Sustainability of composite materials: Technological challenges and solutions in the transport sector
One of the main challenges currently facing the composite materials sector is to ensure its sustainability, both at the level of the raw materials that are used, the production means required for their transformation, as well as their management and treatment at the end of their useful life.
TECNALIA presents the lines of research on which it is currently working from two different perspectives
1) What are we doing with today’s composite materials? Different technical, economical and environmentally sustainable solutions are presented for existing composite materials that require recovery and recycling at the end of their useful life to ensure compliance with the European Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC).
2) What should the composite materials of the future look like? Presentation of new developments in terms of materials and processes, which ensure the reduction of the environmental impact of composite materials, and which contribute to the Circular Economy Action Plan (2020) established by the European Union:
- Synthesis and modification of polymeric systems to enhance recyclability of thermoset materials
- Study of sustainable alternatives such as the use of biomass and forest residues instead of oil to synthesise polymeric matrices and reinforcement fibres
- Use of materials with proven recyclability such as thermoplastics
- Incorporation of recycled material in new material formulations
- Additive manufacturing technologies as a form of advanced production
- Monitoring and simulation of manufacturing processes to reduce setting-up time and scrap material
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