Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SSUCHY-Next (Developing the supply chains for industrial hemp fibre and bio-based resins towards high performance circular bio-based composites)
Période du rapport: 2024-09-01 au 2025-08-31
SSUCHY-Next has been building further where the previous BBI SSUCHY project stopped in 2022. Ambition is to bring different parts of the hemp fibre supply chain to TRL 7, through production at scale of various fibre products, covering the complete value chain from field to composite. Two value chains are further developed. Fibres are extracted by either scutching or by breaking roller/card, linking into different geographical regions. Hackled and carded slivers are further processed into high quality preforms for composites: woven and quasi-unidirectional fabrics and purely unidirectional (UD) hemp tape. The appearance at industrial scale of high quality hemp fibres should give a boost to plant fibre composites in competition with glass fibre composites, offering both an environmentally sound and cost effective alternative, especially with less expensive medium length fibres. In the first year, already high quality UD hemp tape was delivered by Ecotechnilin, as well as a good quality quasi-UD fabric by Linificio. The medium length fibre delivery is currently underway.
With hemp fibres which are largely circular, one of the major bottlenecks for a further breakthrough of bio-based composites has been the lack of (fully) bio-based, environmentally sound and as well cost efficient polymer matrices. Hence, our ambition in SSUCHY-Next to work on 3 bio-based resins: bio-based acrylic polymer (“Elium®”) with very high bio-content, and fully bio-based benzoxazine and Bisguaiacol-based epoxy, building upon developments in SSUCHY. All systems developed to TRL 6 or 7. In the first year we established a road-map to source the various needed bio-based base chemicals, so we can deliver bio-substituted resins with at least 90% bio-based content by month 30 when the demonstrator products will be prepared.
To demonstrate the viability of the materials, various inspiring applications are developed to TRL7. We demonstrate the design, production, testing and certification of a 12.6 meter long wind turbine blade, made from hemp and bio-based acrylic. Wood-based products are developed, based on infiltrated wood scaffolds, in first instance with fluid acrylic, but also a benzoxazine based version is developed; also a hybrid wood-based product with hemp reinforcement is included to produce a high performance construction material. Large scale building applications are demonstrated, based on shorter fibres and benzoxazine. For each developed product we demonstrate its recyclability. All developments are monitored and adjusted by means of LCA.
With hemp fibres which are largely circular, one of the major bottlenecks for a further breakthrough of bio-based composites has been the lack of (fully) bio-based, environmentally sound and as well cost efficient polymer matrices. Hence, our ambition in SSUCHY-Next to work on 3 bio-based resins: bio-based acrylic polymer (“Elium®”) with very high bio-content, and fully bio-based benzoxazine and Bisguaiacol-based epoxy, building upon developments in SSUCHY. All systems developed to TRL 6 or 7. In the first year we established a road-map to source the various needed bio-based base chemicals, so we can deliver bio-substituted resins with at least 90% bio-based content by month 30 when the demonstrator products will be prepared.
To demonstrate the viability of the materials, various inspiring applications are developed to TRL7. We demonstrate the design, production, testing and certification of a 12.6 meter long wind turbine blade, made from hemp and bio-based acrylic. Wood-based products are developed, based on infiltrated wood scaffolds, in first instance with fluid acrylic, but also a benzoxazine based version is developed; also a hybrid wood-based product with hemp reinforcement is included to produce a high performance construction material. Large scale building applications are demonstrated, based on shorter fibres and benzoxazine. For each developed product we demonstrate its recyclability. All developments are monitored and adjusted by means of LCA.
After 12 months, great progress has been made in producing various woven fabrics as well as hemptape from long hemp fibre at tens of kilogram scale. Similar products for the mid fibre length route are envisioned for the coming months. Benzoxazine and Elium matrix systems have been provided at tens of kilogram scale. Here, the routes to more than 90% bio-based content have been identified, and they are feasible, but still need to be demonstrated on actually bio-sourced ingredients. Materials research has lead to an ingredient to improve the hemp-Elium interface. Hackled hemp fibre appears to have very similar properties as hackled flax fibre. This means that in principle by using crop rotation, the long fibre production from the flax territory in north-western Europe could be doubled. Work on the various applications in the project is also well underway.
Long hemp fibre in various fabric configurations at high TRL is a significant result beyond the state of the art. Reaching similar fibre properties for long hackled hemp as for hackled flax fibre is also of great significance beyond the state of the art, because it suggests hemp could replace flax on a 1 to 1 basis. In the flax territory, where flax can only be grown once every 7 years, growing hemp in between basically means the production from the current flax territory could be doubled.