- Email: [email protected]
Smooth sailing with recycled fibers
d
Volume xxx, Number xx
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xxxx 2019
www.reinforcedplastics.com
FEATURE
Reinforced Plastics
Smooth sailing with recycled fibers Liz Nickels Marine applications offer special challenges to composite manufacturers, and the ante is only upped when recycled fibers are used. A UK company and boat team are working together to develop a more suitable future for composite boatbuilding. ELG Carbon Fibre, formed in 2011, operates what it says is the world’s first and largest carbon fiber recovery plant in Coseley, West Midlands, UK. While it has been part of German holding company Haniel Group since 1982, in December 2018 Mitsubishi Corporation entered into an agreement to acquire 25% of the shares in the company from ELG Carbon Fibre International GmbH. ELG’s main focus is to reprocess surplus carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) materials from manufacturing operations and end of life parts using a pyrolysis process (thermal decomposition of material in the absence of oxygen). The aim is to develop and industrialize the conversion technologies it uses to recycle the carbon fiber products for both the composites and compounding industries. In March 2018 ELG increased the capacity of its UK facility to recover fiber from uncured prepreg and laminate feedstock. It also intended to commercialize the company’s CarbisoTM MB product line for reinforced thermoplastic compounds. In 2018 ELG also upgraded its pyrolysis furnace to increase its output capacity beyond the current 1000 tons of carbon fiber per year. It is now reportedly able to deliver 1700 tons of carbon fiber products to its customers from its UK plant. Recently, the company worked with INEOS Team UK, a British sailing team based in Portsmouth, to use ELG’s recycled carbon fiber in the team’s America's Cup 75 class (AC75) boat, a 75 ft monohull with foils and a ‘soft wing’ mainsail which will compete in Auckland, New Zealand, in the 2021 America’s Cup (Figure 1). ELG has been a technical supplier to INEOS Team UK since the campaign began in 2018 and has processed 1000 kg of car-
bon manufacturing waste and end-of-use parts for the British team. The recovered fibers are converted into milled and chopped products to make thermoset and thermoplastic compounds and nonwoven mats. These reprocessed products were then used to make composite structures for the team’s yacht (Figure 2). The precise details of the boat’s design have not been disclosed. However, ELG has revealed that its recycled non-woven materials have been used in the production of two cradles to support the AC75 during transit as well as the hull and deck molds. ELG conducted a range of fibers characterisation analyses on INEOS Team UK’s feedstock. Every batch of material processed was given a classification to support traceability and consistency in the fibers recovered and, therefore, the final product. All these processes adhered to BS EN ISO 9001:2015 and EN 9100:2016 quality standards. According to the company, both organizations view this partnership as an important step in addressing the issue of global carbon consumption and raising awareness of the need to move towards closed loop recycling within the marine industry. ‘The reuse of carbon fiber products is a real game changer,’ said Alan Boot, naval architect for INEOS Team UK. ‘We are diverting waste away from landfill and closing the loop in our production methods wherever possible. ELG’s products have fitted seamlessly into our manufacturing processes which demonstrates how successfully these materials can be in a range of commercial markets. This is a really exciting time in terms of boat production and will hopefully lead the way for other manufacturers to follow suit.’ ‘ELG’s recycled carbon fiber products are helping to support the vital message of sustainability in elite sport and that is something we are very proud to be associated with,’ said Frazer Barnes, ELG Carbon Fibre’s MD.
E-mail address: Nickels, L. ([email protected]) 0034-3617/Ó 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.repl.2019.10.002
Please cite this article in press as: L. Nickels, Reinforced Plastics (2019), https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.repl.2019.10.002
1
FEATURE
Reinforced Plastics
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Volume xx, Number xx
d
xxx 2019
FEATURE FIGURE 1
INEOS’ America’s Cup 75 class (AC75) boat, a 75-ft monohull with foils l designed to compete in Auckland, New Zealand, in the 2021 America’s Cup.
FIGURE 2
The recovered materials can be converted into milled and chopped fibers to make thermoset and thermoplastic compounds and nonwoven mats.
In September 2016 ELG took a notable step by starting production of a range of nonwoven mats using 100% recycled carbon fibers or carbon fiber mixed with polypropylene (PP), polyamide (PA) and polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) fibers. (Figure 2.) The machine used reclaimed carbon fibers obtained through pyrolysis of scrap prepreg materials or cured laminates, and adaptations were made to limit fiber loss, breakage and cleaning cycles. The equipment can produce webs ranging from 100 gsm to 500 gsm at widths up to 2.7 m and, depending on the final mat thickness, roll lengths will range from 30 to 50 m. According the company, the materials are suitable for OEMs in the trans-
portation sector seeking cost effective alternatives to virgin carbon fiber for vehicle lightweighting. ‘With the correct design, nonwoven recycled carbon fiber can be used very successfully to manufacture low cost, lightweight structures using most high-volume manufacturing processes,’ said Barnes. ‘It seems that new applications for these materials are being identified every week, making this an exciting and progressive time for the company and our technology.’ In March 2017 ELG signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Composite Recycling Technology Center (CRTC) based in Washington State, USA, to develop new ways
2 Please cite this article in press as: L. Nickels, Reinforced Plastics (2019), https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.repl.2019.10.002
d
Volume xx, Number xx
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FEATURE
xxxx 2019
FEATURE
Reinforced Plastics
FIGURE 3
ELG Carbon Fibre’s range of nonwoven mats.
to use the carbon fiber reclaimed through its pyrolysis process. ‘Working closely with ELG means that we can provide a onestop carbon fiber recycling team that addresses the needs of large-scale generators of carbon fiber scrap,’ said Robert Larsen, CEO of the CRTC, at the time. ‘It also provides the CRTC with a consistent supply of low-cost recycled carbon fiber and thermoplastics. When combined with our recycled carbon fiber prepreg, it will create dozens of beneficial uses for this previously landfilled material.’ In November 2017 the company formed links with the marine industry when it worked with Ben Ainslie Racing (BAR) to recycle as much as possible the carbon fiber process waste and end-of-use components donated by the team. The aim was to convert the recovered fibers into ELG’s milled and chopped fibers to make thermoset and thermoplastic compounds and nonwoven mats for composite structures. ELG’s Carbon Fibre products are now made entirely from reprocessed BAR carbon components such as hull molds, hulls and foils from boats used in past race campaigns, the company says. Now the company has turned the process cycle around, using recycled fiber from other industries to make composite components for the challenging marine industry. I spoke Ben Andrews, technical service engineer at ELG, about the company’s work with the British team and the recycled fibers. ‘There are a lot of benefits in using recycled fibers,’ he explained. ‘In general, recycled fibers can actually be lower cost than virgin fabrics, and they often have better processing characteristics. Importantly, up to 90% less CO2 is produced during their processing, compared to virgin fiber manufacture. The recycled materials are also ideal for high volume production where higher pressures (20 bar or more) are used to produce parts rapidly. ‘While fiber post recycling can be ‘fluffy’ and difficult to reformat into useful products, ELG has developed, modified and industrialised processes to accommodate for this nature.’
According to Ben, the market for recycled carbon fibers has increased significantly over the last 20 years. ‘Then, carbon fiber was a niche material exclusive to super high end and luxury applications,’ he explained. ‘Nothing was recycled. Although still miniscule in comparison to the steel and aluminium industries, carbon fiber is making its way into mainstream applications and demand is growing! ‘As with any mainstream material, there needs to be a route to recycling to ensure longevity of said material,’ Ben added. ‘Carbon fiber is no different and in the last 10 years, industry has recognised this and begun to develop processes to recycle this high value material.’ Ben told me about the two main processes currently used to recover fiber that have been combined with a polymer: pyrolysis and solvolysis, which use heat and chemicals respectively. ‘Each has their nuances and slight benefits in term of material benefits, but pyrolysis is the process which has truly been industrialised and commercialized as demonstrated by ELG.’ (Figure 3.) He believes that the market will see a growth spurt over the next 20 years. ‘As the global demand for carbon fiber products rises above the name plate capacity of virgin carbon fiber lines, designers will look to recycled materials to bridge this gap,’ said Ben. ‘The increased use of virgin fiber will also increase the available feedstock for recycling processes, making it more cost effective to convert the high value fibers. Furthermore, aeroplanes and wind turbines utilising high volumes of fiber will be coming to the end of life. This fiber is still useful, increasing available waste and further propagating the recycling cycle.’ According to Ben, recycled fibers are also suitable for automotive, rail, electronic and other renewable energy applications. Marine applications offer specific challenges. ‘Due to the typical components size in marine, manufacturing methods are limited to low pressure methods such as hand layup/infusion or out of autoclave (OOA) processing which utilises only 1 bar of pressure,’ he said. ‘Consequently, the correct fiber/ polymer ratio can be tricky to achieve. 3
Please cite this article in press as: L. Nickels, Reinforced Plastics (2019), https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.repl.2019.10.002
FEATURE
‘At the moment, the marine industry predominantly utilises glass fiber which is seldom recycled due to the low cost of the virgin fabrics, so there is little to no awareness of recycled fiber options,’ he said. A representative from INEOS also told me about their choice of recycled fibers for this application. ‘We recognise that our operations have an effect on the local, regional and global environment and we believe in working in such a way to contribute to sustainable development,’ they said. ‘Driven by sustainable construction requirements within the 36th America’s Cup Class Rule, we have focused
Reinforced Plastics
d
Volume xx, Number xx
d
xxx 2019
efforts on the introduction of 10% recycled fiber into the molds and cradles, and are pleased to showcase the applications and results.’ They, too, think that the uptake of recycled fibers will increase over the next 20 years. ‘We hope that the clear environmental and economic benefits of integrating recycled fiber into products becomes business as usual. The marine industry is at the beginning of this journey, and there is plenty to be done.’ ELG Carbon Fibre; www.elgcf.com INEOS Team UK; www.ineosteamuk.com
FEATURE 4 Please cite this article in press as: L. Nickels, Reinforced Plastics (2019), https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.repl.2019.10.002
Volume xxx, Number xx
d
xxxx 2019
www.reinforcedplastics.com
FEATURE
Reinforced Plastics
Smooth sailing with recycled fibers Liz Nickels Marine applications offer special challenges to composite manufacturers, and the ante is only upped when recycled fibers are used. A UK company and boat team are working together to develop a more suitable future for composite boatbuilding. ELG Carbon Fibre, formed in 2011, operates what it says is the world’s first and largest carbon fiber recovery plant in Coseley, West Midlands, UK. While it has been part of German holding company Haniel Group since 1982, in December 2018 Mitsubishi Corporation entered into an agreement to acquire 25% of the shares in the company from ELG Carbon Fibre International GmbH. ELG’s main focus is to reprocess surplus carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) materials from manufacturing operations and end of life parts using a pyrolysis process (thermal decomposition of material in the absence of oxygen). The aim is to develop and industrialize the conversion technologies it uses to recycle the carbon fiber products for both the composites and compounding industries. In March 2018 ELG increased the capacity of its UK facility to recover fiber from uncured prepreg and laminate feedstock. It also intended to commercialize the company’s CarbisoTM MB product line for reinforced thermoplastic compounds. In 2018 ELG also upgraded its pyrolysis furnace to increase its output capacity beyond the current 1000 tons of carbon fiber per year. It is now reportedly able to deliver 1700 tons of carbon fiber products to its customers from its UK plant. Recently, the company worked with INEOS Team UK, a British sailing team based in Portsmouth, to use ELG’s recycled carbon fiber in the team’s America's Cup 75 class (AC75) boat, a 75 ft monohull with foils and a ‘soft wing’ mainsail which will compete in Auckland, New Zealand, in the 2021 America’s Cup (Figure 1). ELG has been a technical supplier to INEOS Team UK since the campaign began in 2018 and has processed 1000 kg of car-
bon manufacturing waste and end-of-use parts for the British team. The recovered fibers are converted into milled and chopped products to make thermoset and thermoplastic compounds and nonwoven mats. These reprocessed products were then used to make composite structures for the team’s yacht (Figure 2). The precise details of the boat’s design have not been disclosed. However, ELG has revealed that its recycled non-woven materials have been used in the production of two cradles to support the AC75 during transit as well as the hull and deck molds. ELG conducted a range of fibers characterisation analyses on INEOS Team UK’s feedstock. Every batch of material processed was given a classification to support traceability and consistency in the fibers recovered and, therefore, the final product. All these processes adhered to BS EN ISO 9001:2015 and EN 9100:2016 quality standards. According to the company, both organizations view this partnership as an important step in addressing the issue of global carbon consumption and raising awareness of the need to move towards closed loop recycling within the marine industry. ‘The reuse of carbon fiber products is a real game changer,’ said Alan Boot, naval architect for INEOS Team UK. ‘We are diverting waste away from landfill and closing the loop in our production methods wherever possible. ELG’s products have fitted seamlessly into our manufacturing processes which demonstrates how successfully these materials can be in a range of commercial markets. This is a really exciting time in terms of boat production and will hopefully lead the way for other manufacturers to follow suit.’ ‘ELG’s recycled carbon fiber products are helping to support the vital message of sustainability in elite sport and that is something we are very proud to be associated with,’ said Frazer Barnes, ELG Carbon Fibre’s MD.
E-mail address: Nickels, L. ([email protected]) 0034-3617/Ó 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.repl.2019.10.002
Please cite this article in press as: L. Nickels, Reinforced Plastics (2019), https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.repl.2019.10.002
1
FEATURE
Reinforced Plastics
d
Volume xx, Number xx
d
xxx 2019
FEATURE FIGURE 1
INEOS’ America’s Cup 75 class (AC75) boat, a 75-ft monohull with foils l designed to compete in Auckland, New Zealand, in the 2021 America’s Cup.
FIGURE 2
The recovered materials can be converted into milled and chopped fibers to make thermoset and thermoplastic compounds and nonwoven mats.
In September 2016 ELG took a notable step by starting production of a range of nonwoven mats using 100% recycled carbon fibers or carbon fiber mixed with polypropylene (PP), polyamide (PA) and polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) fibers. (Figure 2.) The machine used reclaimed carbon fibers obtained through pyrolysis of scrap prepreg materials or cured laminates, and adaptations were made to limit fiber loss, breakage and cleaning cycles. The equipment can produce webs ranging from 100 gsm to 500 gsm at widths up to 2.7 m and, depending on the final mat thickness, roll lengths will range from 30 to 50 m. According the company, the materials are suitable for OEMs in the trans-
portation sector seeking cost effective alternatives to virgin carbon fiber for vehicle lightweighting. ‘With the correct design, nonwoven recycled carbon fiber can be used very successfully to manufacture low cost, lightweight structures using most high-volume manufacturing processes,’ said Barnes. ‘It seems that new applications for these materials are being identified every week, making this an exciting and progressive time for the company and our technology.’ In March 2017 ELG signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Composite Recycling Technology Center (CRTC) based in Washington State, USA, to develop new ways
2 Please cite this article in press as: L. Nickels, Reinforced Plastics (2019), https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.repl.2019.10.002
d
Volume xx, Number xx
d
FEATURE
xxxx 2019
FEATURE
Reinforced Plastics
FIGURE 3
ELG Carbon Fibre’s range of nonwoven mats.
to use the carbon fiber reclaimed through its pyrolysis process. ‘Working closely with ELG means that we can provide a onestop carbon fiber recycling team that addresses the needs of large-scale generators of carbon fiber scrap,’ said Robert Larsen, CEO of the CRTC, at the time. ‘It also provides the CRTC with a consistent supply of low-cost recycled carbon fiber and thermoplastics. When combined with our recycled carbon fiber prepreg, it will create dozens of beneficial uses for this previously landfilled material.’ In November 2017 the company formed links with the marine industry when it worked with Ben Ainslie Racing (BAR) to recycle as much as possible the carbon fiber process waste and end-of-use components donated by the team. The aim was to convert the recovered fibers into ELG’s milled and chopped fibers to make thermoset and thermoplastic compounds and nonwoven mats for composite structures. ELG’s Carbon Fibre products are now made entirely from reprocessed BAR carbon components such as hull molds, hulls and foils from boats used in past race campaigns, the company says. Now the company has turned the process cycle around, using recycled fiber from other industries to make composite components for the challenging marine industry. I spoke Ben Andrews, technical service engineer at ELG, about the company’s work with the British team and the recycled fibers. ‘There are a lot of benefits in using recycled fibers,’ he explained. ‘In general, recycled fibers can actually be lower cost than virgin fabrics, and they often have better processing characteristics. Importantly, up to 90% less CO2 is produced during their processing, compared to virgin fiber manufacture. The recycled materials are also ideal for high volume production where higher pressures (20 bar or more) are used to produce parts rapidly. ‘While fiber post recycling can be ‘fluffy’ and difficult to reformat into useful products, ELG has developed, modified and industrialised processes to accommodate for this nature.’
According to Ben, the market for recycled carbon fibers has increased significantly over the last 20 years. ‘Then, carbon fiber was a niche material exclusive to super high end and luxury applications,’ he explained. ‘Nothing was recycled. Although still miniscule in comparison to the steel and aluminium industries, carbon fiber is making its way into mainstream applications and demand is growing! ‘As with any mainstream material, there needs to be a route to recycling to ensure longevity of said material,’ Ben added. ‘Carbon fiber is no different and in the last 10 years, industry has recognised this and begun to develop processes to recycle this high value material.’ Ben told me about the two main processes currently used to recover fiber that have been combined with a polymer: pyrolysis and solvolysis, which use heat and chemicals respectively. ‘Each has their nuances and slight benefits in term of material benefits, but pyrolysis is the process which has truly been industrialised and commercialized as demonstrated by ELG.’ (Figure 3.) He believes that the market will see a growth spurt over the next 20 years. ‘As the global demand for carbon fiber products rises above the name plate capacity of virgin carbon fiber lines, designers will look to recycled materials to bridge this gap,’ said Ben. ‘The increased use of virgin fiber will also increase the available feedstock for recycling processes, making it more cost effective to convert the high value fibers. Furthermore, aeroplanes and wind turbines utilising high volumes of fiber will be coming to the end of life. This fiber is still useful, increasing available waste and further propagating the recycling cycle.’ According to Ben, recycled fibers are also suitable for automotive, rail, electronic and other renewable energy applications. Marine applications offer specific challenges. ‘Due to the typical components size in marine, manufacturing methods are limited to low pressure methods such as hand layup/infusion or out of autoclave (OOA) processing which utilises only 1 bar of pressure,’ he said. ‘Consequently, the correct fiber/ polymer ratio can be tricky to achieve. 3
Please cite this article in press as: L. Nickels, Reinforced Plastics (2019), https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.repl.2019.10.002
FEATURE
‘At the moment, the marine industry predominantly utilises glass fiber which is seldom recycled due to the low cost of the virgin fabrics, so there is little to no awareness of recycled fiber options,’ he said. A representative from INEOS also told me about their choice of recycled fibers for this application. ‘We recognise that our operations have an effect on the local, regional and global environment and we believe in working in such a way to contribute to sustainable development,’ they said. ‘Driven by sustainable construction requirements within the 36th America’s Cup Class Rule, we have focused
Reinforced Plastics
d
Volume xx, Number xx
d
xxx 2019
efforts on the introduction of 10% recycled fiber into the molds and cradles, and are pleased to showcase the applications and results.’ They, too, think that the uptake of recycled fibers will increase over the next 20 years. ‘We hope that the clear environmental and economic benefits of integrating recycled fiber into products becomes business as usual. The marine industry is at the beginning of this journey, and there is plenty to be done.’ ELG Carbon Fibre; www.elgcf.com INEOS Team UK; www.ineosteamuk.com
FEATURE 4 Please cite this article in press as: L. Nickels, Reinforced Plastics (2019), https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.repl.2019.10.002