Sigmatex Launches Recycled Carbon Fibre Nonwoven

New Products and Innovation

Sigmatex Launches Recycled Carbon Fibre Nonwoven

Sigmatex, a leader in the design and manufacture of carbon fibre textiles to the composites industry, has announced the launch of a recycled carbon fibre nonwoven fabric for use in CFRP parts. "As a company committed to reducing the environmental impact of composites, Sigmatex has developed a process that enables the capture and reprocessing of its internal waste streams, as well as those of its customers, in the most energy efficient way. The output of this is a high-quality product that is both versatile in its applications and easy to process. It is anticipated that this approach could lead to the avoidance of up to 500 metric tonnes of carbon fibre waste going to landfill each year by 2025," the UK headquartered company said. "This nonwoven fabric is produced from high quality carbon fibre waste, with sizing intact, offering improved fibre to resin bond strength with area weights from 100gsm to 600gsm. The highly conformable product is an isotropic material with excellent mechanical properties that can be debulked, improving processing via pre-preg methods." Commenting on this new product, Paul McMullan, Commercial Director at Sigmatex, said: "One of the most important considerations when selecting a recycled carbon fibre product is the energy demand required to recover the carbon fibre before converting it into a fabric form for reuse. Whilst all recycled carbon methods are positive to the environment if they displace the use of virgin carbon fibre, some recovery methods are superior to others.