A composites recycling solution built by fibre processing machinery specialist Cygnet Texkimp and commissioned by the Henry Royce Institute will be showcased at the International Composites Summit, 4-5 September, Milton Keynes, UK.
The lab-scale DEECOM® materials reclamation machine will be located in the Innovation Display Area during the show, before being installed at the University of Manchester. There it will form part of a pioneering programme of R&D led by the institute’s world-leading materials scientists to investigate the properties of reclaimed fibres, the potential for successful resin recovery, and opportunities for reuse of both elements.
DEECOM® is the green-tech materials reclamation solution created by engineering firm B&M Longworth and developed by Cygnet Texkimp to enable the sustainable de-manufacture of composite materials and parts. The solution uses pressurised steam in a process called pressolysis to separate and reclaim constituent fibres and polymer resins in high-quality forms for reuse in the manufacture of new composites or in other industries.
Professor Bill Sampson, Foundation Industries Challenge Lead at the Henry Royce Institute said: “We’re delighted to bring this capability on board and to make it available to the UK academic community and their industrial partners for collaborative investigations as we progress our understanding of the challenges and opportunities to develop truly sustainable and circular processes for today’s composite materials systems and those of the future.”
Cygnet Texkimp’s Gareth Davies said: “As one of the first solely composites-focused research units to be commissioned under the new partnership between Cygnet Texkimp and B&M Longworth, this compact and flexible machine will help to accelerate learning around the fundamentals of value recovery from composite systems, not only in terms of the fibre but also the resin chemistry.
“We’re delighted to support the important work of the prestigious Royce Institute and its industry partners in lowering the life cycle impact of composites and improving materials circularity.”
The Henry Royce Institute is the UK’s national institute for advanced materials research and innovation. Headquartered at the University of Manchester, it is a partnership of nine leading institutions including the universities of Cambridge, Imperial College London, Liverpool, Leeds, Oxford, and Sheffield, the National Nuclear Laboratory, and UKAEA. Its research tackles some of the most pressing challenges facing today’s society, from providing energy for future cities to decarbonisation and new recyclable materials.
Cygnet Texkimp will also be exhibiting at stand G3 and Longworth director Jen Hill will be presenting an industry update on the development of DEECOM® at ICS on Wed 4th September.