of sales from category sponsor Inspired, at the London awards ceremony. (Image courtesy of Make UK)
Longworth and Cygnet Texkimp are partnering to commercialize DEECOM reclamation technology for the composites industry.
By Adrian Wilson
During a recent ceremony held in London, England-based B&M Longworth claimed the Make UK National Award in the Energy and Sustainability category for its development of DEECOM technology.
Longworth has a long history in the manufacture and supply of specialized cleaning and waste-reduction technologies for the polymer and coating industries and its DEECOM system exploits pressurized steam in a process called pressolysis to successfully separate and reclaim fibers and polymers from composite parts for reuse.
Enabling true circularity for materials, DEECOM completely eliminates the need for traditional dirty processes involving solvents, chemicals, burning or mechanical grinding.
Pressure Swings
Using a combination of compression and decompression cycles or “pressure swings,” it can gently remove a range of resins from composite fibers, effectively reversing the bond between the fiber and the matrix. The process takes place in a pressure vessel filled with super-heated steam.
Depending on the polymer type, temperatures above 200°C (392°F) will melt or soften the polymer and a degree of hydrolysis will occur. When at pressure, the steam penetrates fissures in the polymer where it condenses, before it boils on decompression, causing an instant physical fracturing of the polymer chain and carrying away monomers and oligomers along with polymer fragments from the outer faces.
Since the process interacts with the resins, it can reclaim the format, length and structure of fibers from post-industrial or end-of-life waste composites, whether cured or uncured.
“The pressolysis process enables the high-yield reclamation of high-quality, clean, reusable fibers that are free from residues and have a retained length and properties akin to virgin materials,” explained B&M Longworth Director Jen Hill.
Emphasizing Project
Longworth and its partners in the Emphasizing Project — EMS-Chemie, Ford Motor Company, Gen2plank, Gestamp, TWI and the Brunel Composites Centre at Brunel University in London — have already received the JEC World 2024 Innovation Award in the Circularity and Recycling category.
This has focused on the reclamation of materials from end-of-life wind blades, their resizing and subsequent remanufacture into mass production car parts.
This resized material is based on DEECOM-recovered glass fibers that are treated with various chemistries to retain performance properties.
“The aim is to find several use cases for the reclaimed and/or resized material, and for the industry to gain access to a brand new, low impact advanced material at a low cost,” Hill said.
Cygnet Texkimp
The technology is now being commercialized for the composites industry in a partnership between Longworth and England-based Cygnet Texkimp. A first DEECOM reclamation unit has recently been installed at the Henry Royce Institute in Manchester.
Royce is bringing together nine leading institutes in a pioneering R&D program to fully investigate and commercialize new applications for reclaimed fibers.
Founded in 1974, Cygnet Texkimp, is a supplier of advanced handling and processing machinery to the advanced fibers and composites markets, with 80 percent of its machines exported to more than 30 countries. In particular, the company is a supplier of creels for unwinding high value composite fibers and tire cord at constant tension and at optimal speed into a range of down-stream processes including weaving, prepregging, coating and beaming.
“It’s a time of unprecedented growth for our company because in addition to DEECOM we are also busy with projects for the UK’s National Composites Centre and the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre,” said Cygnet’s international sales manager Josh Ingham. “We currently have a healthy order book, especially in creels for aerospace industry suppliers, but we’re also excited about the new opportunities we believe DEECOM will open up for us.”
Both Longworth and Cygnet are members of the British Textile Machinery Association (BTMA).
Editor’s Note: Adrian Wilson is an England-based analyst and writer specializing in the technical textiles, nonwovens and composites industries. He is the owner of AWOL Media.
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