JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #93 - December 2014 - 29

Recycling

Waste FRP recycling
Fibre-reinforced plastics (FRP) are
widely used in daily necessities such
as bathtubs, bath units, industrial
pipes, septic tanks and fishing ships.
These materials have a high commercial value with excellent durability
in the field, but were believed to be
difficult to recycle.
Since 1999, the JRPS ( Japan Reinforced Plastics Society) and Clean
Japan Center have been repeatedly
setting up experiments in order to
make data available for the Cement
Kiln Process (recycling of glass fibre
composites through co-processing).
These were conducted as a commissioned NEDO grant project entitled:
"Waste reinforced plastic product
recycling demonstration system
research". The extensive experiments
proceeded smoothly; in 2002, the

machinery and equipment used for
these studies were transferred to industrial waste disposal contractors in
the private sector. The FRP Recycling
Center was able to launch the recycling business of waste FRP products
according to the required emission
level (7,200 tons/year).
Currently, more than 5 million tons
are recycled by thermal recycling each
year in Japan. This also includes material recycling, thus more than 80% of
the production volume has been effectively utilized. In addition, the FRP
Recycling Center expects that companies involved in the recycling business
have expanded their business, and will
extend more and more in the future.
The ultimate goal is to transfer the
technology to many other countries,
thus spreading the practice.

Ultra-thin sheet moulding compound application
Hope Technik is a privately-owned Singapore-registered engineering company that
provides complete engineering solutions to
clients demanding high performance unique
solutions.
The company's expertise goes from product
conceptualization to prototype development
and mass production. A dedicated team of
qualified engineers and technical staff equipped with in-house design, prototyping and
production equipment answers to the clients'
requirements to set up high quality solutions
with a quick turn-around time.
Established in 2006, Hope Technik focuses
on providing solutions for high performance industries. They initially focused on
motorsports engineering, but demand for
robotics increased and the company changed
direction. It is located in a quiet industrial
estate in Singapore, in a 3 story factory,
allocated particularly to engineering cells
for various projects, test cells for engines,
fabrication areas and design offices. Its com-

posites division includes in-house facilities for
mould construction to parts construction in
pre-impregnated carbon or aramid fiber with
various core materials, in order to meet the
most stringent weight, strength and stiffness
requirements.
Recently (February 2014) Hope Technik
took part in the Singapore Airshow to test its
"space plane". Hope Technik had previously
signed a deal with Airbus Defence and Space
at the 2012 Singapore Airshow. The manufacturing of SMC is a continuous in-line process.
A Sheet Molding Compoung (SMC) is a
ready to mould glass fibre reinforced thermoset material used mostly in compression
moulding.
It is particularly interesting for automotive
applications thanks to its superior mechanical
properties for parts such as panels and seat
backs as well as the generally replacing traditionally metal parts. Other applications cover
parts as varied as shower stalls, bathware, and
fire helmets, etc.

Winner: FRP Recycling Center,
JRPS ( Japan)
Partnership Network: Japan Fuji
Recycle Center ( Japan), Goko Butsuryu
Co., Ltd. ( Japan), Sumitomo Osaka
Cement Co., Ltd. ( Japan)

Compression
moulding
Winner: Hope Technik (Singapore)

No93 December 2014 /

A brief introduction
of the Spider VTOL MAV
with Swarm capability

jec composites magazine 29

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #93 - December 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #93 - December 2014