SBIR Phase II: Development of High Speed Process Technology for the Manufacturing of Cost Effective Polymer Rebar

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This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will focus on developing the process required to produce fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) rebar at scale. FRP rebar offers significant performance advantages when compared to uncoated steel rebar. These advantages include a sevenfold weight reduction, no corrosion - which in turn permits a 30% reduction in concrete usage (and a corresponding 15 billion ton reduction in CO2 emissions) - and equivalent tensile strength at smaller diameters compared to steel rebar products. FRP rebar is being produced but has limited market acceptance due to its high cost. The high-speed process to be developed in this project will allow price parity when compared to uncoated steel and enable a hundredfold improvement in process speeds compared to current FRP manufacturing. Combined, these improvements will allow entry to the $140 billion global market for steel rebar and allow mass market adoption of FRP rebar. Additionally, basalt mine waste will be explored and, where possible, utilized as a raw material for fiber production. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project includes job creation and environmental impacts. With implementation of this process up to 35 manufacturing jobs can be created immediately. The company's high speed process combines a thermoset resin and basalt fiber as primary reinforcements within the FRP composite. A consortium of pultruders has collectively organized the Fiber Reinforced Polymer Rebar Manufacturers Council and has developed FRP rebar into a viable product over the last 20 years, with a $1.2 billion market at present. Currently, no FRP rebar product is offered at price parity with uncoated steel rebar, and to reach this price parity a high speed process has been invented. This novel process will be optimized and further developed by the completion of this Phase II SBIR project. Basalt fiber, an emerging material with the potential to replace carbon and other fibers in a variety of applications will be brought into large-scale industrial usage with the completion of this project. The Phase I project permitted the determination of the performance characteristics of thermoset resins which have not been commonly used in pultrusion, enabling product validation. This Phase II project will address a range of manufacturing challenges that will be encountered in the production of FRP rebar at industrial scale, allowing a commercially viable final product that can be offered at price parity with steel rebar.