JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #141 - July/August 2021 - 16

BUSlNESS natural fibre
The reality of natural fibre markets and
research paving the way to valorization (Part 1)
laurent Bleuze,
Materials Innovation manager
Fibres Recherche Développement
Flax, hemp and other natural fibres are part of the solution for the
transition towards sustainable development. Their variety provides
new properties that make them stand out from the crowd. And yet,
their potential is not fully exploited at this time. New lines of research
are breaking down the technical and economic barriers to widespread
use, opening up possibilities for mass market implementation.
T
oday, it's a reality that
natural fibres are being
valorized with
the
goal of developing materials
for all fields of application
(building, transport, etc.).
The current situation has
originated out of industrial
players' desire to transition
to a circular economy, armed
with products that have
a low carbon impact and
properties that make these
materials stand out from the
rest, like increased strength
and light weight. The development
of flax and hemp
technical fibre use began
in the 50s with the debut
of particle boards based on
flax shives.
It continued in
the 80s-90s with the advent
of hemp concrete and the
launch of flax and hemp
nonwovens and insulation
(Figure 1). More recently,
APM has been a precursor in
hemp fibre [cm] valorization
in plastics, while Bcomp,
EcoTechnilin/Lineo, Depestele,
Terre de Lin and Safilin
focused on flax fibre [dm]
valorization in composites.
Natural technical fibres
such as flax and hemp
are currently used in
four
families of materials: insulation,
concrete, particle
board and composites and
present on seven application
markets: flexible insulation,
fill
insulation,
concrete
blocks, injection-moulded
reinforced plastic parts, thermo-compressed
parts made
from nonwovens as well as
continuous fibre composites
(Figure 2).
Diversified production and
as-yet unexploited potential
The potential reserve of
natural fibres is composed
of the total capacity for
straw production, transformation
and procurement,
organized in a sector uniting
all players. According to
the FAO, global natural
fibre production (excluding
cotton and wood) is around
4.5 to 5 million metric tons
each year, with growing concentrated
in Southeast Asia
(75%), particularly in India
and Bangladesh through
cultivation of jute, coir, or
coconut fibre, and kenaf.
About 10% of this overall
amount is produced by Europe,
whose cultivation area
totals 104,000 ha/year for
flax fibre and 34,000 ha/year
for hemp (Figure 3). France
is a major player as a result
of its flax and hemp sector
organization. Nevertheless,
the majority
of the
fibre
produced in Europe today
are used by their traditional
markets: textiles for flax and
Fig. 1: Flax & Hemps timeline
16
jec composites magazine / N°
141 July - August 2021
special paper products for
hemp. But these figures give
a glimpse of the outlook that
the technical fibres may have
in other fields like building
and transport.
In France, a large number
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #141 - July/August 2021

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