon fibres used today at half of the cost. Materia; www.materia-inc.com
Sika adds that the system is suitable for processes such as filament winding, pultrusion or
even RTM. The company says that the system can be used for production of spars, tubes and other high performance components where long potlife, excellent thermal and mechanical performance are required. Sika Deutschland GmbH; www.sika-tooling.de
PlastiComp adds basalt fibre reinforced composites PLASTICOMP INC., the supplier of long fibre thermoplastic (LFT) materials and technologies, has introduced a line of basalt fibre reinforced LFT composites. The company adds that these new long fibre products offer a significant increase in performance over short basalt fibre filled materials and are available in multiple resins matrices with 30-60% by weight fibre loadings. “During development of these new basalt LFTs, we saw across the board increases in mechanical properties that were as much as 40% higher than chopped fibre grades.” said Eric Wollan, business development manager at PlastiComp. “That is a huge boost which makes PlastiComp’s long fibre variants a serious contender for those considering basalt.” “As an innovator in long fibre composite development, PlastiComp is always examining new additives and processes,” said Wollan. “We have had interest from the automotive and construction industries for
PlastiComp, Inc. has introduced a line of basalt fibre reinforced LFT composites.
basalt fibre materials because of its ability to resist corrosion.” Derived from volcanic rock, the beneficial characteristics of basalt fibre include excellent corrosion resistance, high abrasion resistance, and inherent fire resistance. Basalt fibre is known for retaining its performance at cold temperatures and for not being degraded by UV or electromagnetic radiation. It has uses in marine environments, concrete contact, and underground applications because of its high corrosion resistance. PlastiComp; www.plasticomp.com
JULY/AUGUST 2014
REINFORCEDplastics
17