Funny how they push sustainability with a one way thermoset oil based resin carbon fibre frame which can't ever be re-used by melting down again!? Last I knew that stuff gets burnt at sea to dispose of it as it gives off toxic smoke. It cant be chewed in to small peices without an asbestos like fibre being released.Popped up on my Facebook feed.
http://www.gizmag.com/bmw-i3-mass-production-sustainability/27174/In keeping with its “cradle to grave” philosophy, BMW has also come up with what it claims is the world’s first CFRP recycling concept. Various body components, production waste and even parts from damaged i3’s will find their way back into production following a unique sorting process that separates “resinated” materials from non-resin parts. Excess CFRP cuttings, sans resin, that would normally be discarded are instead repurposed back into non-woven textiles and worked back into the vehicle. BMW claims around ten percent of the carbon fiber used in production of the i3 is derived from recycled materials.
There are contradictions there. CFRP is Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic. No plastic (ie resin) no CFRP.@GBEV BMW already thought of that - they have recycling processes in place.
http://www.gizmag.com/bmw-i3-mass-production-sustainability/27174/
Granted there are still un-recyclable bits, but they are going to some effort not to waste any of the CRFP, whether in production or damage/obsolete vehicles.
I think they could rightly claim an energy consumption bonus for the reduced weight over the life of the vehicle but to describe CFRP as sustainable is just plain wrong on so many fronts.This is true, it was the first article that I found. There is a proper technical document floating around that BMW published which is a lot more fact and less fluff, but I can't find it.
I may be naively assuming here that if you were to invest so much money (as an engineering company) in a new set of products based around sustainability and all the other buzz words you wouldn't be so stupid as to overlook the end-of-life recycling aspect of things.
Jeez, could they have made that any more dull?Popped up on my Facebook feed.