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Boeing and Alenia to Support Italy’s First Composite Industrial Recycling Plant

Written by thomas · Filed Under Notícias da aeronáutica 

July 16, 2008

thomas

Agreement establishes framework for recycling aircraft composite waste into
reusable materials

FARNBOROUGH, United Kingdom, July 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — The
Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) and Alenia Aeronautica, a Finmeccanica company,
today announced that they are joining forces to help establish Italy’s
first composite recycling facility, which will be located in Southern
Italy. Together with partners Milled Carbon (based in Birmingham, U.K.),
Karborek (based in Puglia, Italy), and ENEA (Italian National Agency for
new Technologies Energy and the Environment), the two companies have signed
a letter of intent to apply their expertise and work with academia to
advance industry knowledge surrounding the recycling of composite airplane
parts into reusable materials for manufacturing. Financial terms were not
announced.

The composite recycling facility, which is expected to be operational
in mid- to late 2009, will be in Italy’s Puglia region, near the Alenia
Aeronautica manufacturing center and its supply chain production centers.
When fully operational, the center is expected to process an average of
1,000 metric tonnes (1,102 tons) of composite scrap annually and add
approximately 75 jobs to the regional economy.

Boeing, which is pioneering the use of composites as the primary
structure on the 787 Dreamliner, and Alenia, a major 787 partner, will
support the project by partnering to advance associated knowledge and
technologies and reuse of recycled aircraft parts and manufacturing
materials. Both companies will work together to process carbon fiber scrap
material from all of the Alenia facilities and related supply chain
facilities. Over the longer term, Boeing and Alenia will work closely with
Italian industry and academia to develop additional markets for the reuse
of the carbon fiber, which could include automotive, civil engineering,
sporting goods, nautical and other industrial applications in Italy and
across Europe.

“High-value composite materials are playing an increasingly significant
role in aviation’s ability to develop lighter, more fuel efficient and
environment friendly aircraft,” said Billy Glover, Boeing Commercial
Airplanes managing director of environmental strategy. “Through this
agreement, we are proactively developing technologies and capabilities
today that will allow us to responsibly recycle our precious resources, and
help meet rising demand for high-quality composite material.”

Working collaboratively with Boeing, Milled Carbon has demonstrated the
ability, in a pilot industrial plant, to process cured and uncured
composite parts on a continual feed that extracts high-quality carbon
fibers. The recycled material potentially can be used for noncritical
structures such as interior linings, galley and seat parts and tools that
can benefit from stronger, lighter-weight materials.

ENEA, the Italian Research Institute, has long worked with Karborek to
develop recycling process technologies for the recovery of carbon and glass
fiber from composite materials. ENEA and Karborek each has separately
developed prototypes of complementary technology.

“Alenia Aeronautica is very aware of the importance of product
sustainability, and as the use of composites grows, so does the importance
of recycling these materials,” said Alenia Chief Technology Officer Nazario
Cauceglia. “In light of this, we have engaged with Italian research
organizations and other companies to make this project a reality. It is
encouraging to see the partners already so well advanced in the development
of the project.”

Boeing and Milled Carbon are both members of the Aircraft Fleet
Recycling Association (AFRA), an international nonprofit organization
dedicated to developing industry best practices for the responsible
recycling of end-of-service aircraft and their parts. The new joint venture
is also anticipated to become an AFRA member and ultimately bolster the
organization’s capabilities in the area of composite recycling.

Alenia Aeronautica S.p.A. is a major Boeing partner producing 787
composite fuselage barrel sections and the horizontal stabilizer.

The Boeing Research & Development of Italy (BR&DI) was established in
Southern Italy in early 2008 with a primary mission of engaging Italian
industries, academia and research centers in technological innovation and
industrial growth.

Milled Carbon is the provider of the industrial plant blueprint and
operational recycling processes. The company has worked with Boeing to
develop this capability through years of development and pilot program
testing.

Karborek, located in Lecce, is teaming with Milled Carbon with regards
to the building and operation of the composite recycling plant.

ENEA, Italy’s largest technology research institution for energy and
environment, brings extensive recycling process experience.

SOURCE The Boeing Company

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