Sustainability has develop into the trade’s favourite speaking level, with producers throughout the worth chain fast to assert carbon financial savings, typically with out the info to show it. At Formnext this yr, Procotex presents a counterpoint grounded in industrial scale and verifiable metrics. The Belgium- and France-based recycler has developed a platform for brief carbon fibers that matches the efficiency of virgin fibers, comes at a decrease price, and presents an order-of-magnitude benefit in CO₂ footprint.
Bruno Douchy, Gross sales Director on the sustainable fibre provider, defined how recycled carbon can ship each environmental and practical worth.
Industrialised Sustainability, From Textiles to Technical Fibres
Procotex has advanced from textile recycling to the economic reuse of high-performance supplies, corresponding to carbon and para-aramid. The corporate’s French subsidiary, Procotex France previously Apply Carbon, focuses completely on reclaiming dry carbon waste from main producers.
“We don’t produce virgin carbon; it’s at all times recycled,” stated Douchy. The waste sometimes arrives as offcuts, filaments, or weaving remnants, that are then milled or handled relying on the applying.
One key stage is the managed removing or adjustment of epoxy sizing, the floor remedy that ensures adhesion between fibre and polymer. Some purchasers require all sizing to be eliminated by heating in an oxygen-free furnace (pyrolyzing), whereas others want the unique end or request that Procotex apply a brand new coating for improved compatibility with particular matrices, corresponding to polyamide, polycarbonate, or polypropylene. The recycled materials is equipped in a number of types, from powder to pelletised feedstock.
To make clear, in Procotex’s course of, the time period “pellet or birdseed” refers to agglomerated fibre clusters moderately than the thermoplastic pellets frequent in polymer extrusion 3D printing.
In contrast to small recyclers, Procotex handles the complete vary in-house and maintains vital buffer inventory to ensure provide. “In recycling, for those who ship to massive industries you want to provide at all times,” Douchy stated. “You can not ask your provider to make some waste for us. The waste is there, or it’s not there.” This method, mixed with mixing waste from a number of sources, permits the corporate to keep up constant high quality and meet industrial-scale demand.
Additive Alternative, Competing with Virgin Carbon
Procotex’s roots lie in Belgium’s flax and polypropylene fibre industries, the place it equipped non-woven materials for automotive interiors. The transfer into technical fibres started by making use of its carbon-processing know-how to para-aramid – a high-strength, high-resistance artificial fibre maybe most generally generally known as Kevlar. Procotex now produces granules appropriate for compounding or additive manufacturing.
The corporate’s deal with automation and mixing underpins a gradual output, one spectacular declare is cost-competitiveness with virgin fibre. “Our power is within the industrialisation,” Douchy stated. “We put money into state-of-the-art equipment and optimise all the things so we don’t have an excessive amount of labour. We make it loads cheaper than virgin.”
An impartial Lifecycle Evaluation discovered that Apply Carbon’s recycled fibres minimize greenhouse-gas emissions by about 85% in contrast with virgin manufacturing. Recycled carbon and aramid fibres every carry an embedded footprint of two.0 kg CO₂-equivalent per kg, versus 12.6 kg for virgin carbon and 13.2 kg for aramid. The saving stems primarily from avoiding the energy-intensive synthesis of recent fibres. Substitution research confirmed additional reductions: polypropylene or polyamide compounds bolstered with recycled carbon can decrease embedded emissions to round 2–7 kg CO₂/kg, whereas sustaining mechanical efficiency.
Whereas the corporate’s present feedstock is post-industrial waste, it’s technically able to recycling post-consumer composites corresponding to plane or hydrogen-tank parts. The problem is financial. “You need to burn off 50 p.c of epoxy resin,” Douchy stated. “It’s technically attainable, however the worth is larger.” The agency is advocating for laws requiring producers to incorporate a minimal recycled content material in new merchandise, which it believes would make large-scale post-consumer recycling viable. “Politicians ought to assist us to oblige the trade to make use of, for instance, 5 to 10 per cent of recycled content material in new merchandise,” he stated. “That may open and assist to recycle numerous this waste.”
He expects regulation to tighten first within the automotive sector, the place new guidelines require automobiles to achieve about 80-85% recyclability by weight. Carbon fibre use in vehicles continues to be restricted by price, however comparable mandates for textiles are rising.
Procotex started supplying the additive manufacturing market a few decade in the past, initially for filaments based mostly on low-temperature polymers corresponding to PLA and polypropylene. As customers demanded lighter and stronger elements, carbon fibre reinforcement turned extra enticing, and Procotex supplied a recycled different to virgin feedstock. “It’s cheaper than virgin and we are able to react shortly to the market,” Douchy stated, including that the agency’s smaller dimension permits quicker sampling than main producers.
Recycled fibres for 3D printing are equipped primarily as milled granules, a brief fibre format that may go simply by means of print heads and be precisely dosed throughout compounding. Some prospects additionally purchase chopped strands, however most want the managed dosing and stream properties of the milled grade. Douchy stated the efficiency distinction between recycled and virgin materials is negligible. The financial benefit is extra pronounced. Recycled fibre could be 30 to 50% cheaper than virgin equivalents as a result of Procotex solely processes present waste, avoiding the energy-intensive manufacturing of recent carbon fibre. “The large gamers usually are not so reactive they usually want long-fibre programmes,” Douchy stated. “We’re less expensive.”
He sees the additive manufacturing sector getting into a section of quicker progress after years of gradual qualification work, although volumes will stay far under these within the wider compounding market that serves electronics and automotive elements.
Past Carbon: Para-Aramid and Conductive Markets
Procotex is increasing its recycled fibre portfolio to incorporate functions that require warmth resistance, friction efficiency, and electrical properties. Carbon fibre doesn’t burn, whereas para-aramid retains power at elevated temperatures and is used the place put on and tribology are important. Douchy cited functions corresponding to e-chains, the place repeated flex cycles demand abrasion resistance as only one use case.
The corporate is lively in initiatives geared toward post-consumer recycling and is exploring consolidation. “We’re at all times growing new merchandise,” stated Douchy. “We’re in subsidised initiatives for post-consumer, and we’re in negotiation with one other competitor to develop,” he added, noting that market exercise this yr has been slower than the earlier three.
Past carbon and para-aramid, the group can course of different practical fibers the place sizing and chop size are tuned for compatibility; nevertheless, glass fiber recycling is unattractive economically. Demand alerts embody EMI shielding and static-dissipative elements for dealing with electronics, whereas drone producers are looking for light-weight, stiff parts appropriate with short-fibre compounding and better deposition charges accessible with pellet-based printers.
Douchy’s message is to prioritise recycled choices the place printing course of constraints allow. “Use recycled first for sustainability and price,” he stated. “The standard and efficiency are the identical as virgin in the precise streams.” Procotex France has additionally a RCC (Recycled content material certificates) from SGS.
Formnext guests can meet Procotex at sales space F39 Corridor 12.1.
On Thursday, 20 November 2025 at 11:15 a.m. Procototex will give a chat “Recycled technical fibers and sustainability in AM” on the expertise stage of Formnext Corridor 12.1-B49.
Featured picture reveals the Procotex France Facility. Picture through Procotex.