ELG Carbon Fibers of the UK and Aerocircular NV of Belgium have joined forces to establish a closed-loop recycling program for end-of-life aircraft containing carbon fiber composites. The companies have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop this recycling solution.
"Currently, end-of-life composites are often shredded, incinerated or landfilled," said Koen Staut, CEO of Aerocircular Belgium. "Our collaboration with ELG Carbon Fibers, a globally recognized carbon recycling specialist, aims to create a closed-loop recycling process for aircraft carbon composites. This joint approach will maximize value through recycling processes and new product development using recycled carbon fiber."
Stein Janssens, R&D Director, added: "This partnership with ELG UK will generate significant economic returns on an industrial scale. It will save 20 tons of GWP CO2 equivalent per ton of carbon fiber processed from aircraft into new materials, using only one tenth of the energy required to produce virgin carbon fiber".
Frazer Barnes, Managing Director of ELG Carbon Fibers UK, said: "The recycling of post-industrial waste from aircraft manufacturing has already demonstrated the economic, technological and environmental benefits of this new material. By working with Aerocircular and expanding our activities to include end-of-life aircraft waste, we're preparing to meet the challenges as carbon fiber-intensive structures reach the end of their life. This is an important step for the carbon fiber composites industry to play a significant role in environmental sustainability.
This recycling initiative promises to reduce costs for manufacturers, lower the price of carbon fiber composite products, and make these materials more accessible for civilian applications. It represents an important direction for increasing the value and sustainability of carbon fiber composites.
