What shall we do withthe End-of-Life vessel ?

John SummerscalesAdvanced Composites Manufacturing Centre

University of Plymouth

... with input from Miggy Singh (UoP SMSE),Ken Wittamore (Triskel Consultants Limited), and

Sue Halliwell (NetComposites)

Political drivers

The European Community aims to be the most “sustainable” federation of countries in the world:

• Waste Framework Directive (WFD)• Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC)also pressure from the environmental lobby

• End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) for cars• Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)

directive• ?? End-of-Life Vessel ??

Commercial drivers

• Waste minimisation is a basic management philosophyto achieve a more profitable business– cost savings thro’ improved resource efficiency– compliance reduces litigation costs– risk reduction improves investor confidence– eco-friendly is good for customer relations

End-of-life (EoL) vesselAnnette Roux (2007)President of FIN(French boatbuilding federation) andPresident of Groupe Beneteau, said:

industry has worked hard on techniques to destroy old fibreglass hulls,instead of owners abandoning them,“but so far we are having difficulty finding any: they are in good conditionand sailors continue to use them”

RNLI Challenge 2015• Over the next ten years, 86 lifeboats will be decommissioned

– 12 Tyne class• steel hull, aluminium superstructure, no composite

– 37 Mersey class .. introduced 1988• fibre-reinforced epoxy hull and superstructure @ 7.8 tonnes/boat

– 37 Trent class .. introduced 1994• fibre-reinforced epoxy hull and superstructure @ 18 tonnes/boat

• Total = 954 tonnes of composite• RNLI seeking novel solutions for:

– reuse, repurpose or recycling– future design for disassembly, reuse and recycling

USS GuardianFRP sheathed oak-and-fir wooden hullaground on coral reefSulu Sea (Phillipines) 17-Jan-2013

EuCIA: European Composites Industry Association• Competitive Composites:

Sustainability and Recycling Challenges,Brussels, 04 May 2011– debate report:

http://www.eucia.org/files/EuCIA%20Debate%20Report%2004052011.pdf

Size of problem• 95% of boats <24m long are thermoset FRP

• will not consider thermoplastic composites here• production of 115 000 tonnes per year in Europe• marine composites = ~7% of total composites market

• typically hulls >> cars, so need cutting before crushing• some common issues with civil engineering• reduce size for cost-effective transport to process

site• inherently tough, so high energy consumption

Recycling hierarchy• waste reduction > reuse > recovery > disposal

– manufacture: lean materials usage– reuse: vessel – components – materials– recover: fibres – pyrolysis etc for feedstock– disposal: scuttle – incinerate – compost if bio-based– landfill as a last resort

• beware: toxic compounds in• bilges, engines, lubricants, etc and • anti-fouling coatings

Waste reduction in manufacture• Why buy it, then throw it out ?

– analyse what leaves the plant in skips and drains

• Why not recycle waste ?– small volumes– only small specialist markets

e.g. carbon fibre prepreg > jewellery– no clear economic benefits

• Italy: ENA eco-design & LCA criteria ELB FRP waste to secondary raw material

Waste reductionby re-use

• Second-hand market, e.g.

• HMS Wilton now Essex Yacht Club HQ• HMS Bicester to Greek Navy HS

Europa• Every naval architect has his own design

– could multiple designs use standard hatch cover– then a strong second hand market might develop

Image from Essex Yacht Club homepage

Waste reduction by re-use(repair or component replacement)• Team Phillips and US SSN 711 "San Francisco"

Images fromhttp://www.nmmc.co.uk/index.php?page=News_Centre&newsid=18 (left)and http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1026891.stm (centre and right)

http://navysite.de/ssn/ssn711_6.jpg (left), http://www.subcommittee.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?s=0584a1450d8de1bca4f7443b07a0f89f;act=ST;f=27;t=115;st=20 (centre)and http://www.subcommittee.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?s=49d5aa6747d28724559df35b205650a3;act=ST;f=27;t=115;st=10 (right)

Waste reductionby material recoveryFour classes:• primary: to materials of equivalent

performance• secondary: to materials of inferior performance• tertiary: to chemicals and fuel• quaternary: to energy

Waste reductionby material recovery

• Ground GFRP can replace ~15% SMC or BMC

• Finland* (state-driven initiative with recycling company)– ~1000 small open craft recycled to date

• France* (six competing companies)– ~250 dinghies <6m treated so far

• Italy* (Materials Recovery Platform ATECO ID37)

Data* from EuCIA report

Wasste reduction by material recovery (solvolysis)• EURECOMP FP7 project (2009-2012)• Solvolysis = sub- or super-critical

thermochemical depolymerisation in water (or CO2?)– clean recovered fibres with little residue

but may need sizing agents replaced– liquid fraction

contains e.g. resin monomers and benzoic acid

JEC Composites magazine, 2011, (65), 24-25

Waste reduction by materials recovery (CFRP)carbon fibres not degraded during thermal recovery• Recycled Carbon Fibre Limited (was Milled Carbon)

www.recycledcarbonfibre.com• TSB CR&D FibreCycle programme (2007-2010)

www.fibrecycleproject.org.uk

• random CFRP ηo=0.375 Vf=20% Ef=240 GPaYoung’s modulus = 18 GPa

• woven GRFP ηo=0.5 Vf=50% Ef=72 GPaYoung’s modulus = 18 GPa

Waste disposal (recycling?)• France

– GPIC energy recovery in cement kilns– costs for grinding and kiln use > landfill

• Germany– Zajons Logistik and Holcim AG– 60kt Turbine blades shredded then to cement kilns

(~15GJ/tonne)– ash and slag incorporated into cement

• Norway– mechanical recycling– energy recovery in cement kilns– pyrolysis– chemical recycling via solvolysis (GjenKomp project)

Waste disposal (incineration)

• thermoset resins char rather than burn ?• tales of boatyard blazes with fuel still in GRP

tanks• GRP in incineration needs to

be well-mixed with other waste• charge for GRP ~£120-150/t

vs £30/t for ordinary wastes

Up Helly Aa (not FRP)

If all else fails, then scuttle ?>35 m (100 ft) not disturbed by storms>75 m (250 ft) remain in place & inhabited by fish for 30-40 yearsmay be appropriate for

use in coastal defences against sea-level riserecreational diving (e.g. RN frigate HMS Scylla in Whitesand Bay)

requires:• cleaning bilges, anti-fouling• attention to anchoring• LCA to justify post-use management• convince stakeholders of positive benefit• beware of scour HMS Scylla

Image from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/news_features/images/scylla/scylla_bang180.jpg

Effects of scour

• abrasion by pebbles and/or sand leads topolymer micro-particles

– particles accumulate toxins from seawater

– high toxin levels on particle surfaces– particles ingested by marine animals– microparticles can enter circulatory

system of e.g. mussels

If everything else fails,then landfill

• UK Waste Classification Scheme– hazardous, non-hazardous or inert– composites classified as non-hazardous, under

“biodegradable wastes and other non-special waste”

• Costs of landfill rising each year

Life Cycle Assessment

To quantify environmental impacts need analysis ofEnvironmental Impact Classification Factors (EICF):

BS8905 adds “Land Use”also consider general nuisance of ... dust, noise and

odour ?

Azapagic et al ISO/TR 14047:2003(E) European Environment Agency

Acidification Potential (AP) Acidification AcidificationAquatic Toxicity Potential (ATP) Ecotoxicity Ecotoxicity

Eutrophication Potential (EP) Eutrophication/Nitrification Eutrophication

Global Warming Potential (GWP) Climate change Climate change and global warming

Human Toxicity Potential (HTP) Human toxicity Human toxicity

Non-Renewable/Abiotic Resource Depletion (NRADP) Depletion of abiotic/biotic resources  

Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) Stratospheric ozone depletion Stratospheric ozone depletion

Photochemical Oxidants Creation Potential (POCP) Photo-oxidant formation Photochemical ozone formation (summer

smog)

Conclusions

we need to • develop an effective method for reducing

end-of-life components to manageable size• consider vessel end-of-life considerations

before political solutions are imposed• undertake life cycle assessments to support

any claims made for environmental benefit

if more depth required ...