SUSTAINABILITY DEVELOPMENT FOR LIGHT WEIGHT REINFORCED THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITE

There is an increasing demand for sustainability, which promotes the development of more eco-friendly materials. Therefore, sustainable fiber-reinforced polymeric composites are gaining attention in automotive and other consumer goods industries. Recycling material into new products that can be used again reduces the amount of material heading to landfills. In this study, different levels of sustainable material (internal scrap, post-industrial recycled [PIR], and post-consumer recycled [PCR]) have been investigated in developing a more sustainable composite. Evaluations have been conducted on recycled matrix resins (e.g., polypropylene) and recycled reinforcing fibers (e.g., recycled PET and glass fibers). Sustainable components were incorporated into the manufacturing process of lightweight reinforced thermoplastic composites. The developed sustainable composite materials maintain the key performance characteristics of similar materials made with virgin raw materials: physical properties, such as areal density, thickness, lofted thickness, and flammability; flexural strength, as tested by ISO 178; and thermoforming performance. Overall, the lightweight sustainable composites are expected to be used in similar applications that currently utilize the advantages of virgin lightweight composite materials.