Chemistry-enabled sustainable composites
A joint technical report by the Royal Society of Chemistry and Sustainable Composites, a partnership between the National Composites Centre and CPI
Summary of contents
This report explores the role of chemistry in sustainable composites. It captures the findings from an investigation conducted by the Royal Society of Chemistry and Sustainable Composites, a partnership between the National Composites Centre (NCC) and CPI. In consultation with academia and industry, the investigation provides an overview of the opportunities to bring chemistry-based solutions into the UK composites supply chain for the purposes of delivering sustainability within the sector.
This report focuses on the sustainability challenges and opportunities surrounding the composite materials sector. It focuses on polymer matrix composites (PMCs), which are referred to by the broader composites term throughout this report. Many of the sustainability challenges exhibited by PMCs may also be relevant to metal matrix composites (MMCs), ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) and other filled polymers.
In the context of this report, and the industries surveyed, the composites considered include particle, flake and continuous and discontinuous fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) systems. They are typically used across structural and semi-structural applications for their specific properties.
The composites supply chain has been explored to provide a comprehensive assessment of sustainability-focused challenges and where chemistry may provide a solution.
The report focuses on the UK market and, therefore, the engagement carried out was largely with UK academic and industrial stakeholders through two online workshops. It is acknowledged that the composite supply chain is a global one and relies on many stakeholders outside the UK. For example, the UK imports many of the raw materials used in the composite industry. Included in this report are opportunities that would positively impact the UK composite market but would largely need to be actioned elsewhere.
The workshop outputs were used to guide the topics explored. The data in this report is largely from peer-reviewed journals and industrial papers, as well as insight from the workshops and subsequent discussions. The opportunities identified are summarised in