JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #46 - January/February 2009 - 37

Recycling Striking a balance between cost and properties: reuse of paper by-products The objective of the PAPYRUS project is to study and reuse paper mill fibre byproducts in composite and plastics processing applications. The project is co-financed by AGRICE, the scientific interest group of the French Environment and Energy Management Agency, ADEME, and led by the Pole Européen de Plasturgie (PEP). Partners in the project are Papeteries Emin-Ledier, the National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) in Reims and the compounder, AD Majoris. of specific additives and a correctly chosen application. Nonetheless, the use of these fibres requires specific preparation, since they are in clod-like form upon leaving the paper manufacturing process. These fibre agglomerates therefore need to be broken down, dried and ground. PEP has developed a specific procedure for doing just this (Fig. 1). CHARLYSE POUTEAU, PROJECT MANAGER, PÔLE EUROPÉEN DE PLASTURGIE he goal of the PAPYRUS project is to study the reuse of paper fibre by-products in plastics processing applications. These end-of-life fibres that cannot be recycled are introduced as reinforcement in a thermoplastic matrix by means of compounding. The introduction of these fibres constitutes an important step on the path to replacing materials derived from fossil resources, while offering additional properties. The fibres separated in this way are quite long but they are associated with thermoplastic compounds with the potential to act as "coupling agents" between fibres and matrix. What is more, paper mill fibres offer a stable supply of stocks in terms of both quality and quantity, to suit the demands of plastics processors (high tonnage, less dependent on the fluctuating and seasonal markets in agricultural fibres, offering the possibility of just-in-time processing with no need to store fibres). The potential applications of these new composites involve many sectors (automotive, furnishings, leisure, etc.). The ultimate objective of this project is to provide costcompetitive materials with valuable properties (environmental, mechanical, lighter than other composites, etc.). T Fig. 1: Fibres before, during and after treatment. Fig. 2: Twin-screw compounder at PEP. The progress of the project and its sticking points The sticking points encountered in the incorporation of these paper fibres are identical to those encountered for natural fibres: water absorption, sensitivity to temperature, and fibre-matrix interface. These sticking points may be alleviated/limited by means of appropriate processing technologies, the introduction After preparation, the fibres are incorporated in a thermoplastic matrix by twin-screw compounding, then the compounds are injected. The material characteristics are then analysed in order to evaluate the impact of the nature and quality of the fibres, the type of matrix (two matrices of different polarities have been tested), the formulation (introduction of coupling agents, fibre ratio) and the mixing process (dispersion of fibrous agglomerates, distribution of fibres in the matrix), (Fig. 2). No46 January-February 2009 / jec composites magazine 37

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #46 - January/February 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #46 - January/February 2009