Flax and hemp fibres: A natural solution for the composite industry

The JEC Conference regarding the use of flax and hemp fibers in the composite industry, organised with the European Confederation of Flax and Hemp (CELC) on December 4th in Leuven (Belgium), was a great success. During this day, the issues of eco-conception and light-weighting were introduced thanks to presentations from experts and industrials. The organization of the field and the availability of these fibers were also discussed.

Nowadays, the environmental impact of products can no longer be ignored, which is why the eco-conception solutions are seriously considered in various industries such as automotive, aerospace, construction or sports.   

Natural fibres such as flax and hemp fibres possess interesting properties like strength and lightness, as well as mechanical properties (choc absorption) and of course their natural properties which enable them to be organic. Current research is ongoing in order to include as much natural fiber as possible in the products. 

There were eight conferences by experts and industrials. The overall goal of this seminar was to illustrate the use of these natural fibers thanks to three general themes: the ecological and technical bonus, the market reality and the industrial dynamic of an agricultural resource. Thanks to the partnership with the CELC and the participation of firms such as Boeing, PSA Peugeot-Citro?n or Oxylane, the various aspects of biocomposites were thoroughly tackled. Indeed, the entire composite chain was represented: from the culture of flax and help to the semi-products elaboration and finally the representation of the application sectors. 

The inconveniences of these fibres were also addressed, whether it was their fire resistance or their agricultural and not industrial origin. These limitations will be examined in the future. Finally, the debate was also based on the fact that the matrix should also come from a renewable resource, enabling the final product to be as green as possible (without forgetting that as long as a part of non-renewable matter is replaced by natural resources, it is still a gain). 

This seminar, with more than 70 people in attendance, concluded with a few words by the president of the CELC Frédéric Douchy “Green economy is no longer an alternative but a reality.” The next JEC Conference will take place on December 11th at Technocampus EMC2 in Nantes.