Composites Designed to Dissolve - DESOLVE
Lead Participant:
NETCOMPOSITES LIMITED
Abstract
The DESOLVE project will develop a highly innovative soluble thermoplastic composite product which has two key advantages:
* It aids recycling of products by being soluble and can assist in disassembly and reclamation of valuable components or materials at the end of life.
* It can be designed to fail under certain conditions and use this failure as a beneficial feature.
We will manufacture a thermoplastic pellet that can be injection moulded to make complex shapes. It will comprise a mixture of a reinforcement fibre and a soluble polymer making a composite of good mechanical properties when used as designed but which will soften or dissolve completely when exposed to a planned moisture source.
The benefits for recycling and reclamation are clear. The products made from the soluble composite can be tailored to dissolve at different temperatures, enabling us to make a unique product which has excellent sustainability credentials. The dissolved polymer can be fed directly back into a normal wastewater system with no processing required and components that were integrally moulded can be reclaimed. Fibres can be natural or mineral and can go to composting or re-use respectively.
In this project, we will also deliver a composite that is uniquely designed to change state, fail or dissolve under certain conditions and to use this failure as a beneficial feature. Composite components are generally designed to withstand a load with minimal degradation of performance and they do it very well. However, this project will look into products that change state _predictably_. This could be compared to an electrical fuse - the fuse does its job to transmit power through to a circuit until certain parameters are reached, at which point it fails in a planned and useful way to avoid danger.
The DESOLVE project will work with creative design experts who will support the identification of innovative uses and design requirements for tailoring of the product for novel recycling and planned dissolution/failure purposes. We envisage the product having wide-ranging potential in industrial storage, civil engineering, toys or domestic goods to name a few.
* It aids recycling of products by being soluble and can assist in disassembly and reclamation of valuable components or materials at the end of life.
* It can be designed to fail under certain conditions and use this failure as a beneficial feature.
We will manufacture a thermoplastic pellet that can be injection moulded to make complex shapes. It will comprise a mixture of a reinforcement fibre and a soluble polymer making a composite of good mechanical properties when used as designed but which will soften or dissolve completely when exposed to a planned moisture source.
The benefits for recycling and reclamation are clear. The products made from the soluble composite can be tailored to dissolve at different temperatures, enabling us to make a unique product which has excellent sustainability credentials. The dissolved polymer can be fed directly back into a normal wastewater system with no processing required and components that were integrally moulded can be reclaimed. Fibres can be natural or mineral and can go to composting or re-use respectively.
In this project, we will also deliver a composite that is uniquely designed to change state, fail or dissolve under certain conditions and to use this failure as a beneficial feature. Composite components are generally designed to withstand a load with minimal degradation of performance and they do it very well. However, this project will look into products that change state _predictably_. This could be compared to an electrical fuse - the fuse does its job to transmit power through to a circuit until certain parameters are reached, at which point it fails in a planned and useful way to avoid danger.
The DESOLVE project will work with creative design experts who will support the identification of innovative uses and design requirements for tailoring of the product for novel recycling and planned dissolution/failure purposes. We envisage the product having wide-ranging potential in industrial storage, civil engineering, toys or domestic goods to name a few.
Lead Participant | Project Cost | Grant Offer |
|---|---|---|
| NETCOMPOSITES LIMITED | £55,057 | £ 38,540 |
Participant |
||
| SHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITY | £21,097 | £ 21,097 |
| COVENTIVE LIMITED |
People |
ORCID iD |