FFR LIFE06 ENV/IT/000241 - Forget fibreglass reinforced: process and product clean innovation in building of big containers
Overview
Background & policy context:
The use of fibreglass reinforcement in the production of corrosive-resistant tanks for agricultural applications is a common and consolidated process.
However, the production method uses volatile resins and thinners. This makes it highly polluting and dangerous both for the natural environment and the people who work in its production. Furthermore, the chemical content of the fibreglass does not allow for the recycling of the material once the life cycle of the tank comes to its end.
Objectives:
The objective of the Forget Fibreglass Reinforced (FFR) project was to demonstrate a new ecologically sustainable kind of agricultural tank. It aimed to show that top quality tanks could be made using fully recyclable polymers instead of fibreglass. It planned to use advanced and ecologically sustainable technology to construct the self-supporting tanks.
The project was based on an already demonstrated advanced mega-modelling system. This process was shown to be able to house large, perfectly sealed metallic moulds with high thermal conducting capacities, by using an advanced robotic monobloc moulding system with rotational movement at varying rhythms.
This new technology faced challenges to be applied to the construction of agricultural tanks, notably the size of the containers to be moulded and problems of even distribution of the product. The project sought to overcome these challenges to demonstrate the use of this new technology in this specific application.
The project thus hoped to obtain environmental benefits both by replacing the highly polluting and unhealthy conventional production method and by opening the door to recycling at the end of the tanks’ life.
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