The yarns and fabrics are blended carbon fibre / polyethylene terephthalate (PET) thermoplastic, manufactured from virgin recovered carbon fibre that would otherwise have gone to landfill.
To process them, the fabrics are simply placed in a mould tool under pressure and passed through a heating and cooling cycle.
According to Fibrecycle, these new materials have almost 100% of the stiffness of virgin materials, but they can be offered at a lower cost than similar products currently available on the market.
“The materials that have been developed have a significantly lower environmental impact than virgin carbon fibre, because they divert materials from landfill and do not consume the energy needed to produce new fibres," (Dr Sophie Cozien-Cazuc)
"The properties achieved mean that it is suitable for many applications especially in the automotive, aerospace, sports and leisure, medical and energy sectors.”
The Fibrecycle team is now starting to tailor the material towards these applications, working with companies which are interested in using these lower-cost thermoplastic blended carbon fibre materials.
