MAI ÖkoCaP

Fiber composite solutions are in intense competition with other lightweight materials. Nevertheless, they often only go through one life cycle, and recycled carbon fiber (rCF) materials are not reused or only to a minimal extent. Reasons for this are insufficient knowledge and uncertainties regarding the possible component qualities, the possible quality variations, the achievable cost reduction, and the reduction of environmental impacts compared to conventional construction methods.

This is because, depending on the application area, product, and production boundary conditions, the use of recycled materials may or may not make economic and ecological sense. This fact, together with the multitude of processes and materials, makes it difficult for SMEs, in particular, to get started with the use of rCF.

Previous research projects show isolated solutions on how and where rCF can be used. The MAI ÖkoCaP project, on the other hand, is intended to provide decision-making aids for a large number of application cases and thus helps increase the market penetration of recycled materials.

The data generated will serve as the basis for the multi-criteria decision analysis. At the end of the project, the generated results were clearly summarized in a guideline and made accessible in a web-based app so that users can answer the following overriding questions in the future based on specific process and product boundary conditions:

• What are the technical, economic, and ecological potentials of recycling carbon fiber-reinforced plastics?
• Which technical, economic, and ecological potentials result from using rCF material for specific products?
• Which materials and processes are suitable for my application?
• What are the properties of my product made from secondary carbon fibers?

The systematic approach and preparation of results will help SMEs make a well-founded decision without having to familiarize themselves with the complex subject area in detail and at great expense beforehand.

The web-based app allows users to select an rCFK process route according to their own requirements and to integrate their own assumptions and evaluation results for individual process steps into the calculation. Compared to the guide, however, the results of the web-based app are more of an estimate, which gives the user an initial assessment of their process. The guide, on the other hand, contains an overview of the detailed results of the multi-criteria evaluation including the valid boundary conditions as well as an overview of the data quality and data origin.

Further information and the final report on the project are available on request from the Fraunhofer IGCV or from the AiF-Forschungsvereinigung Composites United Leichtbau-Forschung gGmbH.