SPOTLIGHT Eliumresin composites® RECYCLING OPTIONS Elium resin allows thermoplastic composite materials to be recycled. Two recycling® processes—mechanical and chemical—are currently being tested. Jean-François Devaux, expert research engineer at Arkema, and Clément Callens, BU Manager Industry of the Future & Thermoplastic Processes at CETIM Grand Est, explain. use, the lack of recycling options may constitute an obstacle to their being used on a mass scale. That is why Arkema, alongside its industrial and academic partners, is working on developing recycling in a number of different projects and by creating two different but complementary processes. Jean-François Devaux, Clément Callens Senior Research Scientist, BU Manager Industry of MECHANICAL RECYCLING Arkema the Future Cetim Grand Est This is the first realistic industrial solution for recycling thermoplastic composite materials, particularly those made from Elium resin.® To Composite materials have seen growth of develop it, Arkema is collaborating in the REVEL 4% a year since 2016, with a ramp-upproject with the Grand Est Technical Center for in thermoplastic composites compared Mechanical Industries (CETIM) and the M2P to thermoset composites. But more stillTechnological Research Institute. According to needs to be done to manage their endClément Callens, BU Manager Industry of the Future of life. Although a number of factors come into& Thermoplastic Processes at CETIM, “the aim is play, the thermoset nature of the resins used toto position the recycling process for composite make these materials makes them very hard to materials in the light of future applications, and recycle. As a result, most end-of-life compositestherefore forthcoming industrial projects. To and production waste go to landfill, because theredo this, we are evaluating the recyclability by are no technically or financially viable recyclingthermomechanical means of production waste or options, or to cement works for use as solid end-of-life parts made from Elium resin-based® recovered fuels composites.” Parts are crushed and heated and . then the material obtained is turned into panels with high mechanical resistance. These recycled THE ELIUM REVOLUTION® composites, which include fibers and resin, can In a market that is monopolized by thermoset be used in construction and civil engineering, composites, Elium® resin represents an transport, the production of industrial equipment— unprecedented innovation. It combines the sectors that are looking for solutions to reduce advantages of a thermoset materialwith the weight, improve mechanical performance and recyclability of a thermoplastic material. Its potentialsimplify design. “This solution has the advantage is huge, particularly as 38,000 tons of compositeof being adoptable by recycling companies using waste is generated in France each year, out ofstandard processes, on a small and medium total production of 380,000 tons. But althoughscale, using less energy than complex chemical thermoplastic composite materials are profitable toprocesses,” explains Clément Callens. 10