Circular Design of Composite Products: A Framework Based on Insights from Literature and Industry

Abstract

Composite materials are an attractive material choice as they enable lightweight, low-maintenance products with a long lifespan. Recycling these materials, however, remains a challenge. Homogeneous material composition and the use of thermoset matrices complicate reprocessing, and result in low-grade recyclate. This means that closing the loop for these materials in a circular economy remains challenging, especially for glass fibre-reinforced thermoset composites. For a circular economy, products need to be designed to preserve product functionality, material properties, and economic value for as long as possible. However, recovery strategies, design aspects and their interconnectedness are currently largely unexplored for products containing fibre-reinforced polymers. The aim of this study was to identify circular strategies and determine design aspects for products containing composites. To achieve this, we conducted a systematic literature review and consulted experts. The circular strategies are largely similar to generic circular economy strategies as far as product integrity is concerned. However, on a material level, we identified additional approaches, the most notable of which is structural reuse, which preserves the material quality and thereby value. The design aspects were clustered and positioned along the product design process to support implementation. Finally, the strategies and design aspects we identified were brought together in a framework to support product design and design research for products containing composite materials in the context of a circular economy.

Using Product Design Strategies to Implement Circular Economy: Differences between Students and Professional Designers

“…Product industrial design [6,16,19,[38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49] Buildings [11,[50][51][52][53] Manufacturing, Additive manufacturing [54][55][56] Electronic and appliances [57,58] User behavior and user experience design [14,59] Fashion design [60,61] Medical [62]…”

Thermal, Mechanical, Morphological and Aesthetical Properties of Rotational Molding PE/Pine Wood Sawdust Composites

“…This demand has been growing over the last decades proving that bio economy and circular economy strategies are the solution that can match the scale of an emerging area of polymer composites and the production of high value bio-based products [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. However, products structural design may be necessary to preserve product functionality, material properties and economic value for longer time [ 5 ].…”

Circular Composites by Design: Testing a Design Method in Industry

“…These factors widen the scope of product development in terms of, for example, stakeholder interactions [12,13], requiring additional and altered competencies from the designer, such as designing for multiple use and recovery cycles, working with circular business models, and collaborating and engaging with stakeholders [14,15]. Additional challenges are found in specific industry sectors, such as when dealing with high end yet poorly recyclable materials such as composites [16][17][18]. To date, the advantages and challenges of the materials have been widely acknowledged [16,17,19], but the design of products using composite materials has not explicitly been considered in circular product design approaches.…”

“…Additional challenges are found in specific industry sectors, such as when dealing with high end yet poorly recyclable materials such as composites [16][17][18]. To date, the advantages and challenges of the materials have been widely acknowledged [16,17,19], but the design of products using composite materials has not explicitly been considered in circular product design approaches.…”

“…To improve the design of composite products for a circular economy, we developed a circular composites design method based on the study by Joustra et al (2021) [16]. The design method consists of two parts: a product lifecycle exploration sheet and a product design framework.…”