HAMBURG—As part of aviation’s endeavor to become sustainable, the manufacturers of cabin-related components are looking for composite materials with a smaller environmental footprint, either recyclable or bio-sourced.
While Lufthansa Technik is developing a material that uses vegetal fiber and a bio-based resin, Diab has found a way to recycle the thermoplastic foam in aircraft interior parts.
Lufthansa Technik’s Aeroflax is the first renewable, eco-efficient and aerospace-grade pre-impregnated fabric (prepreg), says Christian Seifert, Lufthansa Technik’s product manager, cabin modification. Fibers come from flax. The resin uses agricultural waste, such as from corn harvests, as feedstock.
Aeroflax currently stands at technology readiness level 5-6, a maturity that usually allows product launch. The project started three years ago with partner Bcomp, a specialist in composites for sports gear and automotive applications, Seifert says. Flammability and heat release tests were conducted at an early stage to ensure the idea was not a non-starter for aviation.
The technology could be shared with prepreg suppliers. Lufthansa Technik could also use it for the parts it manufactures at its own production sites, such as radomes or VIP cabin components.
“For flax, Bcomp has a supply chain independent from the clothing industry,” Seifert says. “We are now working to ensure a consistent quality level. The first part could fly in 2023.”
Diab, a company based in Bordeaux, wants its Divinycell F thermoplastic foam to be part of a circular economy. It can be made of up to 40% of offcuts, says Aurelien Lafforgue, Diab’s market segment manager, aerospace and industry. Then, at the end of the life cycle, it can be crushed into a powder, or converted into pellets. Those may be used in an injection-molding process for new parts.
While the initial foam is used as part of a sandwich construction for baggage bins, for example, it cannot be reused in the same way. The injection-molded components may be brackets or secondary structures, Lafforgue says.
Diab will not handle the recycling process itself but will share the technology with specialists such as Tarbes, France-based Tarmac Aerosave, Lafforgue says.
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