REINFORCEMENTS | MATERIALS
“We know that the journey towards
climate neutrality is very challenging but also exciting for our industry,” according to Ludovic Piraux, President of Glass Fibre Europe. “It is therefore encouraging that the latest LCA report clearly shows that the investments made by the industry are paying off.”
Recycling carbon While glass has traditionally been the most common polymer reinforcement, other materials are being increasingly used as availability and quality of recycled options improves and sustain- ability goals become more of a consideration. In the area of carbon fibre reinforcement, for exam- ple, considerable progress has been made in recovering fibres from the thermoset composite processing sector, where waste levels can be high. One of the longest established players in this
area is Apply Carbon, part of Procotex Corpora- tion, which offers a broad range of milled, cut and granulated recycled carbon and aramid fibre products. “Recycled carbon fibres offer robust mechanical performance along with tailored electrical characteristics such as anti-static, conduc- tive, or EMI shielding, a desirable combination of properties for electronics packaging, high-perfor- mance sports equipment or when metal replace- ment and lightweighting are to be pursued,” says Dr Hans E Miltner , who is responsible for Technical Market and Business Development Services within Procotex. “Recycled aramid fibres, on the other hand, are used as a low-density additive to impart strength, toughness, durability and friction and wear performance, for example in bearings, clutch linings, brake pads or, increasingly, in low-noise plastic gears. Produced from high quality soft post-industrial waste, these raw materials come with an embedded carbon footprint 85% lower than their virgin counterparts. There is, however, virtually no performance penalty, and the price point is highly attractive,” he says. The shifting requirements resulting from the
transformations occurring across many end-mar- kets have incentivised Apply Carbon to develop a wide range of advanced fillers. These are tailored to the needs of a diverse range of customers, oftentimes operating at volume scale, in price- driven segments and in a global context. As one of its innovation priorities, the company
www.compoundingworld.com June 2023 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 65
has been extending the range of sizing chemistries offered with its recycled carbon and aramid products. In the recycled carbon fibre range, the most recent addition is the T-sizing, a solution particu- larly suitable for polycar- bonate (PC) compounds used in the fast-growing antistatic packaging sector. A second innovation area is focused on offering recycled granules or pellets that are
dust-free and easier to handle, dose and disperse. With bulk densities as high as
400 g/l, the products allow compounders to maximise their productivity and ensure a consistent product quality within and across batches. They also allow for a higher carbon or aramid fibre length, so enhancing the mechanical properties. Together with project partners at the National Institute of Technology at Kitakyushu College and the Tokyo University of Science, Japan’s Asahi Kasei claims to have developed a recycling method that allows carbon fibres to be more easily extracted from carbon fibre reinforced composite parts. Conventional technologies for recycling carbon fibres result in a product with lower quality and less durability, according to the company, which claims its method allows continuous fibres to be extracted from a plastic compound. The method uses an electrolysed sulphuric acid solution that allows the carbon fibre to retain its original strength and form while decomposing the resin it is embedded in. In addition, Asahi Kasei is developing a carbon
fibre reinforced thermoplastic unidirectional tape (CFRTP-UD tape) that utilises both recycled continuous carbon fibre. Based on the company’s Leona polyamide resin, it is said to offer a higher strength than metal and can be applied to automo- bile frames and bodies, further enabling the
Left: Sized 6mm chopped recycled carbon fibre from Procotex subsidiary Apply Carbon
Below: Asahi Kasei has developed a process to recycle
continuous carbon fibres from scrap parts
I
A M
E G
P :
O R
C
T O
X E
C
R O
P
R O
A
T
I
O
N
IMAGE: ASAHI KASEI
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84
