Composite materials from renewable sources

BioComp

New Classes of Composite Engineering Materials from Renewable Sources.

BIOCOMP, an Integrated Project for SMEs, started in April 2005 & will run for 42 months.

The main objective of this project is to obtain a breakthrough for SMEs on the development & use of engineering thermoplastic & thermosetting materials mainly from natural resources.

Future product design requires sustainable processes & eco-innovation in material development for engineering applications. The innovative approaches use new engineering materials - biocomposites & their development have to be knowledge-based, whereas predominant issues are resource saving, variability in properties & functionality, light weight, low costs & eco-efficiency in all stages of the product life cycle.

Driving forces are SMEs from less RTD-intensive branches currently producing the raw materials of biomass, fibres, wood extraction constituents & biopolymers to supply branches of mass consumer goods, automotive & electronic industries in the future. These aim towards a zero-waste strategy in production & product responsibility with long-term reliability to maintain competitiveness in a global market. Their activities have to be efficiently supported by improved properties & reliable availability of raw materials & components, knowledge-based processing methods & conditions as well as material data for newly developed materials. A sustainable breakthrough will only be gained if high-tech materials are made in contrast to existing low-grade wood plastics & packaging materials, providing substantial profits to raw material supplier & material developer.

The main objective of this project is to obtain a breakthrough for SMEs on the development & use of engineering thermoplastic & thermosetting materials mainly from natural resources, like lignin from the paper industry & from the High Pressure Hydrothermolyses (HPH) process, other biopolymers (e.g. polylactides, polyhydroxybutyrate, starch), furan resins, woven & non-woven cellulose fibres & fibre mats to final products.

Start date: 01/04/2005
Completion date: 30/09/2008

For more information, please visit - www.biocomp.eu.com