Sales Manager, Tim Blackmore, talks about the sustainable production of graphene and how the material could support the composites industry.
1. You’ve worked in the composites industry for a number of years. Can you tell us a little bit about composites and what makes them so important?
A composite is a combination of two or more materials that, when combined, create a final material or product. By selecting and combining materials, you can create a material designed for a specific application. For example, a material that is stronger, lighter, more flexible, or which provides improved electrical resistance. Most people naturally think of fabric reinforced resin products, however, fillers can be added to thermoplastics and these are classified as composites as well.
Composites are hugely important, and you’ll find them everywhere because we use them constantly in our everyday lives. Some common examples include the parts in the car you drive, your bike frame if you’re a cyclist, bath and shower trays, and even in the computer or smartphone you might be reading this on!
2. Graphene has been described as a revolutionary material that can benefit a whole host of applications. How could graphene benefit composite applications specifically?
Graphene is the thinnest, strongest material ever discovered. It’s also flexible, light, and corrosion resistant. Graphene hybrid mixes could create composite materials that result in more sustainable products. These materials could be incorporated into cars and aircraft, for example, to make them more lightweight, more fuel-efficient, stronger, and safer.
Graphene has already been successfully used in composites such as sporting goods, car parts, yachts, and wind turbine blades. Its use is gaining in popularity and is expected to keep growing as the material’s benefits, as well as the economic benefits, continue to be better understood.
The potential of incorporating graphene into composite production processes is huge and could be added at various stages of the process, for a multitude of reasons. For example, graphene could be incorporated in the composite parts themselves to make them stronger, the resin to make it more durable, and tooling moulds to speed up the heating and cooling process. Graphene could also enable new process innovations such as in-mould curing, which could speed up cycle times and enhance durability.
3. Typically graphene is produced from graphite which is mined and then processed, how is this sustainable?
Some forms of graphene are produced by exfoliating graphite, but not all. At Levidian, we produce graphene that is carbon negative by taking waste methane and processing it through our decarbonisation device, LOOP. Using proprietary plasma chemistry, methane is cracked into its constituent atoms – carbon and hydrogen. Our graphene is created by substrate-free gas phase synthesis (made from the bottom up), using the carbon atoms produced from harmful gas that would otherwise end up in our atmosphere.
There is also a sustainable benefit for composite manufacturers. Incorporating graphene with its impressive properties means that less material needs to be used in the creation of composites. Therefore, less energy is required for manufacture.
We can see benefits further up the supply chain too. If less material is required, the CO2 footprint of transporting the material is reduced due to lighter loads and lower fuel consumption. These are just a couple of examples; sustainable benefits could be realised at many stages of the production process and, of course, in the final products themselves.
4. With the addition of graphene in composites, which would mean another material being added into the process, won’t this make production more expensive?
Not necessarily. Due to the potential value add of incorporating graphene into composite processes, it’s likely that less material is needed overall to achieve the same, if not better, properties. For example, less resin would be required if the component has been strengthened with graphene. The same could be said with reduced cycle times and longer lasting tooling - all contributing to lower cycle time and potentially lower costs overall.
5. Is adding graphene into composite applications a simple ‘plug and play’?
Graphene is an incredible material which needs to be considered on an application-by-application basis.
Our Levidian Applied Technologies team works collaboratively with our customers to ensure their graphene enhanced system and products are developed to their exacting requirements. We can work with clients’ chemists and technical experts to achieve optimal functionalisation and formulations that are designed for their intended product and processes. This is key in developing graphene enhanced composites that will support a more sustainable world, through better production processes and longer lasting end products.
6. There are only a few graphene suppliers globally – do you think that demand will outstrip production and supply?
Demand is certainly increasing as its potential continues to be unlocked. At Levidian, we’re in the process of scaling up our technology and increasing our graphene production. For example, our partnership with Zero Carbon Ventures will be focused on decarbonising waste gas on landfill and gas flaring sites, with the graphene produced by the LOOP units then being used to enhance and further decarbonise industrial materials in applications.
Levidian graphene has minimal batch to batch variation and can be produced at scale because of our unique production method. Because our graphene has very few defects and isn’t produced with additives or catalysts, it can be used in a variety of applications. This will help us to support businesses, including composite manufacturers, to define the right graphene for the right applications in a consistent, high-quality way.
The scale up of our LOOP technology will have a multitude of benefits in decarbonisation and for creating more sustainable products with graphene.
About Tim
Tim has worked in sales for more than 25 years, specialising in material and production processing across a range of industries including automotive, Formula 1, and renewables. He has extensive experience with new product introduction programs, joint development agreements, and the commercialisation of advanced materials within the composite industry.
For more information about Levidian graphene and how we can help your business, please contact sales@levidian.com.