FiberEUse will demonstrate at a large scale a set of environmentally and simultaneously economically profitable solutions for the treatment and valorization of EoL composite waste deriving from different manufacturing sectors. A holistic approach based on the synergistic use of different enabling technologies will be implemented in the realization of three large scale use-cases. Each of these large use-cases will generate several other demo-cases to close the loop of composite lifecycle in different industrial sectors from a circular economy viewpoint. Interconnections among the various use-cases are also foreseen to further widen the extent of circularization of the composite sector.
The project is based on the realization of three macro use-cases, further detailed in eight demonstrators:
Use-case 1 (yellow in image below): Mechanical recycling of short GFRP and re-use in added-value customized applications, including furniture, sport and creative products. Emerging manufacturing technologies like UV-assisted 3D-printing and metallization by Physical Vapor Deposition will be used.
Use-case 2 (green in image below): Thermal recycling of long fibers (glass and carbon) and re-use in high-tech, high-resistance applications. The input product will be EoL wind turbine and aerospace components. The re-use of composites in automotive (aesthetical and structural components) and building will be demonstrated by applying controlled pyrolysis and custom remanufacturing.
Use-case 3 (blue in image below): Inspection, repair and remanufacturing for EoL CFRP products in high-tech applications. Adaptive design and manufacturing criteria will be implemented to allow for a complete circular economy demonstration in the automotive sector.
Through new cloud-based ICT solutions for value-chain integration, scouting of new markets, analysis of legislation barriers, life cycle assessment for different reverse logistic options, FiberEUse will support industry in the transition to a circular economy model for composites.
FiberEUse Use-Cases and Industrial Sectors Involved
