RECYCLAMINE® : Contributing to a Greener Planet

Breaking Free from the Linear 'Take-Make-Dispose' Model to Create a Resilient and Sustainable Future

Sustainability has emerged from merely a buzz word to a reality that the world is coming to terms with. The climatic changes, consequent socio-economic impact, concern over depletion and limitation of natural resources, our recent volatility during a pandemic have all amplified today’s population’s consciousness towards contributing for the greener world in future. Governments and policy maker on one hand and business fraternity globally are all looking to make this a critical part of all planning and execution. From just contributing to raging a war against carbon footprints and waste management is being ingrained from macro to the minutest level. This is defining strategies and actions across nations globally – giving rise to conversations on Circular Economy.     

SHIFT TOWARDS A CIRCULAR ECONOMY

As the world faces the environmental, social, and economic challenges, the recognition of the need for a circular economy is becoming increasingly urgent to create a more resilient and sustainable future for us and the planet. The fundamental shift from the traditional linear economic model, which is based on the take-make-dispose approach to the circular business models, based on the principle of keeping resources in use for as long as possible, is gaining momentum around the world to address the challenges of sustainability and resource depletion. The concept that collective action of each person and every industry has the power to create a sustainable world is gaining momentum. 

One area where circular economy is emerging significant and much work is being done is in the world of composites. 

THE COMPOSITE STORY

The adoption of composites is fast increasing, driven by megatrends and the modern contemporary lifestyles that we are all leading today. From light weight vehicles to our day-to-day gadgets and our preference for construction material, composites are everywhere. Keeping in pace with this rapidly changing world, materials are getting lighter yet stronger. Over the years the industries have moved from legacy materials to light weight composites. One such of the composite family, as we all know, are Epoxy Composites. 

Epoxy Composites are high performance polymers and are a preferred choice across industries like aerospace, automotive, marine and construction due to its light weight, energy efficient and high-performance properties. The epoxy resin provides a strong and durable matrix for the composite materials, while the reinforcing fibres add strength and stiffness to the final product. Epoxy composites have a high strength-to-weight ratio, making them ideal for applications where lightweight materials are required. Some common applications of epoxy composites include aircraft components, wind turbine blades, sporting goods such as surf boards, and structural components in buildings and bridges.

Recycling of composite materials, including epoxy composites, can be challenging due to the nature of the materials and the way they are constructed. Composite materials are typically made up of two or more materials that are bonded together, which makes it difficult to separate and recycle the individual components. At the end of their lifecycle these products end up in debris adding to the ecological degradation of our fragile planet. This is one of the key challenges the world is facing as the disposal of composite materials at the end of life had been a pain point for across user industries. Such widely used epoxy composites do not provide a sustainable solution for the future as they are non-recyclable.

Today, this challenge has a solution in Recyclamine® Technology, the world’s 1st solution to end of life management for epoxy composites – a technology innovation of Advanced Materials Business of Aditya Birla Chemicals, Aditya Birla Group.  

OUR BUSINESS

The Advanced Materials Business of the Aditya Birla Chemicals is a truly global, among the top 3 epoxy players worldwide, with manufacturing across 3 countries. This has a strong portfolio of epoxy products, systems, and solutions with a broad spectrum of properties, behaviours, and performance benefits. With strong customer-orientation & focus on highest fulfilment levels, we enable customers to fulfil assembly-line needs, test new prototypes, enhance technical domains & build innovations. The business is geared to build and curate solutions that help deliver best-in-class deliverables to customers, thereby impelling growth and consolidating a clear edge. We are committed to synthesizing products that optimise safety for formulators and applicators and minimise ecological footprint, thereby vitalising the value chain for a healthier planet. 

New scientific discoveries in the field of environmentally friendly solutions, new technology innovations in the field of recyclable materials and development of new products from renewable resources is at the fore front of Research & Development for Aditya Birla Group. We are committed to developing and providing solutions that are safer for our customers, healthier for end-users and have a greater positive footprint on the planet. The business have started designing products with the end of life management in mind. The materials are structured based on their ability to be reused and recycled. The use of recycled materials in the manufacturing process reduces the need for virgin resources and creates a closed loop system. 

RECYCLAMINE ® : A 1st IN THE WORLD 

One of the finest innovations, high on circular economy and sustainability index, is the ‘Recyclamine’ Technology, which was developed as a solution to a global concern of the end-of-life management for composites. Redefining the very future of applications that use epoxy thermoset, Recyclamine® Technology is a path-breaking innovation by the business, that captures a commitment towards a greener planet. This pioneering, patented technology allows epoxy thermosets which are non-recyclable to be recovered, reused, and repurposed. This facilitates end-of-life recycling and zero-waste manufacturing, thereby plugging into a circular economy. For several industries that use epoxy-based composites as a frontline material, this is a paradigm shift. Ecological, environmental, and societal impacts caused by composite waste are now and can be, a thing of the past.

The multiple award-winning Recyclamine® Technology involves unique Amine-based Curing Agents containing specifically engineered cleavage points at cross-linking sites. Under specific conditions, they convert thermosetting epoxies into thermoplastics enabling recycling. Like for composite components, the reinforcing fibres and plastic material can be recovered and reused. Performance properties of recovered reinforcement fibers are comparable to virgin fibers and can be used in multiple applications, while the recovered epoxy thermoplastic can either be compounded with thermoplastics or used solo to make plastic components. 

This portfolio offers two categories - Recyclamine-based Building Blocks and Recyclamine-based Epoxy Systems, which are suitable for a variety of manufacturing processes. They exhibit a wide spectrum of properties like fast to slow reactivity & latency, low to high thermal and chemical resistance.

WIND INDUSTRY APPLICATION: DRIVING THE CHANGE

Let us demonstrate the Recyclamine® Technology application in the wind industry  for the wind turbine blades. The biggest challenge the wind industry is facing is the end-of-life management of the decommissioned rotor blades. As most of the blades installed earlier this century are getting decommissioned, this poses a significant waste management challenge due to their size, weight, and composition. While we can recycle almost 85% of the wind turbine, 15% of the components which are largely coming from wind blades cannot be recycled due to the non-recyclable thermosets. 

Global statistics indicate that the waste anticipated to be generated by 2050 will be to the tune of 43mn Tons. It is becoming extremely important for the wind industry to consider using more environmentally friendly and sustainable materials for wind turbine blades. 

Over the past two decades, wind companies, worldwide, have trusted the Advanced Materials Business to help achieve transformational advancements in turbine rotor blade technology. The business serves the Wind industry, for onshore & offshore applications, with a robust and ever-evolving portfolio of Composite Systems. At every step, we stay aligned to help fulfil aspirations of load handling, efficiency, compliance & circular economy. Our systems enable optimal aerodynamic rotor blade architecture with greater dimension stability to maximise the energy harnessed from wind. The ability to meet stringent process & application demands, has made epoxy thermoset a material of choice for designers and manufacturers. Wind blade manufacturers, globally, choose from an extensive portfolio of robust systems for Resin Infusion, Prepreg, Tooling, Gel Coat, Hand Lay-up, Preform Binder, Core Material & Structural Adhesives. Suitable for different processes & blade designs, these systems perform excellently under static & dynamic loading. 

Through this Recyclamine® Technology, the Aditya Birla Advanced Materials Business manufactured wind turbine blades that can now be recycled & reused while retaining high performance on strength and being economically viable, thus, shifting from Linear to Circular economy, low costs owing to recyclable products and lower carbon footprint for the industry.

We have achieved milestones with this technology and collaborated with world-class organisations to launch the world’s first fully recyclable blade based on Recyclamine® Technology ensuring end-of-life management. We are partnering with leading end-use segment companies, recyclers, international labs, and academia to achieve the true potential of this unique technology. 

This Recyclamine® Technology  has an innovation journey of over 10 years. Recyclamine(s) are a group of several new organic compounds, that have different structure and properties. Synthesis and process parameters are optimised by Research and Development team of the Advanced Materials Business, Aditya Birla Group to allow efficient and economic manufacturing. After the successful operations, demonstrated at the laboratory and scale-up pilot plant trials, it is being successfully commercialized with customers globally. A dedicated plant has been commissioned to produce Recyclamine building blocks and systems. Recyclamine® Technology will serve customers around the world through our global operations network. To enable seamless adoption of this pioneering technology, our technical teams will engage closely with customers to comprehend their specialized requirements. An extensive range of properties combined with superior performance and recyclability, will make Recyclamine-based epoxy systems a clear choice for sustainable products.

While the Recyclamine® Technology is fast garnering traction globally, particularly in the US and EU, India is well poised to integrate this technology in the composite applications and products. One such application is composite cylinders for LPG and CNG applications. As the demand for composite cylinders continue to rise (estimated 15million cylinders/year), the industry can manage the end of life of the composite cylinders by using Recyclamine based resin systems. Not only the thermoplastic can be recovered and repurposed, but the high value carbon fibre can also be recovered and reused. We have the world’s 1st and only technology to make Every Epoxy Composite a Potential Opportunity for Recycling. 

The versatility of the Recyclamine® Technology stems from the fact that it is applicable to any industry - may it be Wind, Sports, Infrastructure or wherever composites are used. Thus, this amply addresses the circular economy concept to  break free from the linear 'Take-Make-Dispose' model to create a step change towards a sustainable future for our planet.