Finding the right biocomposite materials
Pollution in the oceans by non-degraded (micro-) plastics is a very serious problem of which there is a no practical solution once the plastic parts are discarded in the sea.
The development of industrial products using biodegradable or recyclable materials will be a solution and is the basis for the SeaBioComp project.
A number of project partners have been working on different areas of research and testing of a number of materials including the enhancement of properties of flax/PLA composites. Already the toughness of flax/PLA composites has been increased by up to 50% through the use of self-reinforced PLA biocomponent filaments.
Project partner Centexbel has been using their expertise to develop sheath/core PLA bicomponent filaments as a precursor to bio-based self-reinforced polymer composites.
CETI has been concentrating on the development of bicomponent multifilaments and nonwovens : spunbond, meltblown and carded, using bicomponent structures such as “islands in sea”.
IMT Lille Douai (associated lab of ARMINES) has used its expertise to develop manufacturing processes of composite materials/structures.
The University of Plymouth, with a background in composites manufacturing by RIFT (Resin Infusion under Flexible Tooling) will be looking at the use of biobased monomers for the fabrication of flax-reinforced thermoplastic composites.
Over the next few months project partners in Work Package 1 will be developing new types of hybrid preform which can be manufactured at an acceptable cost, while keeping high mechanical properties. The current form of flax/PLA composites are based on prepreg type material which has a relatively high cost. Also, the partners will be looking to optimize the mechanical properties further.
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