Project title:

De-and Remanufacturing for Circular Economy Investments in the Composite Industry 

DeremCo website: Home - Deremco (afil.it)

 

About the project: Fiber-reinforced plastics are the structural materials used in a large variety of consumer and industrial products, but the management of post-use composite products in compliance to the circular economy principles is still a serious challenge. The DeremCo project aims to establish a systemic, cross-sectorial, Demand-Driven Circular Economy solution that will unlock the cost-effective reuse of post-use composite materials and components in new high-added value products, grounding on the inter-relation between the technical and social eco-systems at local and interregional level and bringing benefit to the environment, industry, consumers and the European society. Two circular pilot strategies will be followed to meet the consumer requirements: i) mechanical demanufacturing and hybrid reprocessing, ii) thermo-chemical demanufacturing and textile reprocessing. In line with new DeremCo Demand-Driven vision the circular value-chain is transformed into a “pull” system, where the requirements and specifications on the materials and components to be re-used are transferred directly from the demand side in terms of characteristics and functionalities of the high added-value products re-using them. To ensure sustainability and continuation, main goals will be to facilitate the industrial uptake within local eco-systems, to de-risk future industrial uptake through private investments and to increase awareness for a more conscious consumer behaviour. To achieve these goals, Lombardy (Italy), Basque Country (Spain), Tampere (Finland), Slovenia and Upper Austria (Austria) will demonstrate 14 composite re-use business cases with tested sustainable economic, social and environmental outcomes, then replicated and multiplicated across European regions, facilitated by a dedicated multi-stakeholder Digital Platform.

VEPLAS velenjska plastika d.d., (VEPLAS) is one of the leading developers and producers of special composites for medical, aerospace, mass transport and industrial use in the world. In the project, Veplas wants to show the possibility to use the recycled glass fibers as reinforcement for thermoset composites for putty for mould and shelf of motorhomes and in the same time to use industrial waste from own production. Therefore, the waste glass composite material from Veplas and other project partners (Technol, CAP and CCU) will be used as reinforcement (waste composite fibers) together with the needed additives for the thermoset composite. The amount of waste glass (carbon from CCU) fibers will define mechanical and thermal properties. We expect approx. 66 wt.% of addition of waste glass fibers for putty for mould and approx. 50 wt.% of addition of waste glass fibers for LRTM part in the thermoset composites. The prototypes will be made in cooperation with project partners: grinding of composite parts (project partner Technol and other project partners), adhesion modification (recycled fibers surface modification or resin modification) and testing will be done at FTPO, composite production will be done in the production of Veplas, where the putty for mould and shelf of motorhomes will be also tested. For additional testing also research partners of consortium of the project will be needed.