JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #63 - March 2011 - 35

fibre

Technical flax:
a real opportunity for composites
accounting for 100,000 hectares of that. In make technical flax the third most-used 2009, global production was 185,000 reinforcement fibre for composites, after metric tons (MT) of scutched flax (i.e., glass and carbon, in order to open the way the fibre already separated from the for ecopolymers, ecocomposites and the plant’s ligneous matter), including creation of a new agroindustrial field of 100,000 MT or more produced in France activity. (Figure 2). France is the Fig. 2: France is by far the world’s leading producer leading flax producer in Europe and worldwide, a Country No. hectares Scutched flax (t) Quality position that can be attributed to exceptional 1 56.417 3 100.000 1 France productivity and quality that 2 China 100.000 1 23.000 9 are the result of flax-growing skills passed down and 3 12.030 18.000 6 2 Belgium improved on through the ages. 4 15.000 15.000 5 4 Egypt Ninety percent of the flax 5 68.000 13.000 2 5 Belarus grown today goes to textile applications. Almost all of 48.000 11.000 6 4 10 Russia French and European production is sent to China Netherlands 7 2.272 8 4.000 2ex for processing. While there 8 7 7 Ukraine is ample agricultural land in the world that is suitable for 4.000 1.500 9 9 8 Poland growing flax and technical flax, the Western European 10 10 6 Lituania climate is particularly wellsuited for the activity. To do so, Fimalin mobilizes its members to bring together all the players along the A common goal value chain, from varietal selection to the The goal set by the Fimalin confederation end consumer. This includes growing and is to create, organize and promote a processing the plants, of course, but also technical-flax value chain dedicated to the the manufacture of roving, technical textile development of ecodesigned products products, and fibre-reinforced polymer which incorporate high-performance compounds. Six different types of retechnical flax fibre. Fimalin intends to inforcement are already available (Fig. 3).

Can technical flax open the way to eco-composites by becoming the third most-used fibre after glass and carbon? The issue has been raised, and manufacturing confederation Fimalin aims to make technical flax the obvious choice in high-value-added engineering activities.

echnical flax has outstanding properties that make it inherently suitable for high-value-added applications (Figure 1). The Fimalin manufacturing confederation, which consists of six of the industry’s manufacturing companies, intends to firmly establish this natural fibre in the composite sector. Fimalin also hopes to promote French flax-growing expertise and extend its leadership in that field beyond its primary focus, the textile sector.

Fig.1: Natural advantages Natural Fibres

Main advantages Specific mechanical properties
Biodegradability

Main disadvantages
Quality varies as a function of weather and growing location Low dimensional stability Low thermal stability Anisotropic fibres Discontinuous reinforcement

CO2 neutral Renewable resource Production is low energy consuming

Flax, a resource that is green, inexhaustible and eminently suitable for composites
Flax is grown on more than 300,000 hectares worldwide, with China alone

No63 March 2011 / jec composites magazine

Feature sustainability

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #63 - March 2011

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