JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #61 - November/December 2010 - 22

BUSINESS
Trend
g…/… Composites and the carbon label

On account of the weight being reduced by a factor of 2.6, the carbon equivalent is reduced by practically two thirds.

The composites industry

For a composite part, this calculation would equate to cost savings approximately proportional to the observed weight savings. 3) Other savings A structural sandwich panel also incorporates other characteristics, such as thermal or acoustic insulation, that would need to be added and accounted for in the case of a monolithic solution. Transport savings Savings linked to transportation may be made: - when transporting the manufactured product to its final place of use, - throughout its life cycle if the product is used in a mode of transport. According to the mode of transport, the weight saving has a greater or lesser influence on the GHG emission. For example, a 300-kg weight reduction on a 20-tonne truck that covers 150,000 km/year equates to 4 metric tons of C.

based on ultra-pure DCPD, has produced in collaboration with the consultancy, Spirit of Innovation, and the French engineering school, ENSAM Chambéry, a comparative study taking in various pairs of materials/processes used in the moulding of large-scale bodywork components. This study takes account of the energy consumption (cost of the energy required for moulding 1 kg of the finished part), the life cycle analysis (from the production of the raw materials to the recycling/revalution process) and the generation of greenhouse gases throughout the life cycle. All this data are related to the case study of a real component. Several end-of-life scenarios are studied (2008 and 2015 baselines). The study is available from Telene (+33 3 21 08 83 20 or info@telene.com). - The Laboratoire Central des Ponts et Chaussées (Central Laboratory for Bridges and Roadways) in Bouguenais has compared the carbon inventory for bridges made of composites, steel and concrete. “Composite decks and sustainable development, a case study”, a study conducted by Monssef Drissi-Habti, monssef.drisssi@lcpc.fr, Xavier Chapeleau and Sébastien Cournée, is now available. - Strongly committed to the promotion of structural sandwich panels in industries other than hi-tech sectors such as aerospace, the author has developed, on the basis of the MAGICS finite element analysis software, a decision-making support software for the pre-dimensioning of structural sandwich panels: ASKMAGICS. This software is designed to help the manufacturers concerned to rapidly assess the feasibility and competitiveness of a sandwich solution compared to the traditional monolithic solution.

- The Belgian company, Elytra, manufactures lightweight structural sandwich panels with polypropylene honeycomb cores and steel skins. These panels, due to steel's very high modulus and the use of very thin skins (3/10 mm), offer a very high level of stiffness for a low weight (approx. 6 kg/m²). This low weight contributes to the panels’ low-carbon label. With their products on show at JEC Paris, there are more and more manufacturers proposing new resistant and economic cores for the manufacturing of light structural sandwich panels.

Conclusion

ADEME’s Bilan Carbone® is a standardised method for evaluating the CO2 emissions generated by local authorities, companies or manufacturers. Once its carbon inventory has been drawn up, a manufacturer can allocate to the products that it manufactures a carbon label that will allow users to make an enlightened eco-responsible choice. A carbon tax is due to be introduced in the near future for fuels used in road transportation. This tax evaluates the cost of the CO2 kg at €15/kg. A trading market has been in place for some years now centred on the costs of the right to emit CO2. All these measures go to show that, despite the current transient difficulties, in particular due to the ongoing economic crisis, the carbon label will become a means of influencing socially responsible choices. The composites industry, one of the selling points of which is the lightness of its products, should reap the benefits of this if it is able to grasp the opportunity and promote itself accordingly. More information: www.as2c.com

The aforementioned examples broadly demonstrate that the composites industry is well-equipped to win this battle of the carbon inventory through the trump card of weight reduction. Recycling, until recently the sticking point for thermosetting plastics, has evolved so that today there exist industrially viable solutions. Many manufacturers are addressing these issues. For example:

- Telene S.A.S., a company specialising in high-performance formulations

jec composites magazine / No61 November - December 2010

http://www.as2c.com

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #61 - November/December 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #61 - November/December 2010