3A Composites Core Materials acquires Solvay’s TegraCore foam

3A Composites Core Materials has agreed to acquire Solvay’s TegraCore PPSU resin-based foam that will become part of the portfolio under the name AIREX TegraCore. Both companies agreed to continue their collaboration in further development of AIREX TegraCore.

“We are excited to complete our high-end portfolio with the acquisition of TegraCore foam, which was all these times solely produced at our site in Switzerland. This product addition will reinforce our offering and allow further developments in markets targeted for this foam – the aerospace, marine and rail markets,” said Eric Gauthier, CEO of 3A Composites Core Materials.

AIREX TegraCore is a lightweight recyclable polyphenylsulfone (PPSU) thermoplastic foam with outstanding fire-retardant properties for complex shapes in environmental demanding conditions.

“AIREX TegraCore will complete our high-end portfolio of AIREX foam cores with outstanding FST applications such as our AIREX R82 and T90 foams,” added Gauthier.

#composites #3AComposites #Solvay #TegraCorePPSU

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China’s Geortek has applied high-strength carbon fiber to the temples of AR glasses

Goertek, a Chinese high-tech company which was established in 2011, with focus on the R&D, marketing and manufacturing of high-precision components and smart hardware, collaborated with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. to unveil the new wireless AR (augmented reality) smart viewer reference design based on the Snapdragon® XR2 platform. It is designed to improve time to market for vendors who would like to develop AR products based on Snapdragon XR2 platform.

The glasses can be wirelessly tethered to a mobile phone or PC through Wifi6/6E and Bluetooth, and has a complete hardware configuration to support various application scenarios such as office work, game entertainment, task guidance & remote assistance, learning & simulation training.

On optics, the new AR reference design adopts an upgraded ultra-thin free-form optical solution, equipped with a 1920 * 1080 resolution micro-OLED display, with the glasses’ front frame thickness reduced by nearly 40%, with a more user-friendly shape. Moreover, the balanced weight design on the front and rear of the glasses effectively optimizes the feeling of overall weight-bearing and makes wearing more comfortable.

Goertek has applied high-strength carbon fiber to the temples of the AR glasses for the first time, which increases the strength while making the device lighter and thinner; the tail of the temples is wrapped with a deformable soft material titanium alloy, which is more comfortable for the head and fits the population with different head circumferences; in terms of heat dissipation, a passive cooling solution is adopted to efficiently redistributing the heat of the smart viewer effectively reducing the body temperature; the smart viewers are also equipped with Goertek’s self-developed near-ear acoustic module, which ensures sound quality and privacy.

#composites #СarbonFiber #Goertek #ARglasses

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Porcher Industries is launching a new range of flax fiber-based thermoplastic composite materials for the automotive industry

Porcher Industries is announcing the launch of a new range of automotive industry-grade thermoplastic composite stiffeners made primarily of flax fibers grown, selected, mixed, and woven in France. These products will be sold as textiles that can be thermo-compressed and injection molded.

This new environmentally conscious range is the answer to increasing automotive designer demands for composite parts that are simultaneously modern, attractive, durable, and immediately recognizable as natural. That’s exactly what Porcher Industries has done with this range and its subtly apparent flax fibers. It is primarily designed for dashboards, decorative components on car door interiors, and more generally for car cabins. The possibilities are made nearly infinite by combining various inputs, such as flax thread thickness, mixing with thermoplastic resin thread, flax dying, weave type, and surface finishing.

This new range provides performances that respond particularly well to automotive designer expectations: low weight, low cost, high impact resistance, acoustic absorption, easier recycling, and reduced environmental impact. The latter is reduced as much as possible thanks to a completely French production process. The technical flax thread is grown, harvested and selected in France, and it is mixed with thermoplastic filaments by our partner cooperative, Terre de Lin. Porcher Industries is responsible for the armor’s design, weaving and finishing processes. Another advantage is that flax is 100% recyclable at the end of its life cycle, and its 100% French sourcing is guaranteed by traceability. The three types of available thermoplastic filaments are recyclable PP, as well as biosourced PLA and PA11.

#composites #PorcherIndustries #automotive #FlaxFiberBasedThermoplasticCompositeMaterials

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Guangdong Yaxin to launch a major composite auto parts base project

The groundbreaking ceremony of the “High-performance Composite Auto Parts Production Base Project” by Guangdong Yaxin Non-Metallic Materials Technology Co., Ltd. (Guangdong Yaxin), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yatai New Materials group, was held in Zhaoqing New District, Guangdong province, South China.

The aim is to build a project with an annual output of 1 million non-metallic material auto parts, with a total investment of 250 million yuan (€ 35.5 million). The first phase of the project includes the construction of 72,000 square meters of standard workshops as well as the purchase of 4 thermoplastic molding production lines and supporting robotic hands. After the project is completed, the products will satisfy the demand of GAC AION, Dongfeng Nissan, Changan New Energy, Xiaopeng Automobile and other influential auto OEMs in China, especially in South China.

Zhu Zengyu, chairman of the company, said at the groundbreaking ceremony that it is necessary to seize the historical opportunity for the development of new energy vehicles “new energy + new materials + intelligence + lightweight”, and use high-performance and lightweight auto parts to boost new energy vehicles development towards high quality. According to him, it will take about a year to build a first-class modern composite material auto parts industry base in southern China, so as to make Zhaoqing City a significant contributor to the national economic development.

About Guangdong Asia Pacific New Material Technology Co., Ltd.:

The company was established in July 2003. It has: Metal Materials Division and Carbon Fiber Composites Division. It is a comprehensive limited liability company that integrates international cutting-edge technology research, domestic strategic emerging industry technology development reserves, inspection and testing services, achievement transformation, production, sales and service.

On the basis of serving the key components of GAC Group’s automotive composite materials, set up the Asia-Pacific Non-metallic Materials Automobile Research Institute, invest 1 billion yuan to build an industrial production line of carbon fiber composite auto parts with an annual production capacity of 500,000 vehicles. The characteristic industrial park of carbon fiber composite automotive lightweight components has developed into a large non-metal composite material R&D and manufacturing enterprise in South China. The new technology and new products of carbon fiber composite materials for automobiles realize the leap-forward development of the head office and make new contributions to the development of China’s new material industry.

#composites #CompositeAutoParts #GuangdongYaxin #CarbonFiberComposites

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Anisoprint Composer is a 3D printer designed to manufacture polymer components with continuous carbon fiber reinforcement.

Mr. Masayoshi Kawakami, President of Systemcreate, at their booth at AM Japan, Tokyo, June 23rd.

Anisoprint and Systemcreate announce exclusive partnership

Anisoprint, a manufacturer of continuous fiber 3D printing systems, and Systemcreate announce an exclusive distribution partnership that will accelerate the adoption of 3D printed continuous fiber-reinforced composites in the Japanese market.

In spite of the many challenges the world faces, the Additional Manufacturing (AM) market keeps growing and the Luxembourg-based deep-tech startup keeps expanding its global footprint. As part of the deal Systemcreate will exclusively distribute Anisoprints proprietary CFC (continuous fiber coextrusion) technology and the Composer 3D printing system in Japan.

Exclusive partnerships build the foundation of Anisoprint’s strategic growth

As seen in the recent deals in China, India, and now Japan, exclusive distributor agreements have become Anisoprint’s main method for establishing stable and strong business relationships that encourages dedicated and committed work.

Takafumi Sakamoto, Director of Asia & Pacific at Anisoprint: “Exclusive agreements are a cornerstone to building trust, close business relationships, and high productivity. We value the efforts and commitment that Systemcreate offers us and are eager to start working with such a strong and experienced partner.”

Anisoprint Composer is a 3D printer designed to manufacture polymer components with continuous carbon fiber reinforcement. The printer is capable of printing lattice structures, supports flexible material selection, and allows full control of fiber path generation.

Systemcreate plans to invest more resources in marketing to promote the Composer systems and establish a team of engineers with in-depth understanding of the CFC 3D printing technology and provide outstanding customer support service.

Mr. Masayoshi Kawakami, President at Systemcreate: “I am convinced that signing an exclusive distribution agreement for Anisoprint Composers will lead to our further growth. It is also my great pleasure that we can contribute and help Japanese engineers develop innovative products by using continuous carbon fiber 3D printers. We will now start collaborating closely with Anisoprint to accelerate cultivating the Japanese market.”

#composites #Anisoprint #Systemcreate #3Dprinter

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Video report on the last exhibition "Composite-Expo 2022" is posted on the official YouTube channel of the event.

https://youtu.be/yvXD9H4pJaQ

Breakthroughs in composites and advanced material sustainment

NCMS Technology Briefs highlight NCMS’s cultivation and growth of innovative technologies. Through their management of government and industry collaborations, they’ve gained insights into novel approaches and best practices that can assist all companies navigate the sometimes complex journey towards advancement.

Based on the results of NCMS technology projects, the briefs show the applicability and usefulness of proven technical advances — all in an effort to speed adoption and eliminate duplication of effort. NCMS is pleased to share these insights to support U.S. manufacturing competitiveness.

While composite materials have been used for thousands of years, technological advancements in modern composites have produced exceptional benefits: corrosion resistance, design flexibility, durability, strength, stiffness, light weighting, and low maintenance costs. Since the development of fiberglass, one of the first modern composites, in the 1930s, composites have been used in cars, trucks, boats, trailers, aircraft, spacecraft, wind turbine blades, bridges, buildings, bathtubs, swimming pools, storage tanks, countertops, sporting goods, solar cells, sensors, lasers, and many more items.

Created by merging two or more materials with different chemical or physical properties, without dissolving or blending those materials into each other, composites produce a new material with superior properties. Reinforcement materials (particles, flakes, or most commonly fibers made of carbon, glass, aramid, or boron) are embedded into a matrix (generally ceramics, metals, or most frequently polymers) that serves as an adhesive by binding the fibers together and lending solidity to the material. Many new types of composites are produced through alternating layers of different materials. By carefully choosing the matrix, the reinforcement, and the manufacturing process, engineers can tailor composite properties to meet needed requirements.

For several decades, the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) has facilitated collaborations with industry, academic, and government partners that have advanced high-performance composite design and manufacturing processes. In the early 2000s, an NCMS project team assisted the DOD with repairing composite materials by establishing a standardized methodology to enable depot and field repair facilities to determine suitable substitute materials for weapon system repair and remanufacture. This project provided immediate benefit to warfighting capability during missions in Afghanistan, Kosovo, and Iraq.

In the 2010s, NCMS organized a collaboration to solve a significant problem the DOD has faced in the production and repair of composites: over 10% of engineering time is spent resolving cure cycle and heat transfer issues, which cost millions of dollars each year in scrapped parts and lost time. To help to save both money and time, an NCMS project team developed and tested tools to manage heat transfer for ovens and autoclaves used in the production and repair of composites. This project installed control hardware and software, optimizing manufacture and repair processes for several facilities that produce substantial composite hardware for the DOD.

Even with their great benefits, composites still suffer wear and damage over time. Making repairs to composites with the same materials used in the first manufacturing process has generally proven to be unsuccessful. This is because the interactions of repair materials with the original materials is never as cohesive as the original materials. As a result, alternate repair materials and procedures have been needed.

For this reason, the composite community has sought a detailed sustainment technology strategy to ensure community-wide unity of effort. The goal is to better utilize commercial and government resources toward boosting the efficiency and effectiveness of composite maintenance and sustainment.

To meet this need, in 2016 NCMS reconfigured the Composite Maintainers Technical Interchange Meeting (TIM) into the Joint Composite & Advanced Materials Sustainment (JCAMS) Annual Meeting. This meeting continues to bring together government and military officials, industry leaders, manufacturers, engineers, and other technical experts who focus on issues facing the manufacturing, tooling, deployment, and repair of advanced composite materials in a defense setting.

JCAMS addresses the unique challenges for composite materials, repairs, tooling, processing, storage, and facilities. Their working groups have, for instance, solved issues in obtaining materials needed for repairing composite parts for several different assets; assembled a resource list for available training; and catalogued the skills, tools, equipment, techniques, materials, and analysis found to optimize sustainment.

In addition to the JCAMS initiatives, several NCMS collaborations have assisted the DOD transition to lightweight composite metals for industrial applications, resulting in enhanced performance, lower costs, and reduced fuel usage. Lightweight materials, such as composites, aluminum, and magnesium alloys do present a challenge: they cannot be fastened in the same way as traditional metals. They require special adhesives and other methods for joining separate parts, rather than bolts and welds.

NCMS has brought together initiatives that repair and maintain adhesive-intensive joints in a production setting using specification-compliant products. This includes making a survey of currently used joining materials used in the three largest Army depots and publicizing a list of specification-compliant replacement materials for obsolete adhesives and sealants. NCMS partners also found success in developing high-strength, high-elongation adhesives with low-temperature cure.

Another team of government and industry partners developed a reversible thermoplastic adhesive system by which a combination of steel, aluminum, and glass-fiber reinforced composite segments of vehicle components can be repaired. This work will facilitate faster, more effective maintenance of vehicles, vessels, and aircraft.

As the global transportation industry has increasingly sought to reduce carbon emissions, several NCMS collaborations have focused on using composites for vehicle light weighting, which is a primary strategy to reduce fuel consumption. One project team is developing a domestic source of mesophase pitch-based carbon fiber and lightweight composites to produce lightweight composite wheel rims and other components for commercial and military trucks.

Another collaboration has used an out of autoclave (OOA) composite manufacturing methodology, an alternative to the traditional high-pressure autoclave curing process commonly used to manufacture composite materials. This project has demonstrated efficient manufacturing processes for military ground vehicle structures, which has resulted in lightweight prototypes that are economical to produce.

Additional research on composites has upgraded the mechanical performance of additively manufactured (AM) parts used in vehicles that operate in austere, harsh environments. All these efforts have accelerated the development and transition of a wide range of composite materials into the commercial transportation industry, which will reduce corrosion, maintenance costs, and fuel consumption.

NCMS partners are also advancing new composite technologies and design processes to improve the functionality and lifecycle of rigid-wall shelters. Using the Joint Warfighter Shelter of the Future—a DOD initiative—as a surrogate to prove out this new technology, this collaboration aims to determine whether composites can be used in a wide range of mobile shelters, freight containers, and other storage devices across commercial industries and DOD organizations. The use of composite materials for these structures will reduce transportation and maintenance costs in many different industries. Moreover, utilizing composites will reduce the carbon footprint by 90 percent, when compared to standard building materials.

The future of composites is extremely bright, with proven technologies—including liquid resin infusion, compression molding, OOA thermoset molding processes, and thermoplastic composites—being adapted to meet the fast-evolving needs of many industries, especially aerospace, automotive, defense, marine, and wind turbine. NCMS looks forward to continuing in its role of facilitating further advances in this critical industry sector.

#composites #breakthroughs #fiberglass #CarbonFiber

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Composites increases the resistance of tiles against corrosion

Brazilian company developed a tile whose estimated useful life is ten years.

According to estimates by Canadian scientists, corrosion was responsible for worldwide losses of US$ 2.5 trillion in 2021. In addition to marine corrosion, many industrial operations emit gases that end up damaging various types of metallic structures. In relation to tiles, however, there is a solution that not only solves the problem, but also offers additional advantages, such as better control of room temperature. These are composite tiles, a material that combines polymers and fiberglass.

“Although they are used abroad in very sophisticated applications, such as parts for space shuttles, trains and luxury vehicles, in Brazil composite materials are associated with products of dubious quality. However, if manufactured according to technical standards, they offer much more benefits than metal or wood, and this is clearly the case with tiles,” comments Cyrus Muchalski, general manager of Planefibra, a company from Santa Catarina specializing in solutions for lighting and ventilation.

Aware of the behavior of composites – light and extremely robust, they can even be formulated with resins resistant to the propagation of flames –, Planefibra decided to invest in the production of opaque tiles for corrosive environments, after consolidating itself in the market as a supplier of translucent tiles made with the same material.

“One of the main characteristics of composites is corrosion resistance, so much so that boat hulls and chemical tanks are made with this combination of polymers and fibers. So, we decided to include all this differential in a product that we already manufactured, but until then with a focus only on coverage associated with the gain in luminosity,” explains the general manager of Planefibra.

After a series of tests carried out in the Planefibra laboratory and in the field, some with the participation of the Laboratory of Energy Efficiency in Buildings (LabLEE), of the Federal University of Santa Catarina (USFC), the company started to manufacture opaque roof tiles for industrial applications, such as fertilizer factories, warehouses that store chemical products and port facilities.

“Our direct competitors are galvalume steel and fiber cement tiles. In addition to being able to develop much lighter products, in the color and to the extent that the customer wants, composite tiles have a useful life up to five times longer, which gives much more security not only to construction companies, but also to shed operators,” says Muchalski.

A fertilizer manufacturer, Yara Brasil was the first customer for Planefibra’s opaque tiles – it installed 9,877 m² of the product in its sheds, replacing fiber cement tiles. “Next, we supply the Port Terminal of Salaverry, in Peru”.

Planefibra’s opaque tiles have also been installed in farms and pigsties across Brazil – the gases produced by the animals’ feces required frequent replacement of metal tiles. “Our products have a five-year factory warranty and an estimated useful life of ten years, numbers that prove the excellent cost-benefit ratio”.

About Planefibra:

Founded in 2007, in the city of São Bento do Sul, in Santa Catarina, Brazil, Planefibra is a company specialized in solutions for natural lighting and ventilation through the manufacture of tiles, domus, shutters and sheets of composite materials (FRP). Its products are present in industrial, commercial and residential buildings throughout Brazil and in several countries in South America.

#composites #tiles #corrosion

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Hexcel to supply carbon fiber prepreg for Dassault F10X program

Hexcel announced that it has signed a long-term agreement with Dassault to supply carbon fiber prepreg for the Falcon 10X program. This is the first Dassault business jet program to incorporate high-performance advanced carbon fiber composites in the manufacture of its aircraft wings.

Dassault Aviation has selected HexPly® M21EV/IMA, a high-performance advanced composite that has proven over the past 10 years to meet high-efficiency manufacturing standards. Thanks to Hexcel carbon fiber composites, the wide, high-speed wing will be made for maximum strength, reduced weight and minimum drag. The Falcon 10X is planned to enter service at the end of 2025.

Thierry Merlot, Hexcel President Aerospace Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa & Industrial, said, “I am delighted that Dassault has decided to expand our partnership of more than 40 years with the selection of Hexcel materials to design and produce its first Falcon carbon fiber wing based on Hexcel advanced composite technology. Our strong, durable and lightweight carbon fiber prepreg is helping customers such as Dassault every day to push the boundaries and create the future of next-generation aircraft.”

#composites #Hexcel #Dassault #CarbonFiberPrepreg

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Engineers explore innovative ways to improve resilience of coastal structures

University of Miami engineering and ocean sciences faculty members received federal research funding recently to delve into how they can strengthen coastal buildings and seawalls in the face of climate change.

Faculty members from the University of Miami’s College of Engineering and Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science were recently awarded a pair of grants from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a division of the U.S. Department of Commerce, to explore novel ways to fortify structures that border our coastline.

The two grants—which amount to nearly $800,000 over three years—are part of a larger $7.6 million investment by the National Science Foundation and NIST to support research that expands on the nation’s knowledge of community and infrastructure resilience to hurricanes, wildfires, and other natural hazards.

The awards came just months after the creation of the University’s Climate Resilience Academy, launched this spring to incite more collaboration between faculty, industry, and government to find innovative remedies to issues related to the climate crisis, sustainability, and resilience.

“Of just eight grants awarded by NIST for this disaster resilience research, two came to the University of Miami,” said Jeffrey Duerk, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost.

“This is a testament to our faculty members’ commitment to finding solutions that will help sustain our community in the face of climate change and align perfectly with our creation of the Climate Resilience Academy,” he said. “These faculty teams have built upon the University’s investment in climate-related research and give us a wider platform to share our expertise with the rest of the nation. We could not be prouder of our faculty leadership in this area.”

One of the two principal researchers is Prannoy Suraneni, assistant professor of engineering, who is leading a team to investigate how innovative building materials like ultra-high-performance concrete and glass fiber reinforced polymers can help make seawalls better equipped to withstand erosion and cracking from seawater, waves, and storm surge.

In addition, for the second grant, engineering assistant professor Landolf Rhode-Barbarigos is working with ocean sciences professor Brian Haus at the Rosenstiel School to quantify the coupled action of hurricane wind, storm surge, and waves on structures in coastal locations like Miami.

“Ultimately, our hope for these projects is to change the way engineers think about designing structures, not just for strength but also for resilience,” Suraneni said. “We also hope that this research will change the way people choose materials in the building industry.”

Both Rhode-Barbarigos and Suraneni have been engaged in coastal resilience research for the past four years with the University’s Laboratory for Integrative Knowledge (U-LINK), a program that offers seed funding to interdisciplinary faculty teams to investigate complex societal problems, such as climate change. Ideally, these teams can garner external funding to expand and continue their research, which is one goal of the U-LINK program. Rhode-Barbarigos and Suraneni consider the NIST projects an extension of work done with previous U-LINK teams.

“I’ve been studying seawalls and other coastal defenses as part of U-LINK grants, and the University’s support significantly helped us strengthen our application for the NIST funding,” Suraneni said.

As part of the NIST projects, both teams will be doing physical testing in the Alfred C. Glassell Jr. SUSTAIN laboratory at the Rosenstiel School, along with testing in other University labs and field testing. At the SUSTAIN facility, Suraneni and Rhode-Barbarigos will be able to simulate hurricane conditions to test the performance of new materials and measure the forces they would be up against in a strong tropical storm or hurricane.

This will be especially critical for Rhode-Barbarigos’ project, which hopes to make buildings along the coast less vulnerable with the possibility of more intense hurricanes and tropical storms on the horizon. Currently, engineers design structures using separate load models for wind, waves, and storm surge that they later combine, Rhode-Barbarigos said. However, during a storm, wind, waves, and storm surge are always linked. Therefore, as part of this research, he wants to create new load models for structural engineers that account for combined action of wind, storm surge, and waves.
“We want to develop an understanding of how wind, storm surge, and waves interact at high wind speeds, to assess their combined effect on the structures,” said Rhode-Barbarigos.

Suraneni, an expert in cement chemistry, is looking forward to testing the performance of glass-fiber-polymer-reinforced, ultra-high-performance concrete. This is an alternative to the traditional steel-reinforced concrete, but one that aims to avoid corrosion that often causes concrete structures in saltwater environments to degrade. His team will also be evaluating the ability of these materials to create more sustainable seawalls, which could prove extremely useful in coastal communities. The team includes Rhode-Barbarigos; Antonio Nanni, professor and chair of the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering; Esber Andiroglu, engineering associate professor of practice; and Haus.

Both projects will offer insight about how South Florida and other coastal communities can better protect themselves for future storms, noted Haus, a physical oceanographer and coastal engineer who directs the SUSTAIN facility.

“These projects will be important for a lot of applications in the field, where you can use these new loads to revamp building codes. Or in the case of the materials, they could be used to improve coastal construction,” said Haus, who leads the University’s Department of Ocean Sciences and is a co-investigator on both projects.

Photo: From left, assistant professor of engineering Landolf Rhode-Barbarigos, along with associate professor of practice Esber Andiroglu, and assistant professor Prannoy Suraneni display some of their coastal resilience research project at the eMerge Americas conference in April. Photo: Mike Montero/University of Miami

#composites #UltraHighPerformanceConcrete #GlassfiberReinforcedPolymers

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The Gill Corporation announces new Gillcore® HF fiberglass honeycomb core

The Gill Corporation (TGC) announces new Gillcore® HF fiberglass honeycomb core meeting all requirements of AMS 3715. TGC began developing fiberglass honeycomb in response to industry demand from aerospace customers around the world.

The core is produced with a substrate consisting of woven fiberglass cloth reinforced with heat resistant phenolic resin for improved moisture resistance over traditional aramid fiber substrates. It is suitable for high temperature applications requiring a high degree of forming and high moisture areas. TGC processes rolls of fiberglass cloth through the same manufacturing equipment as aramid honeycomb cores. TGC successfully completed all AMS 3715 test requirements. TGC is working with other customers to meet their qualification requirements.

Testing performed includes:

– Plate shear strength and modulus, Ribbon and Transverse
– Stabilized compression strength and modulus
– Flatwise tension
– 65F, RTA, 180F, 250F, 350F
– Wet – RTA, 180F, 250F, 350F

#composites #FiberglassHoneycombCore #fiberglass

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New recycling process for polyester fishing nets helps to reduce environmental burden

Fishing nets are mainly made from chemical fibers such as nylon and polyester to prevent rot as well as to ensure excellent strength and easy maintenance. Whereas common nylon fishing nets are generally easy to recycle with an established process, recycling polyester fishing nets has been technically difficult and also costly due to the lack of a dedicated process. In recent years, discarded polyester fishing nets in Japan have accounted for about 1,300 tons of landfill waste annually.

But in April 2021, a breakthrough solution was launched by Teijin Limited and four additional enterprises specialized in fields including fishing net manufacturing, plastic molding, fiber processing and resin processing. Under the new system, it is now possible to collect polyester fishing nets and recycle them into resin that can be used to make commercially marketable trays and stationery.

Initially, the partners faced two major tasks. First was the challenge of developing a technology capable of cleaning smelly, waterlogged fishing nets and stripping the polyester of coatings applied to improve durability. Teijin and the other partners eventually identified organic solvents that can be used in an environmentally friendly cleaning process to produce virtually odorless resin that can be recycled repeatedly.

The second big challenge was profitability. Raw polyester costs less than many other materials, so the companies knew that its resin would not be price-competitive if the cleaning and drying processes incurred prohibitive costs. The companies’ solution was to devise a method for manufacturing high-quality resin pellets containing a mixture of other recycled resins added to improve durability and heat resistance.

Thanks to this project’s success, commercially viable resin recycled from fishing nets is now being used to produce food trays for a restaurant chain in Japan. Teijin is responsible for collecting and cleaning the nets and selling the final products.

Going forward, Teijin aims to promote the new recycling system for the global production and sale of various practical products. The hope is to realize locally produced and locally consumed products in efficient circular economies that incur little energy loss. Along with strengthening the traceability of fishing nets, Teijin initially aims to recycle 1,000 tons of polyester fishing nets annually by 2030.

Teijin, a people-focused company that develops innovative solutions for enhanced quality of life, is committed to minimizing any negative impact on the environment or society through its business in order to support the society of the future.

#composites #RecyclingProcess #polyester

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