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Demonstration of a process to recycle glass fibre wastes, placed on landfills, producing polypropilene composites

Project objectives
Prior development
LIFE+ project finish
LIFE programme
Contacts
Collaborations

  Layman's report
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To recycle glass fibre wastes, as thermoplastics reinforcements, producing polypropilene recycled composites, specifically formulated to concrete applications. Furthermore, the process and the installation will be able to recycle parts coming from out of use vehicles.

a) Automotive sector wastes generation (out of use vehicles).

b) Glass fibre wastes on landfills. Currently tens of thousands of tons of glass fibre wastes are placed on EU landfills, coming from glass fibre production, as well as the consumption. That is a very important waste of natural resources and energy, as well as high emissions.

EC Policy: Two complementary strategies.

a) To prevent the generation of wastes through the design of the products.

b) To develop the recycle and reuse of wastes.

In that meaning, the directive 2000/53/EC, related to out of use vehicles, considers the wastes prevention as a priority objective. For that purpose, it is planned that vehicles producers, with the collaboration of materials and equipments suppliers must, apart of others considerations:

a.1)To design and manufacture vehicles in such a way that make easy the dismantle, reuse, appreciation and the recycle of the vehicles at the end of its useful life.

b.1)To promote the use of recycled materials in vehicles manufacture. Directive 2000/53/EC summary http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/es/lvb/l21225.htm

Project objectives

a) To reduce the environmental impact that of the glass fibre production and consumption, through the recycle of the wastes, producing PP composites specifically formulated to concrete applications, in automotive and appliance sector mainly.

b) To make the process and the installation able to recycle parts coming from out of use vehicles, giving a way to sectors involved to follow the directive 2000/53/EC.

c) To develop a demonstration scale process to produce polypropilene composites, in such a way, that allows the evaluation of its technical and economical feasibility to introduce it on a large scale.

d) To disseminate the result of the project in the EU, in order to optimize the environmental improvement of the project.

Prior development

1. Lab test: with the collaboration of Gaiker we proved the possibility to incorporate glass fibre wastes to PP, obtaining granules with mechanical properties good enough to carry on with the project.

2. Process design: to think up an industrial process able to reproduce on large scale what we did on lab.

3. Heavy equipments definition and development: With the collaboration of machinery (similar to needed) manufactures, the equipments and its technical development (to adapt them to glass fibre processing) were defined.

4. Process simulation. Pilot discontinuous trials: On several steps, we reproduced the process thought up by Befesa Plásticos, producing 3 Tm of granules; the granules were analyzed by Gaiker and Cetec, giving a better result than on lab

LIFE+ project finish

The planning approved by the European Commission, after grant to Befesa Plásticos the project execution prolongation till end of 2010 has been satisfy three months in advance. The demonstration plant was started up on July, and during these three months trials compounds have been produced, adjusting its mechanical properties to 10 objectives applications in automotive, appliance and several industrial pieces.

The mechanical properties of the materials produced satisfy widely the technical objectives proposed originally for this LIFE+ project, and also exceed the lab previous steps results. So that, Befesa Plásticos has stated to the European Commission the technical success of the project, stating it finished, due to had demonstrated the technical and economical feasibility of using glass fibre wastes to reinforce thermoplastics (polypropilene), produceing compounds technically suitable to be used in several applications sectors. The materials formulated and produced in the demonstration plant object of this project have been validated by potential final consumers. To achieve this objective, Befesa Plásticos has built a demonstration plant that allows the evaluation of the technical and economical feasibility to introduce this new recycling process on large scale.

Tasks Developer and successfully finished

a) Additive study: to choose the best additives to join PP and glass fibre, taking into account the technical needs of final applications and the chemical agents that glass fibre wastes can have on surface. Another types of specific additives to improve concrete properties like impact resistance, MFI, thermical resistance, etc.

b) Formulation:

b.1) To define preliminary formulas (type of glass fibre waste, type of PP, join agents, others additives and ratios) taking into account the prior developments and the technical needs of final applications.

b.2) With the collaboration of Gaiker and Cetec, PP+FV recycled granules will be produced on lab, and its properties will be analyzed. Depending on the results formulation process would be adjusted.

c) Demonstration plant definition: during this stage, the final and complete design of the plant, its building construction, lab and services will be defined. At the same time trials of the technical development of main equipments will be finished. Furthermore, the engineering and the equipments needed to receive, classify, storage and dose to glass fibre wastes to plant will be defined during this stage.

d) Demonstration plant starting up: installation of all main and auxiliary equipments. Lab installation. Adjust and supervision of all equipments by providers; plant starting up without load; plant starting up with load; composites formulated production; mechanical properties analyze, and formulations and process parameters adjust if proceed.

e) Composites validation: in this final stage industrials trials in potential customers facilities per applications will be made. Depending on the results new adjusts on formulations as well as process parameters could be made. Finally with the approval of composites consumers, these will be validated for each application.

LIFE Programme

What’s LIFE+?

LIFE+ is the European financial instrument for the environment, with the aim of contributing specifically to the implementation, updating and development of Community environmental policy and legislation, thereby contributing to sustainable development.

What is LIFE financing?

Innovative or demonstration projects related to any of its priority areas, in our case “Wastes and natural resources”.

LIFE+ is not directed at research or at investment in existing technology.

LIFE+ aims to bridge the gap between research and development results and widespread implementation. Projects must be executed in a technical scale that allows the evaluation of the technical and economic feasibility to introduce it on large scale.

So the Commission has decided that project right to their objectives, and environmental policy on wastes, the directive 2000/53/EC, financing the execution of Befesa Plásticos project with a grant of 2.652.252€, 45% of the total investment.

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/index.htm

Contacts:

For any question related to the project, please contact to:

Isidoro Javier Román López. Sales manager / R&D

Telf:+34968638104.
Fax. +34968632233
e-mail: ij.roman@befesa.abengoa.com
Befesa Plásticos S.L.
Pol.Ind. Parque de Alhama. c/ Alemania s/n. 30840 Alhama de Murcia. (Murcia, Spain).
www.befesa-gri.es www.befesa.es befesaplasticos@befesa.abengoa.com

Collaborations :

Befesa Plásticos, wants to thanks the collaboration and support received, during the prior research and development stages as well, as during the execution of the LIFE+ demonstration project.