LFT-Recycling - Sustainable LFT components: Post-industrial and post-consumer secondary raw materials for production

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07.04.2025 | Awards
The 29ᵗʰ national SAMPE Symposium highlighted composite technologies for a sustainable future

Around 80 experts from science and industry came together in the university’s main building to discuss current developments in the field of composite materials. The event was organized by RWTH Aachen University in cooperation with SAMPE

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Innovative Approaches for Manufacturing Sustainable LFT Components from Recycled Materials

The ReLFT research project aims to process post-industrial (PIR) and post-consumer recyclates (PCR) in a material-appropriate and fiber-preserving manner. By applying a pressing method, the project seeks to produce LFT components with consistent mechanical properties, promoting sustainability in the production of lightweight components.

LFT-Recycling eng — Processing of LFT Recyclate

Long fibre reinforced thermoplastics (LFT) consist of randomly aligned fibres in plane with lengths between 4.5 and 50 mm, which are embedded in a thermoplastic matrix. Compared to non-reinforced thermoplastic materials, LFTs are characterised by their weight-optimised mechanical properties, offering the potential or emission reduction in light weight applications. However, there is currently a lack of established material cycles for recycling LFTs. This is partly due to the fact that the material recycling of LFT leads to damage to the fibres, which has a negative impact on the performance of the resulting components. The effects of the recycling and processing steps on the reinforcing fibres are still not known.

The main objective of the ReLFT research project is to prepare post-industrial (PIR) and post-consumer recyclates (PCR) in a way that is gentle on the material and fibres so that they can then be further processed into LFT components with consistent mechanical properties using the pressing process. This includes analysing the preparation and further processing of PIR and PCR materials, testing various additives and recording material data for the recyclates, mass strands after plasticisation and pressed components. Particular attention is paid to the identification of fibre damage during recycling and the reuse of the recyclates.

As part of the project, environmental impact analyses (Life Cycle Assessment, LCA) and potential assessments are carried out along the value chain in order to derive action-related recommendations for increasing the sustainability of specific applications and materials.

Project Data and Funding

We would like to thank the BMWK for funding the project (funding code 22995 N) and the project partnersfor their cooperation.
Project duration: 01.11.2023 – 31.10.2025