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IMPROVING RECYCLABILITY OF THERMOSET COMPOSITE MATERIALS THROUGH A GREENER RECYCLING TECHNOLOGY BASED ON REVERSIBLE BIOBASED BONDING MATERIALS

Project description

Shaping a sustainable future for thermoset composites

The EU-funded VIBES project is working on a new, cost-efficient technology to break thermoset composites and recover useful components when they reach the end of their life. The innovative approach will involve use of biobased bonding materials – chemical moieties that decompose under specific external stimuli, enabling the separation between the matrix and reinforcing material. VIBES will combine different chemical approaches, such as the Diels–Alder reaction and supramolecular chemistry, to obtain biobased bonding materials. The new technology could help decrease the amount of non-biodegradable polymers sent for disposal or discharged to the environment by 40 %.

Objective

VIBES project presents an innovative solution to resolve the end-of-life issues of thermoset composites based on the development of a new green technology focused on the controlled separation and recovery of composite material components by means of developing customised biobased bonding materials (BBM). BBM are biobased chemical moieties that will decompose under specific external stimuli (temperature, UV or electrical pulse) allowing the separation between the matrix and the reinforcing material, and facilitating the dissociation of the polymer chains of the resins to favour their efficient processing and recycling through a green washing bath, recovering the monomers/oligomers and fibres for their upcycling into new products. VIBES will study and combine three different chemical approaches to obtain BBM: vitrimers, Diels-Alder, and supramolecular architectures.
VIBES project will directly contribute to achieve SIRA’s objectives in KPI1, KPI2, KPI5 and KPI8 and to demonstrate the solution decreasing the amount of non-biodegradable polymers sent to disposal or discharged to the environment by at least 40%. VIBES consortium involves 13 partners (industrially driven): 4 RTD (AITIIP, LEITAT, ULIM and DITF), 7 SME (SP, BCIRC, F&D, ARCHA, Q-PLAN, IDEC and JUNO), 1 Large Companies (ACC), and 1 OTHER (PLATA) accounting to 3 BIC associated (AITIIP, LEITAT, and ULIM). The proposed 48-months will comprise a total estimated budget of 5,299,800 €; being the 20.3% covered by consortium own contribution (in-kinds) and adding 524,311€ in additional investments during the project implementation and 9,385,000€ envisaged to upgrade TRL after the end of the project. Benefits will be significant in terms of companies growth (23.2%), increasing jobs (37 direct, 1800 indirect) and turnover (124M€) by promoting at least 2 new sector interconnections in the new created “Intrinsic Recyclable Thermoset Composites Value Chain”

Coordinator

FUNDACION AITIIP
Net EU contribution
€ 758 562,50
Address
POLIGONO EMPRESARIUM, CALLE ROMERO N 12-14
50720 Zaragoza
Spain

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Region
Noreste Aragón Zaragoza
Activity type
Research Organisations
Links
Total cost
€ 948 203,75

Participants (12)