Sustainable Composites: A Review with Critical Questions to Guide Future Initiatives

Martin A. Hubbe ()
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Martin A. Hubbe: Department of Forest Biomaterials, College of Natural Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-8005, USA

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 14, 1-18

Abstract: Composites, which have become very common in mass-produced items, have the potential to outperform similar materials made from any one of their individual components. This tutorial review article considers published studies that shine a light on what is required for such structures to earn the name “sustainable”. The focus is on a series of questions that deal with such issues as the carbon footprint, other life-cycle impacts, durability, recyclability without major loss of value, reusability of major parts, and the practical likelihood of various end-of-life options. To achieve the needed broader impacts of limited research dollars, it is important that researchers choose their research topics carefully. Among a great many possible options for preparing truly eco-friendly composite materials, it will be important to focus attention on the much smaller subset of technologies that have a high probability of commercial success and large-scale implementation.

Keywords: sustainability; biocomposites; compostability; valorization; cascading (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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