JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #88 - April 2014 - Special JEC Americas Spring Edition - 5

we are still very positive about
Europe as regards innovative
technical textiles for composites. Knowledge and innovation on a smaller scale are the
key words to succeed in this
market. The consumption of
carbon fibres is growing rapidly
in the composite sector. Today,
certain airplanes include up to
50% or more composite materials, which are much lighter
than steel. The automotive
sector is beginning to follow
this trend with cars made from
carbon fibre-based materials.
With this growth in applications, we have seen increases in
the quantities of waste. We are
happy, as a recycler of natural
and synthetic fibres, to enter
the world of technical fibres.
We see a lot of opportunities
and applications in the near
future for recycled carbon
and aramid fibres, which are
very expensive as a first choice
material.
Thanks to the acquisition
of Apply Carbon in France,
Procotex inherited many years
of technological experience
in the milling and cutting of
carbon and aramid waste lots.
Because of their excellent
properties, carbon and aramid
fibres are increasingly used in
the composite industry. This
is also why, together with the

industry, we are working on a
solution involving industrial
waste and end-of-life carbon/
aramid waste. Sustainability and conservation of raw
materials have always been the
cornerstones of our corporate
philosophy.
By using post-industrial
carbon/aramid waste lots,
Procotex is able to take on a
really competitive position.
Strict daily quality control in
our modern laboratory is also a
competitive benefit that makes
Procotex really unique. A
unique service for an exceptional product! Did you know
that carbon fibres can help
increase the strength, rigidity,
dimensional stability, electrical
conductivity and sound dampening properties of polymers?
Today, we do not have specific
countries in mind where we
could invest in the near future.
But if we encounter new opportunities, we will certainly
study them.
To reply to the second part
of the question, Procotex is
exporting its products to more
than 39 countries worldwide.
As you know, the world has
become a small village. We
can no longer live on the local
market alone.

Technical fibre range

JCM: How do you find a balance
between buying and selling
recycled fibres? What are the
minimum quantities that you
buy?

B.D. : It is indeed true that

we have to live from the waste
available on the market. We
can't do like in the first choice
market, where companies can
invest in additional production by commissioning more
extrusion lines to fulfil the
growing demand. Supply and
demand is actually the only
way to work. We at Procotex
understood quite early that we
had a role to play in bringing
stability between the demand
and the supply by creating large stocks so we could
absorb sharp changes in the

market of these waste types.
This way, Procotex can go into
the market and offer long-term
contracts at a stable price.
We also have to evaluate each
market in terms of quantities.
For example, we are processing around 20,000 metric
tons of recycled synthetic and
natural fibres per year, but
only 1,000 tons of recycled
technical fibres such as carbon
or aramid. We have to take
into consideration the waste
supply and the applications
where it can be used. There are
a lot of major applications for
PP, whereas the applications
for carbon and aramid are
rather limited.
The minimum quantities do
not matter. We can buy single
lots of waste ranging (.../p.8)

offers a rigidity of more than 10 GPa for a 35% fibre
volume fraction. In a composite, this results in a
strength of 130 MPa and a density of 1.05 g/cm³.
Precisely because of its many years of hackling
experience, Procotex can offer UD flax prepregs
which are quite regular in weight and fibre per
In composites, the best mechanical properties are
square meter.
achieved by using full unidirectional layers rather
Procotex provides UD flax prepregs for both the
than yarns, fabrics or flax rovings. Unidirectional
thermoplastics and thermoset markets. In coopelayers have high mechanical properties due to the
ration with the customer, by-products can also be
absence of torque (twist) and shrinkage. A cross-ply delivered such as UD flax fibres in the form of a flat
laminate of UD layers made of flax and a PP matrix strip (raffia), spread tow fabrics, etc.

Processing
example

No88 April 2014 /

jec composites magazine 5

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #88 - April 2014 - Special JEC Americas Spring Edition

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #88 - April 2014 - Special JEC Americas Spring Edition