Sheet Moulding Compound, SMC, BMC, Composite Material, Fibre Reinforced Plastics, Recycling, Moulded Parts, Automotive, Electrical  

THE EUROPEAN ALLIANCE FOR SMC

    Mercedes prefers SMC, when Recycling is a decisive Factor

SMC and BMC products help conserve our environment. An excellent ecological balance results by comparision to conventional materials through their production and processing, the weight savings achieved in service and lifetime and through their closed recycling loop which has been established by the SMC industry five years ago.

Our plastics composite consists of only 30% plastics. That is the amount of material deriving from crude oil. The rest are anorganic components like calcium carbonate, aluminium trihydrate or fibre glass reinforcement. The low weight of SMC and BMC as well as the design flexibility reduces the patrol consumption of the car, resulting simultaneously into a reduction of patrol.

At the end of the lifetime the SMC or BMC components are recycled and the recyclate is then added to the new SMC, where it may be used in the same application again. It doesn't matter how old the recycled component is, if it's painted or not. There is no degradation forced by sun light or corrosive atmosphere. Even subsequent recycling is no problem - if the loop is closed once, it can be closed again and again. The addition of recyclate doesn't reduce the properties of the material; painted or pigmented SMC-scrap has no negative effect. Of course the new material shows some speckles or stains deriving from the input material.

Audi has very positive experience with recycling of SMC. Since many years the Audi 100/A6 spare wheel box is made of recycled SMC. John Deere applies recycled SMC in its tractor roof. Mercedes-Benz has defined for the Light Truck Concept SMC as preferred material for painted parts. Outside the automotive industry recycled SMC is used for the base plate of electrical cabinets. The German Telekom has specified recycled SMC as preferred material over virgin SMC. It is used for the production of the telephone cabin.
 

When it comes to recycling, the process engineering and logistical know-how of the SMC business is pooled at ERCOM Composite Recycling GmbH, Rastatt, Germany. The recycling concept has been implemented on an industrial scale there, and ERCOM conducts the recycling right through from the shredding of the waste to the delivery of ready-to-use recyclate fractions. The compounders then use the fractions to produce new products.
 

These recycling arrangements guarantee that SMC or BMC scrap parts flow back into the loop. Our industry comply with the requirements of the Closed Loop Recycling Law (Kreislaufwirtschaftsgesetz) in Germany, which is not the case for many other plastics polymers.

  Published and maintained by H.D. Müller URL of this page is: http://members.aol.com/smcallianc/recyclng.htm Last addition: April 19, 1998 Copyright (C) 1997-98 by H.D. Müller and the SMC-Alliance [home] [next] To the top