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Boeing and Alenia Aeronautica, a Finmeccanica company,
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.
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.
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