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ELB by UCINA-Confindustria Nautica: a green economy project - application of circular economy
“circular” up-cycling open loop for FRP
Antimo Di Martino environment and sustainability advisor
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WASTE, COMPLEX PRODUCT WASTE : present outline of the situation
• WASTE: “waste means any substance or object which
the holder discards or intends or is required to discard”
(directive 2008/98/EC). It isn’t waste but “by-product",
every substance or object resulting from a production
process, the primary aim of which is not the production
of that item but have to respect some determinate
conditions. They are displayed in article 5 and article 6
(EoW - end of waste) of the same directive.
• COMPLEX PRODUCT WASTE : product reaches
the end of life, consisting of various materials from the
more difficult recovery; they have, in general, very
complex connection systems that do not allow to remove
separately the various materials.
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PROJECTS→PRODUCTS→WASTE–COMPLEX WASTE:
some example of complex product waste
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COMPLEX PRODUCT WASTE : present outline of the situation for the aircraft
• A common practice at the end of life of aircraft has been the storage
in airplane graveyards; this storage generally takes place in desert
areas where there is enough space and where the climate
conditions are favourable for aircraft conservation.
• Similar solution for the boats? They’re correct hypothesis?
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FROM LINEAR ECONOMY to CIRCULAR ECONOMY: Linearity and Circularity: present outline of the situation
•
• (from: “a platform to re-think the future”- Ellen MacArthur Foundation)
• The linear economy is the paradigm of the consumer
society: conception, design, construction, use, consumption,
emaciation, product’s disposal.
• The circular economy is defined by the WEF as
"Restorative design”. "It is based on the principle that the stocks
and flows of resources are reconstructed in opposition to their simple
degradation. This represents an enormous potential for innovation
and the creation of new jobs".
• Green economy is more appropriate than Blue Economy to represent
our technological production processes. Green economy and the blue
economy are both expression of circular economy.
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ELB by UCINA-Confindustria Nautica:
Principles and Choices
• Janez Potočnik (former EU Commissioner for the Environment), stated: “the waste is to be considered as a source of secondary raw material that can generate benefits both in environmental and economic terms”.
• ELB is based on that principle, expressing the need to regard it as crucial to the success of our project.
• ELB considered “circular upcycling open-loop”, between FRP and other waste plastics, developed and tested among IPCB/CNR by Mario Malinconico and Maurizio Avella and others, actually is the most suitable for the treatment of recovery of the FRP.
• UCINA-Confindustria Nautica and IPCB/CNR in 2009 signed a specific agreement to develop this and other similar technologies.
FRP disposed, in Italy (C.E.R.: 070213, 101103, 120105)
• 305,477 Tons (on the 2013) (ECOCERVED dates)
• ≈ 1,800,000 Tons (by 2008 to 2013) (UCINA assessment)
*FRP from recr. boats and molds in Italy, (on ELB): ≈200,000 Tons(UCINA assessment)
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FROM LINEAR ECONOMY to CIRCULAR ECOMOMY: how much waste from recreational boats and other product?
FRP*
Engines and other
Other materials
Oils and Fuel
Accessories
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FROM LINEAR ECONOMY to CIRCULAR ECONOMY:
technology for FRP up-cycling (open loop)
The new compound is a thermoplastic material.
At the end of the next life cycle it will be recyclable.
EPS (polystyrene)
+
FRP (fiber reinforced plastic )
SHEETS for furniture or flooring
PELLETS for molding
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FROM LINEAR ECONOMY to CIRCULAR ECONOMY:
samples of materials obtainable by up-cycling of waste
FRP + EPS FRP + EPS + RUBBER
FRP + EPS FRP + EPS + TEXTILE (by-product)
Melt Mixing
Emulsion process
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Stress at Break (Mpa)
Young Mod. x 100 (Mpa)
30,9
67,1
102,5
129,2
Pro
per
ties
[M
pa]
Flexural properties
Melt Mixing
Emulsion process
FLEXURAL PROPERTIES COMPARISON:
Emulsion/Melt Mixing
Melt Mixing
Emulsion Process
0
5
10
15
20
25
Load at Break x 10 (N)
Resilience (kJ/m^2)
10,5
3,2
23,2
10,5
Pro
per
ties
[kJ
/m^2
], [
N]
Fracture test
Melt Mixing
Emulsion Process
FRACTURE PROPERTIES COMPARISON:
Emulsion/Melt Mixing
UP-CYCLING of FRP-EPS/ABS
waste or by-product: conclusions
• Mechanical up-cycling of FRP-EPS/ABS composites is of great importance due to the high content of valuable materials and due to the scarce energetic value for burning.
• At same time, also the recycle of expanded polystyrene EPS packagings is of great importance due to the difficult end-of-life management of such extremely light materials.
• The success of mechanical up-cycling option will influence on the economicity of the process and on the cost/performance ratio of the final materials.
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FROM LINEAR ECONOMY to CIRCULAR ECOMOMY: the importance of the Design for Disassembling draft and of
the appropriate method (the project needs a new approach)
• example of disassembly of boat without DfD project
• example of volumetric reduction of a FRP boat
*photos by Boat Digest project