3 Ways Sustainability Directly Impacts Composite Manufacturers
Sustainability is something that is not normally associated with composite material manufacturers and composite suppliers. We get it. The very nature of composites themselves do not seem to align with sustainability goals. But dig a little deeper and you discover that the composites industry is just as concerned about sustainability as any other.
Indeed, sustainability goals directly impact composite material manufacturers and suppliers alike. The best companies in our industry go out of their way to incorporate sustainability goals in their daily operations. When composite materials companies are more sustainable in their practices, we are all better off for it.
For Axiom particularly, our sustainability policies and practices are inherited from our parent company, Kordsa – a company that states in its official sustainability policy that “we develop value adding reinforcement technologies for a safer, more efficient and sustainable world [and that] innovation, technology, and R&D are placed in the heart of our business model as the facilitators of sustainability.”
If you are not sure about sustainability in composites, check out these three ways sustainability goals directly impact our industry:
1. Increasing Demand for More Sustainable Materials
The composites industry has long been dominated by petroleum-based materials. Though intentional and with tremendous benefits attached, the focus on such materials is beginning to fade. We are seeing an increased demand for more sustainable materials developed with bio-based resins and recyclable fibers.
Composite material manufacturers are investing in new resins made from renewable feedstocks. They are looking at interesting new biomass sources including flax, hemp, vegetable oils, and lignin. But that’s not all. Composite materials companies are also investigating new recycling technologies.
Recycling is an Achilles heel for carbon fiber reinforced polymers. Although mechanical recycling is quite effective, it reduces the integrity of the recycled materials themselves. What our industry needs is a better way to recycle so that our best composite materials can be put back into the manufacturing stream perpetually. It is being worked on.
2. More Efficient Manufacturing
Sustainability’s most visible impact is observed through composite material manufacturers adopting more efficient manufacturing processes. The goal is to use less energy while simultaneously reducing waste and emissions.
Leading the way is automation. Automation technologies can improve everything from additive manufacturing to simulations that show us how to minimize material waste. Meanwhile, manufacturers are also improving their closed-loop systems already designed to capture and reuse production scrap.
Reducing waste keeps composite materials out of landfills and incinerators. Reducing energy consumption protects precious energy resources for the future. Finally, reducing emissions improves the planet for all of us. Composite materials companies are on board with all three strategies.
3. Life Cycle Assessments and Tracking
While pursuing more sustainable materials and better manufacturing techniques, we cannot escape the fact that certain types of composite materials have a more detrimental impact on the environment than most of us would prefer. In order to better understand the impact and what it means in the long term, composite materials manufacturers have developed better life cycle assessments and tracking systems.
Life cycle assessments follow composites from raw material sourcing through end-of-life disposal. Everything in between is tracked. Through comprehensive tracking and proper analysis, the data produced via life cycle assessments helps engineers and designers better understand the impacts of the composite materials they produce. In turn, they can also harness the data to design more sustainable composites.
Understanding a composite’s life cycle is critical inasmuch as it’s nearly impossible to improve on a product if we don’t know its current state. We cannot improve composite sustainability if we do not fully understand how composites impact it right now. Life cycle assessments and tracking provide the invaluable data we need to reach sustainability goals in our industry.
Although our industry has been viewed as less than cooperative in the sustainability department, the truth is that we do care. Composite material manufacturers and suppliers alike are pursuing sustainability goals on a daily basis.