Within the framework of the European Horizon 2020 funding programme, the ECOBULK R&D&I project has promoted the publication of two new European CWA (CEN Workshop Agreement) normative documents on composite recovery for the automotive sector in a circular economy framework. ECOBULK is a consortium that brings together research centres, consultancy firms, universities, test laboratories, car manufacturers, and is coordinated by the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), with UNE as the partner responsible for standardisation tasks.
The ECOBULK project was launched in June 2017 with the aim of implementing a new model of economy of composite products with high replicability and transferability potential in the automotive, furniture and building components industrial sectors, and it contributes to "closing the cycle" in the circular chain of composite products in the automotive, furniture and building sectors by promoting more re-utilization, updating, renewal and recycling of products, parts and materials, tackling and directly demonstrating the key stages throughout the entire circular configuration.
After the approval by the consortium of the European regulatory documents of the European Standardization Committee (CEN), in January 2021 the inaugural meeting the ECOBULK CEN Workshop was held, with the aim of developing two CWAs and thus facilitating the dissemination of the achievements and results of the ECOBULK project. After these months of work by CEN Workshop members, the CWAs were published and offered free of charge to the public on the CEN-CENELEC website, where they can be downloaded.
The CWA 17806:2021 "Configuration of the circular design framework. Design solutions for composite recovery in the automotive industry" establishes design requirements for modular vehicle parts that allow easy maintenance and repairs, dismantling, reutilization and re-manufacture, as well as materials recycling, taking into consideration the minimization, replacement and elimination of worrying substances and materials or components that do not fit into the circular model because they hinder the objectives of circularity due to their chronic effects on human health and the environment.
CWA 17807:2021 "Dismantling methods and protocols in a circular economy framework. Composite recovery in the automotive industry" proposes strategies and technologies for the collection and recovery of materials (plastics, foams, glass, fibres from of vehicle parts) for (re) manufacturing and emphasizes waste prevention and the promotion of preparations for reuse, recycling and recovery of other materials in a circular model.
These CWAs constitute a successful collaboration between various European organizations, which have been able to join efforts to achieve a common goal, and to respond to the challenges posed by introducing more standardized recovered materials into production lines at the end of the useful life cycle. In this regard, waste classification and selection technologies will allow waste flow management to be standardized in order to close the cycle of this circular economy model.
Once again, standardization demonstrates its usefulness as a tool at the service of research and industry, facilitating both agreements between the organizations concerned, and the industry's acceptance of the results of innovation projects.
