COMPOUNDS | ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE
Figure 5: Effect of multiple recycling cycles on electrical and mechanical properties of a PP compound containing 45% CarbonX (blue line) compared with a 100% virgin PP sample (in orange)
Source: CarbonX
was also retained, even after 10 cycles (Figure 5). An 80% decline in the impact resistance of the
neat polymer indicates just how much the recycling process damages the polymer itself. However, the CarbonX compound showed a much higher retention of impact resistance. “The combination of higher impact resistance
and strength provided by CarbonX translates into greater durability, which improves the overall sustainability of the product by improving process- ability as well as recyclability,” says Sordi. “Substi- tuting conventional fillers with CarbonX would allow the introduction of larger quantities of recycled compounds back into the production process – making it more cost-effective to invest in closed-loop recycling, achieve real circularity, and vastly improve the sustainability of products starting now, not just in the future.”
Sustainable thinking Hans Miltner provides technical market and business development services for Apply Carbon (a divison of Procotex), which produces recycled carbon fibre. In a report he wrote this January, he discusses the growing demand for sustainable raw materials, and the effects of the COVID-19 pan- demic.
He highlights the recent rapid climb in raw
material prices, record-high container freight costs, increased lead times for key strategic products, among the factors that have created new opportu- nities for high-quality recycled products that can relieve the supply bottlenecks that have appeared for virgin materials. In addition, he flags massive ongoing investments in the development of
56 COMPOUNDING WORLD | February 2022
low-carbon energy and travel, alongside shifts to circular economy models.
Miltner says this has had a considerable impact on the carbon fibre industry. After witnessing an abrupt drop in demand as air traffic fell to near zero in the early days of the pandemic, demand for carbon fibre today stands at record-high levels. He says this is not only due to aviation picking up, but also to the emergence of new end markets in need of lightweight and strong (wind energy) as well as electrically conductive (electric vehicles) materials. “As a result, prices for virgin carbon fibre are
high, lead times long, current capacity stretched, and opportunities for valorising growing volumes of post-industrial and end-of-life carbon fibre waste higher than ever,” Miltner says. Properties in demand for Apply Carbon prod-
ucts are robust mechanical performance (strength and stiffness) as well as tailored electrical character- istics (anti-static, conductive, electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding) – and generally the combination of both, he says. In anticipation of this growing market traction,
and to reinforce its position in recycled carbon fibre products, the company made a series of strategic investments in 2021. These included the acquisition of the UK-based short carbon fibre busi- ness of ELG Carbon Fibre (now Gen 2 Carbon). It also now has a new 15,600m2 France, with an extra 90,000m2
facility in Plouay, available for future
expansion. For compounding, a full range of pyrolysed and non-pyrolysed, sized, cut, milled and granulated recycled fibres is now available under the brand name Carbiso. Miltner says Apply Carbon sees growing
www.compoundingworld.com
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