July 29, 2022

ShinMaywa Industries, Ltd. (Head Office: Takarazuka City, Hyogo Prefecture, President and CEO Isogawa Tatsuyuki) will be holding a prototype product that uses recycled carbon fiber in some parts at Tokyo Big Sight from August 2nd. We will be exhibiting as a reference at the "Sewage Works Exhibition '22 Tokyo".

CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced plastic) is widely used in aircraft field due to its lightweight and high strength properties. In the future, demand is expected to increase rapidly in fields such as automobiles and wind power generation.
On the other hand, CFRP emits a large amount of CO₂ during the manufacturing process, and environmental burden associated with the disposal of offcuts generated during the processing process has become a major issue.

In order to reduce CO ₂ emissions and environmental impact, our Fluid Division and Aircraft Division have established Fuji design co.,Ltd. (Head Office: Ono City, Hyogo Prefecture, President and CEO Morihiko Sugino, hereinafter referred to as "Fuji design") ), we have been working on initiatives to realize CFRP recycling since 2020.

As one of the results of this effort, we have completed a prototype using recycled CFRP as the propeller material for Fluid Division 's main products, the "low-speed submersible mixer'' and "vertical low-power agitator.'' The recycled CFRP used in the prototype was recycled from process waste from Aircraft Division using Fuji design's technology.

The biggest feature of Fuji design's recycling technology is that it uses molded CFRP and its intermediate material prepreg (carbon fiber impregnated with resin) to produce carbon fibers that are equivalent to new products with almost no deterioration in shape or physical properties. This makes it possible to collect the waste and reuse it for the same purpose as a new product. This prototype is an attempt to apply this recycled carbon fiber to our products as one of its uses.

Taking advantage of this prototype, we will further strengthen our collaboration with Fuji design and work to establish processing technology and a mass production system. We will also promote the commercialization of this initiative, with an eye toward developing new applications that take advantage of the material's features and incorporate environmental considerations and cost benefits.