In the quest for ever lighter and stiffer materials, glass and carbon composites are increasingly taking their place next to traditional metals, such as steel and aluminum. However, the use of glass and carbon composites poses drawbacks in terms of sustainability. Mixing glass or carbon fibers into a matrix material yields a composite of different materials, which is almost impossible to recycle.

Now, two new materials: PURE (Lankhorst) and Tegris (Milliken) have found a solution to this problem. Both PURE and Tegris are made of 100% polypropylene, and are fully compatible with existing PP recycling streams. And, although weighing only a third of aluminum, both materials offer the same stiffness.
The two materials offer benefits with regard to weight reduction, stiffness and impact resistance, These benefits result from their composition: high-quality woven PP yarns combined with a matrix of PP. The woven yarns deliver the impact resistance and the stiffness; composite processing is made possible by the lower melt PP matrix materials. Parts can be produced by thermoforming. The materials are already being applied in various sectors: baggage, helmets, kayaks, construction and automotive panels. The materials also perform well in crash and blast protection applications.