CI Insights

NIACE - Sustainable Composites Conference

Written by Kelly George | 04-Jul-2022 23:00:00

Left to Right: Tim Searle, Research & Development Director, Composite Integration. Peter Quigley, General Manager, NIACE attending NIACE Sustainable Composites conference 2022

Towards the end of June, Composite Integration attended the NIACE (Northern Ireland Advanced Composites & Engineering) Sustainable Composites conference in Belfast. The conference brought together specialists from the composites industry to broaden the understanding of sustainable composites and applications.

Dr Tim Searle, Research & Development Director at Composite Integration presented “Making Sustainability Sustainable” which combined research Composite Integration has undertaken, with the commercial aspect that is involved in processing high quality sustainable materials in a commercial manufacturing environment.

The challenges of recycling traditional glass/carbon polyester/epoxy composites are well known. The need exists to understand the processing requirements for a much wider range of fibre and resin systems, not only to ensure that CIJECT Injection equipment is capable of processing them, but also to understand the processing parameters to mould components successfully.

As part of its internal ‘Clean Composites’ strategy, Composite Integration is evaluating a range of natural/renewable/recyclable fibre and resin systems to ensure that it can provide comprehensive processing guidance to clients and partners.

Overall, the event that took place at the NIACE centre, was very well attended with a wide range of excellent speakers.