Blackburn-based SME B&M Longworth Ltd are celebrating awards success this week after Composites UK, the Trade Association for the UK composites industry announced the winners of its 2022 awards.
(l-r: Longworth’s John Norris, Tony Bannan, Jen Hill, Rob Heys, Mark Talbot)
300 people in attendance at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham, witnessed Longworth and its partners receiving the 2022 award for Innovation in Composite Materials.
Longworth’s entry, partnered with Cygnet Texkimp and National Composites Centre, saw a project to reclaim continuous carbon fibre lengths from a pressure tank in its original tows, and the re-manufacture of a new tank – a UK first.
Partner Cygnet Texkimp used their specialist filament winding technology to enable the rewinding of a brand new tank.
Environmentalists at heart and innovators by nature since 1976, Longworth’s awards entry relied upon their pressolysis reclamation technology DEECOM®; a low pressure reclamation process using superheated steam. DEECOM® reduces, recovers and allows the reuse of pristine carbon and glass fibres along with resin monomers, it emits only water vapour into the atmosphere making it a ‘clean’ alternative to more established recycling methods.
DEECOM® is sustainable in itself; a clean system using only water and energy – there are no toxic fumes, hazardous emissions or expensive solvents required.
In addition, DEECOM® brings sustainability to those employing it – they can reduce, if not negate waste, reduce energy, drastically reduce their carbon footprint AND reduce their costs.
Collecting the award are Rob Heys of Longworth and Andy Whitham from Cygnet Texkimp
Composites is just one of the applications where DEECOM® can bring about sustainability, help with circularity and take industry towards net zero, other challenging waste streams are available in more detail online.
Composites UK is the trade association for the UK composites industry. Case studies of all the shortlisted entries are available to download from their website.